Focus on better economic climateTransportation, education on business leaders' list By Allyson Bird (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Business leaders proposed everything from student loan repayments to public rail transportation to focusing on pre-school education as ways to improve the local economic climate. About 70 members of the business community gathered Wednesday for an annual "grassroots" meeting at the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce. The meeting included officials from several chambers, including Orangeburg and Colleton counties, and was one of nine the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce plans to hold across the state to hone its new legislative agenda, said Ron Jones, chairman of the Charleston Metro Chamber's public policy committee. Workforce development and education received the most commentary. While one attendee suggested using people on probation to meet labor demand, another from a staffing agency said there aren't enough jobs to go around as it is. Jason Cronen, a College of Charleston graduate and local business owner, said dozens, if not hundreds, of his former classmates have left South Carolina for states with more opportunities for young people. "The cost of living has gone up, and the wage has not," he said. Cronen suggested student loan reimbursement and incentives for businesses run by young women. He also recommended stipends for people considering jobs in areas that need workers. Meg Howle, vice president of advancement at Trident Technical College, said that while the state faces a nursing shortage, Trident has been waiting since 2002 for funds for a new nursing, math and science building. "We are inundated with people who want to be health care workers, and we do not have the space to train them," Howle said. Others stressed the importance of education for 4-year-olds and veteran preference in the labor force. Janet Segal, a board member of Planned Parenthood Health Systems Inc., pointed out that one-third of high school dropouts are pregnant girls. "So much of what you're talking about and the need for a better work force can be addressed by going back and talking to our kids about sexuality and what they need to do to protect themselves," she said. The discussions also touched on familiar concerns. Business leaders proposed expanding public transportation and taking a closer look at rail, perhaps using a European city as a model. Other issues the state chamber will take to the General Assembly include ensuring that nuclear and coal-fired power plants are built; protecting women who breast feed in the workplace; and restoring incentives for the film industry to their more generous original levels. Catherine Dority with the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau stressed the need for destination-specific marketing and protecting the accommodations tax. Speaking of tourism, she said, "We want to be the industry that helps everyone else, to get the nursing building, to fund infrastructure." |
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Comments
This article has 5 comment(s)
Posted by wjhamilton3 on August 28, 2008 at 11:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Businesses in Mt. Pleasant tell me they can't get the workers they need, but these are jobs which don't pay enough to cover the cost of living in the area and the commute.
The cost of living (including housing) has to go down or wages have to go up. Transit will help with the cost of living by helping some households function without a car or with only one car. At the moment, CARTA is running all the busses it can afford to run, many full. There are some modest plans for system expansion, but that will mostly be adding extra capacity to the popular express lines already operating.
I just don't believe low paying tourism jobs will support the retention of the skilled labor base our area needs to compete. We're offering someone 30 years old in Charleston County a house which either costs four hundred thousand dollars or is in such a bad area or so poorly built that it will fall apart in ten years. A decent house in a good neighborhood with good schools costs more than most 30 year old residents here can afford. If they're going to have kids, they probably can't make it work here. Houses are more affordable inland, but frankly, if you are going to live in Summerville, why not move to Columbia and make 25% more.
The last time I checked, per capita income in Columbia was $2,000.00 a year more than Charleston, thats 8k for a family of four and housing cost less.
There are a thousand houses on the market in Mt. Pleasant, so something is going to have to give. The gravy train of rich retired people with severance packages and pensions in the North stopped arriving a while ago.
Posted by wloveless on August 28, 2008 at 12:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is not rocket science (though that is what we need). Jobs making beds in hotels and serving food are not good jobs. They should not be the focus of economic growth. It seems every year the same meeting happens with the same results. People from the chamber show up and say hey we need this, because it supports their own agendas. The jobs in the service indisty will grow along with any sustained economic growth, we dont need to focus in these areas. Tourism is more of a tax revenue generator than a job incubator. The film industry wants tax incentives...we took them away. Building a comprehensive light rail system would create hundreds of local jobs and support the local steel and manufacturing businesses that are both struggling. However to ensure long term economic growth, big business needs to be inticed to the area. We simply can not support their needs! Where is the graduate level research institution to support what they need? The Lowcountry grad center tries, but really that is a least effort attempt. C of C and the Citadel have decent marks, for education, but outside of MUSC, there is not much in the way of investment dollars coming into the area, because they focus on doing drug studies instead of Bio-Pharma and Genetic research. Where is the Computer Sciences? Engineering? Rocket Science? These are the industries with the good paying jobs. Look at any other major metor area in the country, and see what is the driving force for their city's economy. It is not tourism. It is not drug studies. It is science and engineering. SPAWAR, as an example, is an engineering instiution, but can't find local talent. 100 grads from the Citadel each year in engineering is not enough to generate significant growth. The Graduate and Doctoral programs are completely missing. Charleston NEEDS a Graduate level Engineering and Sciences University. You will not see any sustained growth until that happens. My suggestion, stop waiting for our inept state politicians to fund a public school, and start courting private industry. Maybe Microsoft, Google, and others would be interested in starting a private university here, focused in computer sciences and engineering, where they could grow their own talent, focused on their needs. This would spur an economic boom in the region like never before. Charleston needs to establish itself in these future economies or suffer the same fate it did when the rice fields dried up. No amount of increase in northerners touring houses is going to change our economy. It is time to start thinking outside the box, and our own personal business objectives!
Posted by guidedbystewart on August 28, 2008 at 12:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Great post as usual wjhamilton3!
Posted by Canadian_THGLIFE on August 28, 2008 at 2:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Before we blame this fully on the cost of living issue, lets not forget that Charleston doesn't exactly welcome transplants, skilled or otherwise, with open arms. We complain that businesses don't want to come to the area but we also complain about the people who run those companies moving here. What businessman wants to go to an area that openly precludes them from networking opportunities, regardless of the tax benefits? This is why Northerners only come here after they have made their millions and don't care about the economic opportunities.
Im in grad school at the Citadel now, and it's openly discussed that the best career path for non-Charlestonians is to leave for a job and then retire here. We should be courting all future business owners and entrepreneurs, regardless of their accent. There is not sufficient good ol' boy talent (48th out of 50...) to sustain a city of Charleston's size. The world is progressing, and Charleston is screaming about being left behind but not willing to do anything about it.
Posted by jpk on August 29, 2008 at 11:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I have considered/researched starting a 3pl in the area for several years. The port is an incredible asset with a huge upside potential. However, there remains the issue of inclusion - why invest and start a large scale operation in this area when one consistently overhears unwelcoming remarks from locals while visiting and reads incredibly shallow comments about those willing and wanting to join the community. I've turned my attention to the Rock Hill and Grand Strand areas. I'd rather pay the addition transportation cost than have my family and my partners treated like second class citizens. Great geography but the leaders and locals need a dose of practical education and a broader worldly view. Maybe a bit less arrogance and a bit more travel would help.