Gov. Perdue says globalization hits smaller towns hard

By High Point Enterprise
News & Records

September 29, 2011

THOMASVILLE (MCT) — Luring jobs and obtaining resources for economic development were among the hot topics on the minds of area city officials as they brought their concerns directly to the governor on Wednesday.

Gov. Beverly Perdue visited Davidson County Community College on Wednesday for the Forum on Small Town Competitiveness, an opportunity to hear what small-town city officials see as their main needs and concerns.

Perdue addressed ways to meet the economic and developmental needs that plague most of North Carolina's small towns and cities.

"Since January 2009, more than 80,000 jobs have pledged to come to North Carolina with more than $16 billion in investments," Perdue said. "While we might think that is great data, the truth of the matter is that North Carolina continues to have an unacceptably high unemployment rate. The challenges we face are structural. We have this huge piece of our work force that has difficulty in finding good employment. The work that you do in your community to build those opportunities across rural North Carolina becomes even more critical. We want the whole state to thrive."

Perdue went on to say that most of the unemployment issues center around globalization.

"Globalization has left many of our factories empty, and we can say that they are not coming back in the form that we knew them. Our numbers do continue to grow, and the newcomers bring a different skill set. When we lose our industries and economic base in small towns, those small towns lose their tax base. We see the challenges that you face. The rural center will help us with these problems."

The forum, moderated by Billy Ray Hall, president of the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center, drew a large crowd, many with questions or statements for the governor. The center serves as a resource to help North Carolina's rural towns promote and foster economic development.

Daune Gardner, mayor of the town of Waxhaw, was eager to ask how her town could be proactive in planning so it doesn't become one of the economically distressed communities.

"Waxhaw is in a unique position. We are the fastest-growing municipality and county in the state," Gardner said. "Now we have over 91 percent out-migration for jobs in the county, and with our growth projections taking us to 35,000 people, we have a problem as in what we are going to look like. What I wanted to know was what kind of resources are available for a community like ours to be proactive in planning and directing our growth?"