I went to Bakersfield today.
Now THERE is a town I don’t understand. It seems like it’s in the middle of nowhere. It is the biggest town in the nearby vicinity. Which makes me think that it is not very densely populated. There are big empty fields all around this town.
Buut in the town itself, there are a lot of medical services. Very very many medical services. In this town, in what seems like the middle of nowhere, I count at least three hospitals and more than a dozen secondary medical offices.
What is going on? Is this town where the whole Central Valley comes to get sick?
There are other town-ish businessness. Restaurants, shops that sell trinkets and necessary things.
And then I find yet another medical service business.
There is something I don’t know about this town. It feels creepy.
Bakersfield is the seat of Kern County and one of only two municipalities large enough to be considered a city. There are 500,000 people in the greater metropolitan area. There are also a lot of very small towns that are nearby. Some towns have their own medical services, but like as not they’re close enough to Bakersfield that if there’s any issue larger than a papercut they’re transferred into the city.
hmm…Okay, but…
The only business of the city that I can see is medical services. What does this city do?
Do they make things? Do they service things? Do they process things?
What generates the money to pay for these medical services? Is the entire 500K population supported by medicare?
okay, I know it’s an agricultural area. BUt if the town grows things, why aren’t there agriculture products somewhere downtown. Tractors? irrigation equipment supplies? Fertilizers? Cows?