As Roch Smith Jr suggested just a few days ago, ideas are handicapped by who thinks them up but that doesn't make them bad ideas. That's why I'm suggesting Greensboro think about other ways in which bonds could be used to grow our city and improve our local economy.
Why not, instead of borrowing money to build what we all honestly know will be money pits, we borrow money to build things that might provide real tangible returns on our investments? While proponents pg a downtown performing arts center like to point to DPAC as a financial success, when interest and potential tax revenues on the property consumed are figured in, DPAC operates at a net loss for the City of Durham. And it always will.
As for jobs. DPAC attracts mostly minimum wage jobs in soon to fail restaurants and hotels. I find it interesting that Greensboro's elite who are able to afford hundreds of Dollars to entertain their families for a single night would consider a job that pays less per week than a single night's entertainment to be any sort of a solution to Greensboro's job woes.
But it doesn't have to be that way.
What if Greensboro issued bonds to fund expansion of existing and new, locally owned manufacturing-- the very thing this city was built upon? Yes, I know US companies can't compete with lower foreign wages but every leading economic indicator is now telling us that the trend is set to reverse and the cities that lead the way in manufacturing will see a faster return to good economic times.
And why locally owned manufacturing instead of multinational corporations? Because, while there are no long term guarantees, local companies are more apt to stay here with us longer and spend their money at home. And when those local guys die they are more apt to leave their riches in foundations that are supposed to give back to Greensboro by building things like performing arts centers and the like. You know, like the Dodge Performing Arts Center in Detroit. Okay, so the name isn't really Dodge.
So why not loan money for service businesses and retail businesses? I'm not saying that isn't an option but it should be a separate bond. Fact is: We have no shortage of service and retail businesses in Greensboro. And service and retail simply don't pay on average as much as manufacturing pays. A performing arts center will bring us service and retail jobs and most will pay minimum wage.
So what kinds of manufacturing? I have my passions. I have my dreams. If I were loaned the money I'd look towards the model set by Cleveland CycleWerks a small manufacturer of small displacement motorcycles located in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 2009, by a 28 year old design engineer, Cleveland CycleWerks began by casting their 250cc engines in the same Chinese foundry that casts engines for Harley-Davidson and assembling their motorcycles in China but now assembly is being moved to Cleveland. Had Cleveland CycleWerks had the support of a city behind them in the beginning they might have began with assembly in Cleveland as that was their original plan. Their long term goal is to continue to source more and more parts here in the USA.
But what kinds of manufacturing ultimately rests on someone other than me. Cleveland CycleWerks is but one example of what could be done right here in Greensboro if only those who lead us understood that development for Multinational Corporations is the riskiest form of business there is. Robbie Perkins and TREBIC make money every time a bank closes on one of his commercial real estate deals. And if the buyer goes bankrupt in a year or pulls out of town that's just another opportunity for Robbie Perkins and his ilk to make more money. Their riches depend on our decay. It's time to do things differently. These are not captains of industry and growth, they are the auctioneers selling off the family farms and pushing the people from their homes.
Manufacturing bonds could be divided between companies, some will fail and others will succeed. The failures and the successes will teach us how to better manage the fund. There is a risk, there's always a risk but having never invested in a bond in my entire life, this is a bond I would buy.
