tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088603658552825500.post7129672644275554547..comments2023-11-05T05:53:29.465-05:00Comments on The Hickory Hound: Hickory - The Company TownJames Thomas Shellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04359970774315269896noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2088603658552825500.post-54027155379846604582013-10-02T12:32:46.380-04:002013-10-02T12:32:46.380-04:00Remember watching the Ten Commandments and Charlto...Remember watching the Ten Commandments and Charlton Heston went up to the Mountain to receive the Commandments? The camp fell apart because he was gone for so long and the people were led astray and back to worshiping the golden calf? Back to the old ways? Back to what was comfortable? Back to what they might not agree with, but to that which was known and in knowing, understood? Remember that?<br /><br />Interesting parable that serves well to illustrate what is going on now in Hickory. Those oligarchs harken back to the day that they can return to their days of glory and triumph of years ago. That is their message today. And you know, it might be grounded in potential.<br /><br />As I write this, our government is at a standstill; Federal, State, Local. Factories are looking to come back to the United States because the costs of doing business here are now cheaper than it once was; due in part to a dramatic drop in the cost of labor. Yes, people are now willing to work for a fraction of what they used to simply because it’s work. Those businesses that fled off-shore are now looking to crawl back and exploit the very people they took advantage of a decade ago by leaving. They are creating their own version of the golden calf yet again. And they continue to win. They continue to make money. And the people have suffered heavily.<br /><br />Yes, Hickory is in a prime position to exploit the heralded return of those same Oligarchs back to the region with open arms and a key to the City. Because those that controlled them stayed here. They see it as a win/win in terms of once again supplying semi-skilled or skill less jobs to a ready, willing, and under educated work force. They can go back to paying lower than standard wages, lower even than when they left and well below the national average.<br /><br />Hickory returns to what it was, the nay-sayers like the Hound are quieted, and the circle is complete once again. Although I don’t know it, I’ll bet you that this very thing has been discussed at the Bar or over the banquet table at one or all of the Country Clubs in Hickory and Catawba County. It fits.<br /><br />One can only hope that there is someone rising to strike down this notion, break the circle, and lead the people not exploit them, away from a century of bondage.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com