In this morning's News & Record editorial the question is raised:
"Something has been holding North Carolina back. Has it been the way the state chases jobs?"
News & Record Editors speculate:
"There may be duplication of effort and inefficiencies when so many economic development agencies, public and public-private, compete against each other across the state."
They talk about"
"Yet, businesses can’t be talked into locating in North Carolina if other essentials are lacking. They want functional infrastructure; a reasonable cost of doing business, which includes taxes, utilities and salary structures; a skilled and healthy workforce; a strong educational system, from kindergarten through university level; and the extras that contribute to an appealing quality of life. If North Carolina doesn’t tend to those basics, no economic development agency will succeed."
And yet nobody talks about building up the businesses that are born and raised in North Carolina. Yes, something is holding North Carolina back and it's called the State's focus on building empty industrial parks and megasites which increase the tax burden and make it harder for all businesses to do business here.
Building for building's sake will not fix any economic problems. Again, housing starts and development are economic indicators not economic drivers and the faster we get the property developers and land speculators out of State and local government the faster Greensboro and the rest of North Carolina may start down the road to recovery.
After all, who needs a job in an industrial park or megasite so far from home you have to sleep in your car to get to work on time?
