by David Radcliff

The clothing factory collapse in Bangladesh killing hundreds — another in a string of such tragedies in the past year — is a reminder of the high cost of our cheap clothes.

Not only are the mostly female workers in these factories paid pitiful wages (in Bangladesh, as low as 14 cents an hour for 14-hour days), but they must risk their lives to labor in unsafe conditions. Meanwhile, the CEOs of the clothing corporations earn $10,000 to $17,000 an hour, shareholders rake in profits, and we brag over our latest “find” of an inexpensive garment purchased at the mall.

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Radcliff is director of the New Community Project. Originally from Blue Ridge, he now lives in Peoria, Ariz.

By Christina Nuckols

It’s hard enough to keep up with the goings on in Richmond from Roanoke and nigh impossible to figure out Washington, D.C., based on the mishmash of truncated sound bites and screaming press alerts that spew from our nation’s capital every day.

One might get the impression from recent news reports that Virginia’s two U.S. senators are worlds apart on how to address the national debt.

A Politico story last month quoted Sen. Mark Warner warning that “the issue of this national debt is a greater threat to our nation and our future than any terrorist action.” Last week, Sen. Tim Kaine told the same news service that “Trying to just land on the debt too quickly would really harm the economy.”

Kaine, in town for a visit Wednesday, told me the two Democrats in fact share common views and goals about how to put U.S. finances in order.

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Nuckols is editorial page editor of The Roanoke Times.

In making sense of dollars, personal finance students still have to learn through experience.

Thanks to the Great Recession, today’s high school seniors encountered a real-life lesson these last four years in what can happen when the economy tanks.

Their schools cut classes, teachers and activities. They earned extra credit for lugging in donated paper and supplies.

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A community endowment that combines public and private dollars could help to keep Roanoke’s arts and culture vibrant.

Roanoke City Council is considering creating an endowment that would combine tax dollars with private donations to nourish the city’s starving arts organizations. With the right framework and community support, there finally might be a strong, reliable funding stream to sustain viable organizations.

Roanoke now has a problem in that its bounty of organizations is plentiful, but its means of funding them is sparse. Consider that not only does the city have a fine arts museum, it has science, history, African-American history and transportation museums as well. And then there is the zoo, opera, symphony, ballet, several theaters and performance halls, and a rich tapestry of artists, galleries, musicians, performers. The list is always growing.

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Smart planning carried Roanoke out of the recession.

Unlike many localities suffering through yet another bleak and dreary budget season, Roanoke has much to celebrate.

It’s $260 million budget proposed for fiscal year 2014 returns spending to the level in the city’s fiscal year 2009 budget — the last rosy projection before the Great Recession robbed $28 million of revenue from the city’s treasury.

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A no-tax rule means Roanoke County’s de facto real estate rate has declined while demands have increased.

Roanoke County supervisors heard this week that the gap between lagging county revenues and increasing demands for services has reached a critical point. The public is going to begin feeling the pain.

The board’s response? The economy’s sure to get better. Meanwhile, maybe a review of county ordinances might turn up some growth-stunting business regulations that could be eliminated.

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by Donald Nuechterlein

In January 1975, President Gerald Ford gave a State of the Union Address to Congress that is remarkable for candor: “Today,” he said, “I must say to you that the state of the Union is not good.”

Deploring the reality that “millions of Americans are out of work” and that recession was eroding the nation’s economy, Ford warned about the spiraling national debt: “This year’s federal deficit will be about $30 billion; next year’s probably $45 billion. The national debt will rise to over $500 billion.”

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Nuechterlein is a political scientist, author, and lecturer who lives near Charlottesville.

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By Beth Doughty

Runners from across the United States and several countries will flock to Roanoke for America’s toughest road race — the Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Marathon on April 20. Along with the recently opened River Rock climbing gym, expanded green­way system and new outdoor events, the Roanoke region is making progress on an economic development vision — to leverage our outdoor assets to enhance quality of life, which will attract talent, jobs and investment to the region.

Along with education and transportation systems, the outdoors — trails, parks, greenways, lakes and rivers — are building blocks of a vibrant economy. A Knight Foundation study called Soul of the Community says social offerings, openness and aesthetics are factors that attach people to their community. The higher the level of attachment, the stronger the economic growth.

In the Roanoke region, the outdoors is the venue that stimulates social interaction and welcomes all in a beautiful stage. It’s also a laboratory that’s inventing our economic future.

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Doughty is executive director of the Roanoke Regional Partnership, which has focused on an economic strategy around the outdoors through programs such as RoanokeOutside.com, the Blue Ridge Marathon and GOFest.

State leaders are preparing for the expansion of the Panama Canal.

Virginians were reminded just how valuable the state port is when two private companies offered to pay billions of dollars to take over management of the terminals. Fortunately, the 12-member governing board of the Virginia Port Authority recognized that the facility is more valuable than the bidders were willing to admit.

The board unanimously rejected the proposals to privatize the port and began taking the necessary steps to ensure Virginia makes the most out of opportunities that are steaming this way.

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Gary McCollum

Last month, Virginia lawmakers passed the most important transportation funding bill in nearly three decades. Since then, many of our forward-thinking legislators and Gov. Bob McDonnell have taken a fair amount of heat for the passage of this bill.

As the senior vice president and general manager of Cox Communications Virginia, I understand the powerful economic impact that a robust transportation network can have on the commonwealth – and I understand the negative impact that has come from a lack of proper funding over the past 27 years.

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McCollum is senior vice president and general manager of Cox Communications Virginia.