Long day of economic development study in Chapel Hill today. We had a couple of good speakers today including Robert Pittman from Lockwood Green consulting, but the highlight of the day was the speaker we had for dinner at the Friday Center tonight. Boy was he tasty! ;-)
No, really, we heard a great speech from Mac Holliday tonight. The statistics of manufacturing job losses in the South over the past 3 years are overwhelming....but put in context with the decline in agriculture employment since 1940, and it gives me some hope that we can find a better, faster route to the promise of the "new economy" in the South. Tell ya what, it's complicated...so many factors to consider, but it is clear some things need to change and Education is the key. That's not going to be the answer for everyone though. I am convinced that there will always be a certain percentage (15,20,25?) of people who will not strive to get an education, and I don't think there are enough jobs at McDonalds for all of them....plus, I believe we as a nation need to have the ability to produce goods. Make things. This is the backbone of capitalism and they can't all have service jobs. What about these people....these good people, our neighbors, our countrymen? We need some good manufacturing jobs.
The course is giving me a lot to think about, so pardon the ramble.....I've basically been in class for 12 hours straight!