Local Stimulus Effects
ByChris Dixon, candidate for State Senate District 48, highlights this good economic news:
“The Asheville Tribune” Touts Benefits of Federal, State, and Local Economic Stimulus
As the Democratic candidate for State Senate District 48 (Buncombe, Henderson, and Polk counties), I have made local job creation my #1 campaign issue. It was the loss of the Volvo plant in Arden in December of 2009 that spurred me to run. So, I was heartened to see the following headline in The Asheville Tribune (Aug. 26-Sept. 1, 2010): “Fletcher company to offer 100 new jobs in expansion plan.”
This is surely good news for a town in the heart of my district, and the page 3 article gives plenty of encouraging details. All told, brake manufacturer Continental Teves will add 388 jobs in “three to four years,” doubling the plant’s workforce to 625 workers. This will more than replace the 250 jobs shed by Volvo—mostly to unionized plants in Pennsylvania.
However, the most interesting commentary in the article follows:
(Kathryn) Blackwell (corporate spokesperson in Auburn Hills, MI) said brake-making has perked up since deciding a year ago to expand the Fletcher facility. “Then we had two major customers (G.M., Chrysler) coming out of bankruptcy, with no sign of light at the end of the tunnel. But at this point, we’re seeing volumes picking up considerably—beyond most experts’ analysis.”
North American auto production is 25 percent above industry projections this year, Blackwell said, with Detroit’s Big Three needing brakes and other parts. “This is the first good news we’ve had in over two years.”
The article goes on to mention that the Fletcher expansion beat out plants in Europe and Mexico thanks to what Blackwell describes as “Fletcher and Henderson County tax incentives and a state grant of up to $2.2 million.”
Hmmm. Let’s see. GM and Chrysler are still in business thanks to a federal intervention. The Wall Street Journal’s Detroit bureau chief declared, “…President Obama’s auto industry initiatives are working and the president is entitled to take a bow, no matter how much that might pain conservatives.” Henderson County’s all-Republican board of county commissioners conspired with the Fletcher town council and the Democratic administration of Gov. Bev Perdue to bestow various economic incentives upon Continental Teves.
How long before we see a Tea Party protest at the plant gate? Surely, they won’t sit idly by as socialism and economic bipartisanship (the horror!) gain a foothold in Fletcher.
This is what we need more of–a lot more!
WSJ link: http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748703999304575399670446387614.html
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Chris Dixon for NC SenatePO Box 1913Skyland, NC 28776(828) 290-9710“Let’s send a NEW voice to Raleigh.”
More of that, please.
5 Comments
September 1st, 2010 at 3:32 pm
What about a stimulus for small businesses which, after all, account for about 75% of new hires? The Federal stimulus and TARP favored a few shovel-ready projects that contribute little to generating new jobs or building an economy for the future, and/or served to reward corporations, banks and industries largely responsible for the mess were in. Bonuses and golden parachutes for failed executives is not my idea of wise use of taxpayer’s stimulus.
As Drew Weston (previously linked) observed:
“The “Obama Doctrine” should have been that Americans who want to work and have the ability to contribute to our productivity as a nation should have the right to work, and that if the private sector can’t meet the demand for jobs, we have plenty of roads and bridges to fix, new energy sources to develop and manufacture, and schools to build and renovate so our kids and workers returning for training can compete in the 21st century global economy.
“We don’t have a shortage of work ethic in this country, we have a shortage of work.”
The administration opted for an alternative doctrine, which Larry Summers enunciated on This Week several months ago: that unemployment is going to remain high for the foreseeable future and eventually come down — as if there’s nothing we can do about it — and that they will push here and there for small symbolic measures whose symbolism tends to escape people who are out of work.
It’s hard to be excited by symbolism when your children are hungry or the bank is repossessing your home — although you didn’t do anything to deserve it — while the people who did are once again making out like bandits.”
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September 1st, 2010 at 5:26 pm
@Diogenes: To your question and remarks.
What about a stimulus for small businesses which, after all, account for about 75% of new hires?
The national Democrats are working on lending for small business. Our state’s most recent budget included tens of millions of dollars in tax incentives and loans for small businesses. My opponent and all 19 of his GOP colleagues voted against it.
The Federal stimulus and TARP favored…
…a few shovel-ready projects that contribute little to generating new jobs or building an economy for the future,
Don’t forget about broadband, health IT, and the energy smart grid.
…and/or served to reward corporations, banks and industries largely responsible for the mess were in. Bonuses and golden parachutes for failed executives is not my idea of wise use of taxpayer’s stimulus.
True. But, I’m talking about the rescue of GM and Chrysler, which are instances of real stimulus for working Americans with more than symbolic impact right here in OUR community. Sure, it was unfair that the ibanks got away with economic murder while the automakers had to supplicate before Congress and the White House. We knew Obama was a member of the Hamilton Project before he even ran for President. So, it was no surprise to me when he appointed the likes of Geithner and Summers to his administration. But, I’m still glad for what’s worked at the federal level and know we can do more locally.
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September 1st, 2010 at 6:35 pm
The rich get richer.
CEOs of corporations that slashed the most jobs between November 2008 and April 2010 took home 42 percent more in compensation than the average CEO of a S&P 500 firm. 36 of the 50 layoff leaders announced their mass layoffs at a time of positive earnings reports, suggesting a trend of squeezing workers to boost profits and maintain high CEO pay.
http://www.ips-dc.org/
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September 1st, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Nice article until you dove into fantasyland by bashing the tea party for what they MIGHT do!!!! If there is no protest at the plant gate, will you apologize, or at least write another article that says, “Wow, maybe people can’t be shoe-horned into boxes even though that’s the way the two corporate parties like us to play”?
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September 1st, 2010 at 6:56 pm
Addendum:
Tom, you’re a thoughtful guy with the right priorities, but your brainwashing does tend to show through now and again…
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