Building the Bridge to Hickory’s Future

Building the Bridge to Hickory’s Future
(Previously unpublished - Submitted to the Hickory Daily Record on 7/23/2007)

The last seven years have been hard on most of us in this area. We have seen our wages stagnate, while seeing other areas of the country (and even our state) prosper. The cost of living here is low, but wages haven't kept up with the growing expense of everyday life.

I love this town. I moved back here after college, because I wanted to, not because I had to. I wanted to be near my family and the familiar surroundings I grew up in. That doesn't mean I didn't want the area to mature. I want it to grow and prosper.

I went to the Internet and found a quote from our mayor. At BlackBoxVoting.org, look up "Oct. 11 election: Catawba County – Sleepy." You will find a quote from the last (2005) election.

The article states, "…he needs four more years to work on the city's economy and that he plans to campaign harder than he did against Pat Moss in 2001. 'I told people I was going to look for opportunities to put more people to work,' he said, 'and I've worked on that and I want to do more.'"

How have you done this Mr. Mayor? Where are the results? There are example-after-example of individuals that were laid off after the fiber-optic bust, given unemployment, and paid to be retrained. There weren't jobs waiting for them in these fields they were retrained for. Guess what many have had to do?

They have gone back to the companies they were working for originally. They aren't official employees of those companies though. They are doing the same job as before, but they are employees of temp agencies such as Adecco and Manpower. Many of these people have been temporary workers for more than a year. What kind of security does that bring to these people?

Temp Agencies are a dime a dozen in this area. Seems that is the rule of the day. Pay the worker $9 an hour and the temp agency $3 an hour. Wonder why there are so many in this area? The modus operandi is to hire the people on with no job security, no benefits, and pay them less than they were earning five years ago. How can anyone build a solid financial future working like this?

Two of our city councilors, Jill Patton and Sally Fox, did there best to keep Lowe's from building in Viewmont. In the same article quoted from earlier Mrs. Patton states, "I want to make sure everyone is included in government and has access and feels that they are heard. I don't believe (Watts – the former councilman) listens to his constituents."

Mrs. Patton, you seem to only represent a few of the social elite in northwest Hickory. Most of us wanted Lowe's. It is by the grace of God that it narrowly slipped through you and Mrs. Fox's ignominious clutches. The property looks a lot better than it did before. We can only hope that we have more development such as this in our future.

Most of us admire Lowe's. An American dream, a little hardware store started in North Wilkesboro has grown into a fabulous corporation. Do you know how many average people became rich in North Wilkesboro because they worked or invested in that company? When you try to tear down such an entity, you mock the entrepreneurial spirit that has made this country great.

I understand the concerns of Ace Hardware in Viewmont. We all have to face competition in our everyday lives. My aunt owns 1859 Café (here in Hickory since 1984). Seems every day a new restaurant opens in this area. Where are all the concerned citizens when these restaurants open? Jane has learned to adapt and roll with the punches.

The only priority of the Mayor and the city council, at this time, should be to bring major industry to this area. To do this, we must institute a force-like focus on this task. Everything else should be pushed to the background. Why even think about any new projects until we have money to spend on them. It is a waste of time.

The best and brightest young people in this area are going away to college and they aren't returning. They can't make the kind of money here that they can in cities that have better economies. Those left go straight to work out of high school.

The vast majority of these kids can't find good paying jobs in our present economic predicament. The factories here keep wages artificially low by hiring illegal immigrants and utilizing temp agencies. This may net them more profit now, but it will lead to a bleak future for our city. Without more successful twenty and thirty year olds, this city will die.

We cannot build this area on service jobs. We must have industry. We must build and create material goods. That brings money into this area and creates value.

Restaurants, bars, retail stores, and professional offices are nice; but they do not add value to our area. They are a luxury, because if people don't have the money to purchase these services, then they will not be successful. How many of these businesses have come and gone the last few years?

Too many people in Hickory want to put the cart before the horse. The bureaucratic commissions and agencies are fine and dandy if you are looking to line the pockets of bureaucrats, but do they create value? Seems they just make expensive suggestions. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand what our problem is.

What is the number one priority of this city right now? We need better jobs for the people of Hickory. If we work on developing a better job base, then people will make more money. More jobs in the area means more competition for labor means higher wages.

This will create a more dynamic economy that will feed off of itself. If people make more money, then they will spend more. Businesses will prosper, property values will increase, and there will be increased revenue for our local government to improve Hickory.

We need major business to come here and we don't need to be scaring them away. We don't need to hear the term "not in my back yard" over and over again, as we have for the last several years. We don't need the city council and county commission snooting their noses about every proposal that comes down the line.

Our city councilors and county commissioners are our employees. They shouldn't be picking and choosing what they want to focus on based upon their personal preferences. The only objective should be to do what is best for all of us.

We don't need shortsighted leadership. We need objective people that will look to the future and try to envision what we can be, instead of looking at where we are and telling us what we can't be.