See what we have been up to in trying to move this community into the future:
Document Links and Agendas for the Future Economy Council of Catawba County
Just Remember Folks, "It's the Climb" - bwahahaha!!!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Hickory needs Real Transformation
I just finished reading Joshua Cooper Ramo's book - The Age of the Unthinkable - Why the New World Disorder Surprises Us and What Can We Do About It. Rick Smyre, our Future Economy Council Mentor, suggested it as a way to gain comprehension of the current context of the world around us and the role we play in it.
After reading the book, I decided to jot down some thoughts on how this book might relate to the current state of Hickory. I think that our leaders can get a lot out of this book. You do have to cut to the chase after winding through the soliloquies of Mr. Ramo's travels, but the message is consistent. As he states in his summaries towards the end of the book, "There are moments, and this is one of them, when we are not spectators to history but participants." We do not have to choose to be passive participants in this world, as individuals we can make changes and when those changes are made, they will lead to results that are greater than the sum of their parts.
I truly believe that Hickory's leadership has tried to do what they believe is best for the community. They have been very innovative in ways that they have limited expenses in our city's budget. During the drought, they promoted and began selling rain barrels as an alternative way to water vegetation, they used leaves and other refuse to create a composting facility, and they have consolidated the region's interests in our water resources by becoming the regional operator and provider of water.
But, for years many of these same leaders have gone too far, by trying to hoard control and that has, in my opinion, stifled the creative and innovative energies that are needed to progress. Many of these individuals seem to think that their answers are best, their solutions should be policy, and that if the regular folks will just fall in line, then we can move forward. What they fail to recognize is if no one follows, then they aren't leading. We need leaders that will get local citizens, who have felt disenfranchised and are therefore ambivalent, to buy into our transformation.
As Ramo states, "We owe everything to Human Creativity." "We need to empower as much of the world as we can, even if at times that means encouraging forces that make us uneasy at first glance." Our leaders need to decentralize the power in this area and I know that it is going to be hard to get some people to buy into that philosophy. It seems that we are not trusting the average person in this area, that they are basically being called uneducated or ignorant. I just ask our leaders, "Do you really think you have all the answers?"
I have read and listened for months about how the Hickory Metro Area's problems are not our fault, we have no control, that it is all caused by Raleigh and Washington. I think that there is nothing wrong with a leader (or anyone) admitting that they don't know what the solutions are, but there has to be something that can be done. We cannot afford to spend endless years of abrogating the issues we can control involving our economic plight.
You want an example. Last month we heard the Mayor, City Manager, and City Council talk a good game about this Small Business Job Growth Team. Why has this not gotten off the ground yet? This was discussed at the City Council Meeting on May 5, 2009. It sure seems to me that this admittedly great idea has been a ruse. If this is so important, then why is it taking upwards of six weeks to get the people onboard to get it started. It is just sad that this seems like it is not being taken seriously -- One word, ACTION!!!
Once again we apparently can't find people to serve, why? Could it be that we have too many of these commissions? Could it be that the upper echelons of Hickory's leadership want to fully control the process and its outcome? Could it be that when they agree to their findings that the City Officials don't act on them and go off in their own direction of personal self interest? How many times have we seen exactly that happen before?
I have personally been flat out told that the reason people don't serve is because City Officials are not willing to listen. They basically want people to wrap their (the leadership's) views up in a neat little package, so that they can present them as "The People's Idea." When the leadership does not like the task force's findings, and then they take the ball and run in a different direction, then the participants feel disenfranchised and no longer want to participate in any city processes. That folks, is what has led to the ambivalence we find amongst the go-getters and movers and shakers in this community. Have you noticed that our developers are taking their monies and influence to the fringes of Hickory (Granite Falls, Conover, Claremont). Hmmm, I wonder why that has happened?
It is time to get people to buy in. Joshua Cooper Ramo displays, in this book, ways that we can get people to buy in and collaborate. It is not a blueprint, because innovation cannot be defined and the future is naturally ambiguous. There are no magic bullets and we cannot shape life into the neat little package that we want, but we can have influence over it. That influence can be good or bad. There are reasons why this community is in desperate economic straights. We cannot see our community at the bottom of unemployment numbers in the nation and absolve ourselves of any blame.
Past and current leadership has laid the foundation that we now stand upon. Not all of it is bad and some of it is excellent, but we most certainly need to improve the structure. It is time to build a new foundation and there are ideas out there that will help us do that. I hope that you, as individuals or as a group, will get this book and think about the implications of what Mr. Ramo espouses. We must renew the Can Do spirit that originally built this community and unleash its full potential as we work to rebuild a more sure footed and stronger foundation designed for a brighter and more positive future.
After reading the book, I decided to jot down some thoughts on how this book might relate to the current state of Hickory. I think that our leaders can get a lot out of this book. You do have to cut to the chase after winding through the soliloquies of Mr. Ramo's travels, but the message is consistent. As he states in his summaries towards the end of the book, "There are moments, and this is one of them, when we are not spectators to history but participants." We do not have to choose to be passive participants in this world, as individuals we can make changes and when those changes are made, they will lead to results that are greater than the sum of their parts.
I truly believe that Hickory's leadership has tried to do what they believe is best for the community. They have been very innovative in ways that they have limited expenses in our city's budget. During the drought, they promoted and began selling rain barrels as an alternative way to water vegetation, they used leaves and other refuse to create a composting facility, and they have consolidated the region's interests in our water resources by becoming the regional operator and provider of water.
But, for years many of these same leaders have gone too far, by trying to hoard control and that has, in my opinion, stifled the creative and innovative energies that are needed to progress. Many of these individuals seem to think that their answers are best, their solutions should be policy, and that if the regular folks will just fall in line, then we can move forward. What they fail to recognize is if no one follows, then they aren't leading. We need leaders that will get local citizens, who have felt disenfranchised and are therefore ambivalent, to buy into our transformation.
As Ramo states, "We owe everything to Human Creativity." "We need to empower as much of the world as we can, even if at times that means encouraging forces that make us uneasy at first glance." Our leaders need to decentralize the power in this area and I know that it is going to be hard to get some people to buy into that philosophy. It seems that we are not trusting the average person in this area, that they are basically being called uneducated or ignorant. I just ask our leaders, "Do you really think you have all the answers?"
I have read and listened for months about how the Hickory Metro Area's problems are not our fault, we have no control, that it is all caused by Raleigh and Washington. I think that there is nothing wrong with a leader (or anyone) admitting that they don't know what the solutions are, but there has to be something that can be done. We cannot afford to spend endless years of abrogating the issues we can control involving our economic plight.
You want an example. Last month we heard the Mayor, City Manager, and City Council talk a good game about this Small Business Job Growth Team. Why has this not gotten off the ground yet? This was discussed at the City Council Meeting on May 5, 2009. It sure seems to me that this admittedly great idea has been a ruse. If this is so important, then why is it taking upwards of six weeks to get the people onboard to get it started. It is just sad that this seems like it is not being taken seriously -- One word, ACTION!!!
Once again we apparently can't find people to serve, why? Could it be that we have too many of these commissions? Could it be that the upper echelons of Hickory's leadership want to fully control the process and its outcome? Could it be that when they agree to their findings that the City Officials don't act on them and go off in their own direction of personal self interest? How many times have we seen exactly that happen before?
I have personally been flat out told that the reason people don't serve is because City Officials are not willing to listen. They basically want people to wrap their (the leadership's) views up in a neat little package, so that they can present them as "The People's Idea." When the leadership does not like the task force's findings, and then they take the ball and run in a different direction, then the participants feel disenfranchised and no longer want to participate in any city processes. That folks, is what has led to the ambivalence we find amongst the go-getters and movers and shakers in this community. Have you noticed that our developers are taking their monies and influence to the fringes of Hickory (Granite Falls, Conover, Claremont). Hmmm, I wonder why that has happened?
It is time to get people to buy in. Joshua Cooper Ramo displays, in this book, ways that we can get people to buy in and collaborate. It is not a blueprint, because innovation cannot be defined and the future is naturally ambiguous. There are no magic bullets and we cannot shape life into the neat little package that we want, but we can have influence over it. That influence can be good or bad. There are reasons why this community is in desperate economic straights. We cannot see our community at the bottom of unemployment numbers in the nation and absolve ourselves of any blame.
Past and current leadership has laid the foundation that we now stand upon. Not all of it is bad and some of it is excellent, but we most certainly need to improve the structure. It is time to build a new foundation and there are ideas out there that will help us do that. I hope that you, as individuals or as a group, will get this book and think about the implications of what Mr. Ramo espouses. We must renew the Can Do spirit that originally built this community and unleash its full potential as we work to rebuild a more sure footed and stronger foundation designed for a brighter and more positive future.
Monday, June 8, 2009
The Easley's - The Hits just keep on coming
From the (Raleigh) News and Observer - Records: Mike Easley involved in hiring - New documents show that the Mary Easley job at N.C. State University was orchestrated at the highest levels of state government, and included the direct involvement of then-Gov. Mike Easley.
From the (Raleigh) News and Observer - N.C. State chancellor resigns - In his resignation letter Oblinger said the university would be releasing e-mails that showed he was involved in her hiring, something he had denied.
**(Added) From the (Raleigh) News and Observer - Trustees eliminate Mary Easley's contract - The trustees said that the duties of Easley's $170,000-a-year job no longer exist and that her departure from N.C. State would be in the best interest of the university. The trustees, along with UNC system president Erskine Bowles, met this afternoon.
Forma Gubna Mike Sleazy and more tangled webs (fixed link) - (5/9/2009)
Where do our local leaders stand on The Mike Easley Issue? - (5/15/2009)
The Hound thinks that the State now has the grounds to fire Mrs. Mary Easley (added - Done Deal). This hiring has now been shown to be an act of pure political patronage. I also believe that Mr. Oblinger and Mr. Nielsen should be disassociated from North Carolina State University. Chancellor Oblinger did not come forward with these documents until he was point blank forced to. If he had plead Mea Culpa from the beginning, I believe that he would have deserved to stay on. But, all of these actions and documents show that he was knowingly dishonest during this entire investigative procedure.
I believe that it is time that our local "Hickory Metro Area" leaders demand answers and accountability for the tawdriness that has been on full display during this whole episode. It sure seems that they are throwing around a lot of unethical (and probably even illegal) money down in the state capital, while we continue to suffer through 15% unemployment.
This whole mess is an embarassment to NC State and the entire North Carolina University System. I believe this whole scheme should be fully investigated and that anyone who had knowledge of it, without exposing it, should be fired from the University system. If there have been illegal activities that have taken place, then I expect the people to be held fully accountable. Being less than forthright about this situation should play a major role in actions taken against them.
This whole situation reinforces my opinions of the Good Ole Boy network in this state. We will not begin to recover economically or culturally, in this state, until Justice and the Rule of Law are applied equally, to and for all citizens, no matter who they are or what they do.
**Everyone of us, especially the products of the North Carolina University System, need to flood Mr. Bowles and the NC Board of Governors to stop the proliferation of political patronage in our University System. The system should be about educating tomorrow's leaders, and not about corruption. (Board of Governors Directory).
From the (Raleigh) News and Observer - N.C. State chancellor resigns - In his resignation letter Oblinger said the university would be releasing e-mails that showed he was involved in her hiring, something he had denied.
**(Added) From the (Raleigh) News and Observer - Trustees eliminate Mary Easley's contract - The trustees said that the duties of Easley's $170,000-a-year job no longer exist and that her departure from N.C. State would be in the best interest of the university. The trustees, along with UNC system president Erskine Bowles, met this afternoon.
Forma Gubna Mike Sleazy and more tangled webs (fixed link) - (5/9/2009)
Where do our local leaders stand on The Mike Easley Issue? - (5/15/2009)
The Hound thinks that the State now has the grounds to fire Mrs. Mary Easley (added - Done Deal). This hiring has now been shown to be an act of pure political patronage. I also believe that Mr. Oblinger and Mr. Nielsen should be disassociated from North Carolina State University. Chancellor Oblinger did not come forward with these documents until he was point blank forced to. If he had plead Mea Culpa from the beginning, I believe that he would have deserved to stay on. But, all of these actions and documents show that he was knowingly dishonest during this entire investigative procedure.
I believe that it is time that our local "Hickory Metro Area" leaders demand answers and accountability for the tawdriness that has been on full display during this whole episode. It sure seems that they are throwing around a lot of unethical (and probably even illegal) money down in the state capital, while we continue to suffer through 15% unemployment.
This whole mess is an embarassment to NC State and the entire North Carolina University System. I believe this whole scheme should be fully investigated and that anyone who had knowledge of it, without exposing it, should be fired from the University system. If there have been illegal activities that have taken place, then I expect the people to be held fully accountable. Being less than forthright about this situation should play a major role in actions taken against them.
This whole situation reinforces my opinions of the Good Ole Boy network in this state. We will not begin to recover economically or culturally, in this state, until Justice and the Rule of Law are applied equally, to and for all citizens, no matter who they are or what they do.
**Everyone of us, especially the products of the North Carolina University System, need to flood Mr. Bowles and the NC Board of Governors to stop the proliferation of political patronage in our University System. The system should be about educating tomorrow's leaders, and not about corruption. (Board of Governors Directory).
Saturday, June 6, 2009
10 Questions with Catawba County Chief Information Officer Terry Bledsoe
Terry is a Participant on the Catawba County Future Economic Council with 30+ other talented people and myself. He had an excellent presentation about Broadband during our last meeting (Look to the Broadband Connectivity Heading in this report). I would like to thank him for his participation in answering these questions and I hope you enjoy getting to know what Mr. Bledsoe is all about. Here is a link to Terry's Catawba County Technology Department Blog. (#4 in the series)
1) Can you give us some background and a history of yourself? (Where were you born? What is your educational background? Why did you come to or stay in Hickory? Tell us about your professional accomplishments.) - I was born in Catawba County and lived here all my life with the exception of some time I spent away in college. My family roots to Catawba County are very deep and can be traced back to land grants from the King of England. One side of my family comes from the Baker's for whom Baker's Mountain was named. I attended Appalachian State University and majored in Mathematics. I later received a Masters degree and an EDS degree from there. I started my career as a teacher at St. Stephens High School and after that moved to the technology field with Catawba County Schools. After 30 years with the school system, I retired as their Chief Technology Officer. From there I spent a year at IBM working on a statewide computer project. When the CIO position opened up for Catawba County, I applied for that job and was fortunate enough to get it.
Why have I stayed here? This is truly my home. The people are friendly and look out for each other. It is a good place to raise a family. The scenery is beautiful, especially my view of Baker's Mountain. And the climate changes just enough to be interesting. While I love to travel and visit other places, it is always good to come back home.
2) Tell us about the accomplishments you are proudest of achieving in your life? Something besides having a family or raising children. We all recognize that those are common goals that we all aspire to. What’s the most exciting thing you saw/did/experienced/were a part of in your personal life? In your professional life? Hopefully during my career, I have had an impact on the technology in our schools and in our county. Catawba County has always been viewed as a leader and a progressive county and I have been given the opportunity to implement many innovative technology programs in our schools that are considered common place today. In my current role I have also been given the same opportunity to make innovative changes. These changes provide better services for our citizens and that is what it is all about.
In my personal life I will have to divert back to family and grandkids. Anyone who has grandkids will know that they are a blessing that keeps you in constant amazement. In addition to the grandkids, my daughter and her husband own Court Street Grille in Lincolnton. They give me a chance to cook and entertain which is a real enjoyable change from my normal technical world. We are also working to preserve and bring back the family farm. While this is really hard work, the results are very rewarding.
The most exciting thing in my professional life is the constantly changing technology. Some people complain about how fast it is changing. I can't wait to get my hands on the next innovation and figure out how we can take advantage of it.
3) If I were to ask people that know you to describe you what would they say? Hopefully they would say honest, creative, innovative and someone with integrity.
4) How much bearing do the opinions of the people around you have on your decisions? I listen to people and value their opinions but all decisions have to come down to one question, "Is it the best solution for all involved?"
5) Can you tell us of a professional mistake that you have made that may have had an impact on who you are today? Does it still bother you? Can you share with us how you came to grips with that error? There has not been a professional mistake that is still impacting me today. My philosophy has always been while everyone makes mistakes, we need to study them and learn from them and emerge with a better product or solutions. In every project, successful or not, little or small, we need to study what we did right and what we did wrong and ask the question, "How can I do it better next time?"
6) If you were given enough money to tackle one project (think nearly unlimited) that you felt was important to the Hickory Area, what would that issue be? As a lot of you know, I am passionate about bringing better broadband connectivity to Catawba County. I would love to see fiber to the home across the county, especially to my home in Vale. However, if I had money to tackle one problem, I would use it to concentrate on the homeless, hungry and unemployed in our area. With all the empty building and excess food we have in this county, there is really no reason for anyone to be on the street and hungry.
7) Let’s say there is no money available for the foreseeable future. What one project (priority) would you push as part of your agenda that can be done with little or no money? I am involved with the County's Green Team. It is amazing how much impact each and every one of us can have on the environment if we just reduce, recycle, and reuse. Together, that impact increases exponentially. America must reduce our consumption of goods and oil. "Going Green" is the popular term that is a start in that direction. We can start this minute with no money invested at all.
8) What is your overall philosophy of the development of this area? Where would you like to see us in 5 years? 10 years? 20 years? I think Catawba County needs to look very hard at the lessons that we have learned in the past 10 years and begin to create an economy that is more resilient and able to adapt quickly to the constant world of change that we live in. This will not be easy but it must be done. We need to rethink literally everything, from education to government, from services to infrastructure. We should be able to support a creative society that could work or provide services anywhere in the world while still living here. We need to educate our children so that they have the skills to constantly learn and adapt. We need to provide our citizens with opportunities to acquire skills for the workforce that will continually change throughout their lifetime. We need to realize that the economy and the jobs of the 90's will not return and concentrate on the opportunities of the future.
9) If you could define your Personal Legacy what would you like it to be? What would you like to be remembered for? As I stated earlier, I love technology and the constantly changing opportunities that it offers us. I hope that I have used that passion to improve our schools and our county. I hope that I have made things a little better for everyone that lives here.
10) How do you define Leadership? I believe that leadership is defined by one's ability to help the ones around you achieve to their highest level. I believe that people should be constantly learning, creating, and seeking to improve. It is my job as a leader to encourage and support them.
1) Can you give us some background and a history of yourself? (Where were you born? What is your educational background? Why did you come to or stay in Hickory? Tell us about your professional accomplishments.) - I was born in Catawba County and lived here all my life with the exception of some time I spent away in college. My family roots to Catawba County are very deep and can be traced back to land grants from the King of England. One side of my family comes from the Baker's for whom Baker's Mountain was named. I attended Appalachian State University and majored in Mathematics. I later received a Masters degree and an EDS degree from there. I started my career as a teacher at St. Stephens High School and after that moved to the technology field with Catawba County Schools. After 30 years with the school system, I retired as their Chief Technology Officer. From there I spent a year at IBM working on a statewide computer project. When the CIO position opened up for Catawba County, I applied for that job and was fortunate enough to get it.
Why have I stayed here? This is truly my home. The people are friendly and look out for each other. It is a good place to raise a family. The scenery is beautiful, especially my view of Baker's Mountain. And the climate changes just enough to be interesting. While I love to travel and visit other places, it is always good to come back home.
2) Tell us about the accomplishments you are proudest of achieving in your life? Something besides having a family or raising children. We all recognize that those are common goals that we all aspire to. What’s the most exciting thing you saw/did/experienced/were a part of in your personal life? In your professional life? Hopefully during my career, I have had an impact on the technology in our schools and in our county. Catawba County has always been viewed as a leader and a progressive county and I have been given the opportunity to implement many innovative technology programs in our schools that are considered common place today. In my current role I have also been given the same opportunity to make innovative changes. These changes provide better services for our citizens and that is what it is all about.
In my personal life I will have to divert back to family and grandkids. Anyone who has grandkids will know that they are a blessing that keeps you in constant amazement. In addition to the grandkids, my daughter and her husband own Court Street Grille in Lincolnton. They give me a chance to cook and entertain which is a real enjoyable change from my normal technical world. We are also working to preserve and bring back the family farm. While this is really hard work, the results are very rewarding.
The most exciting thing in my professional life is the constantly changing technology. Some people complain about how fast it is changing. I can't wait to get my hands on the next innovation and figure out how we can take advantage of it.
3) If I were to ask people that know you to describe you what would they say? Hopefully they would say honest, creative, innovative and someone with integrity.
4) How much bearing do the opinions of the people around you have on your decisions? I listen to people and value their opinions but all decisions have to come down to one question, "Is it the best solution for all involved?"
5) Can you tell us of a professional mistake that you have made that may have had an impact on who you are today? Does it still bother you? Can you share with us how you came to grips with that error? There has not been a professional mistake that is still impacting me today. My philosophy has always been while everyone makes mistakes, we need to study them and learn from them and emerge with a better product or solutions. In every project, successful or not, little or small, we need to study what we did right and what we did wrong and ask the question, "How can I do it better next time?"
6) If you were given enough money to tackle one project (think nearly unlimited) that you felt was important to the Hickory Area, what would that issue be? As a lot of you know, I am passionate about bringing better broadband connectivity to Catawba County. I would love to see fiber to the home across the county, especially to my home in Vale. However, if I had money to tackle one problem, I would use it to concentrate on the homeless, hungry and unemployed in our area. With all the empty building and excess food we have in this county, there is really no reason for anyone to be on the street and hungry.
7) Let’s say there is no money available for the foreseeable future. What one project (priority) would you push as part of your agenda that can be done with little or no money? I am involved with the County's Green Team. It is amazing how much impact each and every one of us can have on the environment if we just reduce, recycle, and reuse. Together, that impact increases exponentially. America must reduce our consumption of goods and oil. "Going Green" is the popular term that is a start in that direction. We can start this minute with no money invested at all.
8) What is your overall philosophy of the development of this area? Where would you like to see us in 5 years? 10 years? 20 years? I think Catawba County needs to look very hard at the lessons that we have learned in the past 10 years and begin to create an economy that is more resilient and able to adapt quickly to the constant world of change that we live in. This will not be easy but it must be done. We need to rethink literally everything, from education to government, from services to infrastructure. We should be able to support a creative society that could work or provide services anywhere in the world while still living here. We need to educate our children so that they have the skills to constantly learn and adapt. We need to provide our citizens with opportunities to acquire skills for the workforce that will continually change throughout their lifetime. We need to realize that the economy and the jobs of the 90's will not return and concentrate on the opportunities of the future.
9) If you could define your Personal Legacy what would you like it to be? What would you like to be remembered for? As I stated earlier, I love technology and the constantly changing opportunities that it offers us. I hope that I have used that passion to improve our schools and our county. I hope that I have made things a little better for everyone that lives here.
10) How do you define Leadership? I believe that leadership is defined by one's ability to help the ones around you achieve to their highest level. I believe that people should be constantly learning, creating, and seeking to improve. It is my job as a leader to encourage and support them.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Some Good News about Unemployment in Catawba County
The Numbers from the St. Louis Federal Reserve were released last night and they show improvement over the last month. (March to April's numbers).
Spreadsheet on Catawba County Unemployment
Catawba County's unemployment rate fell from 15.6% to 15%, the actual number of people signed up decreased from 11,995 people to 11,566 people. The previous month's workforce numbers increased from 76,892 people to 77,107 people. I am thankful and that is a good sign that we are seeing a positive movement in job growth in this community.
It was nice that the information was released about our county's possible landing of Apple's Server farm. While we aren't guaranteed to land Apple, it feels good when we are brought into the loop of what our Economic Development Corporation is pursuing. It certainly lifts the spirits to know that something is going on. We do need to move towards more innovative industries in this community. While Apple will only produce 50 jobs in the beginning, these types of high tech industries are exactly what we need and we need to get a foothold in that door. Besides, the building of that $1 billion plant and its infrastructure will produce a lot of jobs.
While the state doesn't collect $4.2 million in taxes annually (that they wouldn't get anyway, if Apple didn't come here). This enhances our big picture. High Speed fiber-optic wire is going to be laid to that plant. Higher than 100mb/sec. Google already has a pipeline. If those two pipelines are connected and networked, then this area will be a high speed broadband zone. As Terry Bledsoe (Catawba County's IT Director) pointed out, Wilson, NC already has 100mb/sec to businesses and 10mb/sec to the home. We need to get onboard.
Folks, that is what we need going into the future. That is the minimum speed we need (according to experts), moving forward to 2012. We can either move forward or continue drifting in this prideful malaise, that the area has been in for 10 years. This is one thing that this area can grab a hold of and embrace. We must invest in this infrastructure. It would definitely be something that our area could get ahead of the curve on. This is a "Big Picture" issue and company's like Google and Apple are a "Glass Slipper" fit into this area's Economic Equation.
Spreadsheet on Catawba County Unemployment
Catawba County's unemployment rate fell from 15.6% to 15%, the actual number of people signed up decreased from 11,995 people to 11,566 people. The previous month's workforce numbers increased from 76,892 people to 77,107 people. I am thankful and that is a good sign that we are seeing a positive movement in job growth in this community.
It was nice that the information was released about our county's possible landing of Apple's Server farm. While we aren't guaranteed to land Apple, it feels good when we are brought into the loop of what our Economic Development Corporation is pursuing. It certainly lifts the spirits to know that something is going on. We do need to move towards more innovative industries in this community. While Apple will only produce 50 jobs in the beginning, these types of high tech industries are exactly what we need and we need to get a foothold in that door. Besides, the building of that $1 billion plant and its infrastructure will produce a lot of jobs.
While the state doesn't collect $4.2 million in taxes annually (that they wouldn't get anyway, if Apple didn't come here). This enhances our big picture. High Speed fiber-optic wire is going to be laid to that plant. Higher than 100mb/sec. Google already has a pipeline. If those two pipelines are connected and networked, then this area will be a high speed broadband zone. As Terry Bledsoe (Catawba County's IT Director) pointed out, Wilson, NC already has 100mb/sec to businesses and 10mb/sec to the home. We need to get onboard.
Folks, that is what we need going into the future. That is the minimum speed we need (according to experts), moving forward to 2012. We can either move forward or continue drifting in this prideful malaise, that the area has been in for 10 years. This is one thing that this area can grab a hold of and embrace. We must invest in this infrastructure. It would definitely be something that our area could get ahead of the curve on. This is a "Big Picture" issue and company's like Google and Apple are a "Glass Slipper" fit into this area's Economic Equation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)