Johnstown’s ongoing decades of fiscal and political turmoil prompt the theory that it all might be intentional, a latter day example of life imitating art, specifically the 1959 satirical movie “The Mouse That Roared.”
In the movie, a fictional country is bankrupted when the U.S. comes up with a cheaper version of that country’s chief export, a fine wine.
One clever political figure in this fictional land, seeing how generous the United States is with defeated enemies, devises a plan of declaring war on America, then surrendering and reaping the benefits. They even mount a mild invasion of the U.S., but to avoid being a plot spoiler, let us just say all does not go according to plan.
Johnstown’s twist on the theme seems to be not to declare war on the U.S. but rather war on itself. Keep things bad economically, in a flux politically, and make them much worse in terms of crime, and it follows that both federal and state funds should flow into the city.
Faced with an industrial-based economy that suffered a mortal blow in the 1970s, it appears Johnstown decided to go into life on the dole. The city seal should have been converted to a pair of outstretched palms against a backdrop of begging bowls.
Johnstown is “distressed” literally and figuratively; has been for state purposes for more than four decades.
The city also has been a ward of the federal government, using a variety of funding from that source to course through the economic veins and arteries to maintain a degree of animation.
Throughout the years, I dare venture that millions upon millions of dollars have been spent on organizations set up to bring jobs to the area, with little if any net gain.
What has been gained is the number of operations set up as nonprofits, not-for-profits, charities, foundations and the like.
Grants, gifts, contracts awarded largely for purposes of public relations, all can bring money into those operations, to be redistributed to the often politically connected.
As for crime, taking full advantage of available public housing vouchers to import residents who seem more likely to show up on the crime roles than the locals, furthers the we-need-help image.
It spills over into the main school district, which seeks more money based on its economically and behaviorally troubled student population.
Nearby Franklin Borough might appear to have messed up, leaving the state’s Act 47 distressed list in January after a relatively short stay as these things go. Altoona also spent some time as distressed, but exited after about five years.
Johnstown is scheduled to end its four-decades run on Act 47 in coming months, but that won’t affect the inflow of federal funds to a downtrodden community.
The suggestion that Johnstown is a mouse that roared could be lumped into the conspiracy theory category, a common label tossed around to discredit.
Donald Trump saying he and his political operation were being spied upon by domestic governmental organizations was dismissed as conspiracy theory. But they were being subjected to spying. He said the FBI lied. It did.
Conservatives said they were being prosecuted by the IRS. They were.
Similarly, conservatives alleged outright censorship on social media. Again, they have been proved correct, largely by Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter.
Critics of COVID response, both the unwillingness to disclose origins and government aid to lab research, plus the over-reach of governmental measures to combat it, were panned as conspiracy theorists. But they’ve been proven largely correct.
UFO enthusiasts have been alleging government coverup after coverup. The eventual release of some fighter jet cockpit videos, as well as forced release of some formerly classified documents, have confirmed more than just a bit of that coverup.
And so, Johnstown as a mouse that roared may or may not be the case. But the theory could explain a lot.
Sam Ross Jr's site 