Sunday, September 16, 2012

They Planned To Give It Away For Warehousing

A few days ago I wrote of the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance plan to give away the Guilford County Prison Farm to an unknown company for unknown reasons as reported by the Greensboro News & Record.

At the time I speculated they were attempting to lure in a chemical company.

In an editorial in today's News & Record we learn that the intended recipient of the land was to be a grocery warehouse... Somehow that just doesn't fit into the picture of the kinds of investments that are being made throughout Greensboro and Guilford County with cutting edge technologies like what are being taught at the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering and the Gateway University Research Park.

Sadly, not only are the Guilford County Commissioners and the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance dead set on giving away our land but North Carolina and the Guilford County Schools are giving away our future. You see, the vast majority of students accepted into the programs at the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering are not only not from Guilford County, the vast majority of the students there are from outside of the United States of America. No, this isn't some secret conspiracy plot, it's just that American and local students in particular are unable to meet the academic requirements to compete in the Nanoscience and Nanoengineering fields. Yes, some will stay here but if the lands are given away to grocery warehouses even they will be forced to go elsewhere looking for jobs.

And rather than invest in educating our children as a means of long term economic development, groups like the Greensboro News & Record, Greensboro Economic Development Alliance and the rest of the Greensboro and Guilford County foundations prefer to give away what is ours to people and corporations who have little or no intentions to stay here.