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Charlotte economy losing jobs, seeking information from citizens on financial plans, move away from Charlotte for job, stay in Charlotte, starting a new business, going back to school
We all need to be aware that Charlotte is just now starting to feel the effects of what the rest of the country has been feeling all year. We are so lucky ...we still have businesses opening...still have kids going to nice schools...still are holding on. We are much better off here than many people are around the country...lets all not keep hurting our city by TRYING to make it sound bad. It is much better here than anyplace else. Lets all try to stay positive and get throught these times together and make our city what we want it to be.
We would be much better off than the rest of the country except for one major factor: the banks. We are getting ready to see thousands - yes, THOUSANDS - of people get laid off.
And, starting in the 90s, our furniture and textile industries went on a downslide due to outsourcing and imports. So we lost thousands of jobs prior to this recession.
So what may seem to be such a good situation . . . is somewhat an illusion.
Will Charlotte cease to exist? HECK NO. We will rebound. For one thing, just think about the capable, trained workforce we have here. I am sure that other businesses are considering that right now. Corporations are opportunistic! They must be to survive! And I am sure there are corporations not just here in the USA - but internationally - who are fully aware of our situation here in CLT and they are considering moving here to take advantage of available commercial square footage - plus the added bonus of a willing and able workforce.
But the party's over, friends! Buying a house and selling it 1.5 years later and making a pot o' cash . . . buying a $400,000 home with a small downpayment and no job . . . those days are over!!!
LOL!!! Well . . . let's just say . . . Charlotte has been blessed with some wonderful newcomers from NJ . . . and they have managed to not only fit in very well here, but they have also brought a lot of good things with them, wh/ I find a nice addition to this region. I don't think they fit the Bon Jovi image - or the Sopranos, for that matter!!!
LOL!!! Well . . . let's just say . . . Charlotte has been blessed with some wonderful newcomers from NJ . . . and they have managed to not only fit in very well here, but they have also brought a lot of good things with them, wh/ I find a nice addition to this region. I don't think they fit the Bon Jovi image - or the Sopranos, for that matter!!!
I haven't read this entire thread because I really don't have the time to go through all the posts. But, in the event that nobody has posted this story from The Atlantic by Richard Florida, here is the link: How the Crash Will Reshape America - The Atlantic (March 2009) This story doesn't paint a bleak picture for Charlotte in the long term. In fact, if you read the entire story, you'll see that he's pretty positive on Charlotte and the Raleigh area.
To quote the 13th colonists, "Its happened before and it will happen again".
In the late 70s and early 80s before there were big banks in the skyline, Charlotte was in pretty bad shape job wise. I suspect we will eclipse those numbers soon simply because of the growth in population, but things did turn around. A lot of young people don't remember those days, but we had double digit unemployment, double digit interest rates AND double digit inflation. Toss in a little Arab oil embargo to boot and we had a fine time of things. But then also had leaders that felt recovery was best left to business and not to the government. They took the goverment out of the equation and made it easier for businesses to grow and invest. Once that happened, jobs came back and the recovery got going until...well...late last year. We don't have leaders like that that now and that makes me really very nervous. There's no way we can spend our way out of this mess without mortaging the future generations. I worry more for the future of my kids than I do for my own.
I haven't read this entire thread because I really don't have the time to go through all the posts. But, in the event that nobody has posted this story from The Atlantic by Richard Florida, here is the link: How the Crash Will Reshape America - The Atlantic (March 2009) This story doesn't paint a bleak picture for Charlotte in the long term. In fact, if you read the entire story, you'll see that he's pretty positive on Charlotte and the Raleigh area.
Thanks for posting that.
Boy, reading some of these posts I was beginning to think I was in the Rhode Island forum lol.
To quote the 13th colonists, "Its happened before and it will happen again".
In the late 70s and early 80s before there were big banks in the skyline, Charlotte was in pretty bad shape job wise. I suspect we will eclipse those numbers soon simply because of the growth in population, but things did turn around. A lot of young people don't remember those days, but we had double digit unemployment, double digit interest rates AND double digit inflation. Toss in a little Arab oil embargo to boot and we had a fine time of things. But then also had leaders that felt recovery was best left to business and not to the government. They took the goverment out of the equation and made it easier for businesses to grow and invest. Once that happened, jobs came back and the recovery got going until...well...late last year. We don't have leaders like that that now and that makes me really very nervous. There's no way we can spend our way out of this mess without mortaging the future generations. I worry more for the future of my kids than I do for my own.
One could make the argument pretty strongly that reducing government regulation of the financial sector put us in this big mess in the first place. So, let's remember that we need both a strong and effective government and strong and effective business. I think it's too simplistic to think that one can exist without the other in our complex, global economy.
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