I read in today's News & Record Editorial that Greensboro's most well known brand is Tournament Town.
"Greensboro’s best-known brand may be its Tournament Town status, thanks to Atlantic Coast Conference championship events, especially basketball, as well as figure skating, swimming and diving and a professional golf tournament. While attracting national attention for sports is a plus, hospitality industry jobs pay “shockingly low wages,” Debbage said."
Not only does it pay “shockingly low wages" but it is subject to pick up and move at any given time. As long as Fred Barakat was still alive we were pretty well assured that the Atlantic Coast Conference would never leave Greensboro but with Fred gone now all bets are off. Scary, ain't it, to think that much of our economy depends on the whims of a few people who might suddenly decide they'd rather live somewhere else.
And when you think about it, we're sending young people to Guilford Technical Community College to learn how to make motel beds and clean motel toilets? What's wrong with that picture? Yes, I know that's not all they learn but most who graduate will end up doing just that if they get a hospitality job in Greensboro as there aren't enough Hotels and Motels locally to hire all the graduates. I mean, I thought we wanted to keep our young people in Greensboro, not train them to leave.
"Greensboro’s greatest asset probably is its colleges and universities, which contribute to a respectable and growing portion of the city’s residents who hold college degrees. Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector is rebounding from the huge losses when the textile, furniture and tobacco industries began their decline."
No mention of Greensboro's creative class. The people who were heralded as having the highest potential to save our city, the people who saved cities like Asheville and are turning around Detroit suburbs have been completely dismissed by Greensboro's status quo as if they, we, never existed. Why was that? Because Greensboro's status quo couldn't figure out a way to allow the creative class to work its magic and still remain in control of the money flow. So they stuck with what they knew even if it failed.
And what do they do when it fails? The create "public works" projects to fulfill imaginary "needs" at taxpayers expense. Why? Because that's all they know. They even call it a performing arts center and say it will be good for Greensboro's creative class. Will I ever sell one of my poetry books there? Will the Raving Knaves ever sell their CDs there? Poetry is a performing art, will the taxpayers subsidize my poetry readings at GPAC so that I can benefit from GPAC as well? Will the taxpayers subsidize hundreds of Greensboro poets? Something tells me that will never happen. Something tells me that barring a big break and a nationwide tour, the Raving Knaves nor any of Greensboro's other great bands will ever pay GPAC.
Will Greensboro's small businesses be able to sell more of their products because we have GPAC? How much will GPAC benefit McKnight Hardware, American Extruded Plastics, Cottage Industries LLC, AngUnique, and a few hundred other locally owned manufacturers and retailers?
Debbage is right about education but wrong about attracting employers. The kinds of employers Debbage and Greensboro's "non profit" economic development gurus are looking at are mercenaries, for sale to the highest bidder playing the incentives game for all it's worth. Wave enough carrots in front of them and they'll run away in a heart beat. I know, I wrote the book. No, really, I wrote the book. We need to be looking around at what we have and what we can do with it.
Like most people in Debbage's line of work, he's really good at telling you what's going on and what happened but does he offer any solutions?
Crickets.
Well it just so happens my partners and I have a plan. We can't save the economy of an entire city the size of Greensboro but we can point the way. And we can help a lot of Greensboro and Burlington's creative class, small businesses and locally owned manufacturers at the same time. And while I'm not ready to tell you what it is or how it will work I will tell you where it can be found. Like Greensboro's status quo, 99.9% of those of you who look at it will be clueless as to what it is and how it's designed to work. Don't be ashamed as it's designed to keep you clueless for the time being. But if you're local to the Greensboro area and part of the .01% who can figure out what we're doing at Wackemall.com then e-mail me at RecycleBill@gmail.com as I'd love for you to meet with us and talk.
We'll never ask you for money as the one thing we don't want is your money.
"Greensboro’s best-known brand may be its Tournament Town status, thanks to Atlantic Coast Conference championship events, especially basketball, as well as figure skating, swimming and diving and a professional golf tournament. While attracting national attention for sports is a plus, hospitality industry jobs pay “shockingly low wages,” Debbage said."
Not only does it pay “shockingly low wages" but it is subject to pick up and move at any given time. As long as Fred Barakat was still alive we were pretty well assured that the Atlantic Coast Conference would never leave Greensboro but with Fred gone now all bets are off. Scary, ain't it, to think that much of our economy depends on the whims of a few people who might suddenly decide they'd rather live somewhere else.
And when you think about it, we're sending young people to Guilford Technical Community College to learn how to make motel beds and clean motel toilets? What's wrong with that picture? Yes, I know that's not all they learn but most who graduate will end up doing just that if they get a hospitality job in Greensboro as there aren't enough Hotels and Motels locally to hire all the graduates. I mean, I thought we wanted to keep our young people in Greensboro, not train them to leave.
"Greensboro’s greatest asset probably is its colleges and universities, which contribute to a respectable and growing portion of the city’s residents who hold college degrees. Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector is rebounding from the huge losses when the textile, furniture and tobacco industries began their decline."
No mention of Greensboro's creative class. The people who were heralded as having the highest potential to save our city, the people who saved cities like Asheville and are turning around Detroit suburbs have been completely dismissed by Greensboro's status quo as if they, we, never existed. Why was that? Because Greensboro's status quo couldn't figure out a way to allow the creative class to work its magic and still remain in control of the money flow. So they stuck with what they knew even if it failed.
And what do they do when it fails? The create "public works" projects to fulfill imaginary "needs" at taxpayers expense. Why? Because that's all they know. They even call it a performing arts center and say it will be good for Greensboro's creative class. Will I ever sell one of my poetry books there? Will the Raving Knaves ever sell their CDs there? Poetry is a performing art, will the taxpayers subsidize my poetry readings at GPAC so that I can benefit from GPAC as well? Will the taxpayers subsidize hundreds of Greensboro poets? Something tells me that will never happen. Something tells me that barring a big break and a nationwide tour, the Raving Knaves nor any of Greensboro's other great bands will ever pay GPAC.
Will Greensboro's small businesses be able to sell more of their products because we have GPAC? How much will GPAC benefit McKnight Hardware, American Extruded Plastics, Cottage Industries LLC, AngUnique, and a few hundred other locally owned manufacturers and retailers?
Debbage is right about education but wrong about attracting employers. The kinds of employers Debbage and Greensboro's "non profit" economic development gurus are looking at are mercenaries, for sale to the highest bidder playing the incentives game for all it's worth. Wave enough carrots in front of them and they'll run away in a heart beat. I know, I wrote the book. No, really, I wrote the book. We need to be looking around at what we have and what we can do with it.
Like most people in Debbage's line of work, he's really good at telling you what's going on and what happened but does he offer any solutions?
Crickets.
Well it just so happens my partners and I have a plan. We can't save the economy of an entire city the size of Greensboro but we can point the way. And we can help a lot of Greensboro and Burlington's creative class, small businesses and locally owned manufacturers at the same time. And while I'm not ready to tell you what it is or how it will work I will tell you where it can be found. Like Greensboro's status quo, 99.9% of those of you who look at it will be clueless as to what it is and how it's designed to work. Don't be ashamed as it's designed to keep you clueless for the time being. But if you're local to the Greensboro area and part of the .01% who can figure out what we're doing at Wackemall.com then e-mail me at RecycleBill@gmail.com as I'd love for you to meet with us and talk.
We'll never ask you for money as the one thing we don't want is your money.
