has proven the Greensboro City Council has no real interest in pursuing new economic development ideas.
It's all documented in the links and I have the e-mails to prove it. RecycleBill@gmail.com
You see, the Greensboro City Council was holding out for the rosy red news as was to be reported by the News & Record but what City Council wasn't counting on was Greensboro College School of Business Dean and economist William K. MacReynolds who said:
“The Greensboro-High Point metropolitan area is lagging behind employment growth in most areas of North Carolina,” said MacReynolds, founding dean of the college’s School of Business. “From September 2013, employment increased by only 0.2% compared with a statewide average growth of 2.2%.”
The state’s top two employment areas, the Charlotte and the Raleigh-Cary metropolitan areas, grew 2.6% and 3.2%, respectively.
“The employment numbers in Greensboro-High Point are troubling,” MacReynolds said. “Over the past year, the number of unemployed fell by 5,100. However, the number of jobs increased by only 2,100. The reason for this disparity is that more than 6,000 left the labor force altogether, having given up looking for productive work.”
As a matter of fact, Dean MacReynolds called it a "Wake up call."
Dean MacReynolds, a former "...economist for the Federal Trade Commission, director of economic forecasting for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and a Blue Chip Economics forecaster..." seems to have a much better grasp of real world economics. Besides, he links to the BLS Documents to prove his points.
And in over a week of repeated e-mails no one from the Greensboro City Council, City Manager's Office or City Attourney's office has even bother to respond to my e-mails to even say to give them more time to look into my ideas. As a matter of fact: there has been zero response what-so-ever.
One can only conclude Council and City staff doesn't give a shit considering the size of our audience here at EzGreensboro.com.
And because of their inaction, great schools like UNCG, Greensboro College, NC A&T University (America's largest minority university) Bennett College, Guilford Technical Community College, the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering and more will forever be known as places where students go to get an education then never return.
Why, because there's no freaking jobs here for people with advanced degrees. And there never will be as long as real estate development is seen as the primary means of economic development.
You see, real economies must be built from the ground up. It's true, my ideas for economic development won't provide as many high tech and advanced jobs as Greensboro needs but my ideas will provide the necessary capital to move us in that direction. And there's room for your ideas as well. My ideas won't provide jobs for artists and musicians but my ideas will provide jobs for people to buy art and music. The arts only thrive in good economic times, get it? Building empty industrial parks and megasites in a state that already has 18 empty megasites in a nation that already has 180 empty megasites is without a doubt the stupidest way to bring in new business one could ever dream up.
And the absurd idea that downtown restaurants, hotels and performing arts centers will save us? Not if we can't afford to go. The cart before the horse mentality has got to end.
So folks, that's why I'm asking you to read the entire series How To Bring Greensboro Out Of Poverty, add your thought and ideas, remember the plan isn't set in stone and needs help from great minds like the folks at our local universities. Greensboro has $272 Million Dollars with which to work with but politicians would prefer to retain control rather than do what is best for our community. If you want your children and grandchildren to remain in Greensboro you must fight now to give them something to stay here for. Otherwise the battles fought with the Paul Masons and Linda Bradys of the world are all for naught. After all, the entire UNCG3 thing started over the university's expansion into Glenwood and Brady's inability to control public opinion.
And Dear Readers, there's nothing in this for me personally, nothing in it for any heirs. My only child, a son named Jason died almost 2 years ago. I live day to day. I do this for you and your children so you and they don't have to live my hell.
Continue reading Part 11
