"Besides, Councilman Zack Matheny told him, the city never lost a business because of the tax rate. Assistant City Manager Andy Scott backed him up, that he has never heard of a company that decided against moving here due to tax issues."
Is that boy not dumb as a mud fence? My partners and I located our business outside of Greensboro exactly because of taxes. And every year that passes, hundreds, if not thousands of small business start-ups and existing small businesses locate outside of Greensboro to avoid Greensboro's burdensome tax rates. Taxes are in fact the #1 reason small businesses owners decide not to locate in Greensboro.
Stupid Zack. Stupid Andy!
Of course, when the entire focus of city government is based on developer driven economics there's no room to consider the small manufacturing start-up or new product developer that might grow to become Greensboro's next Blue Bell, Burlington Industries, Gilbarco, Cone Mills, Vicks Chemical Company or even Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Company.
You see, contrary to Zack's pea brained imagination, none of those companies came to Greensboro as giants and yet all of them became giants before their demise or buyouts. You can't know about what you don't care enough about to keep track of.
Sound economic development requires that we put as much effort into building and retaining Greensboro's small businesses of all stripes as we do the largest employers in the city. After all, you never know which one of those tiny operations might grow to become the next Microsoft or Apple. And while I doubt my little start-up has that potential, somewhere here in Greensboro is an angry entrepreneur who will go on to do great things. Can Greensboro afford to lose him or her?
