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Between the two of them, before the bust, BofA and Wachovia employed about 32K-33K in Charlotte. Certainly large but they have been spared a lot of layoffs mainly due to the fact the federal goverment has handed them $75B to stay in business. (and they are indirectly paying billions more through AIG) I would say that in comparison to other sectors, banking has been relatively stable though there have been "some" layoffs. It's certainly not in the range that would have a huge effect on the local unemployment rate. TARP has saved a huge numbers of jobs in this city and the goverment has given incentives to GMAC to hire more.
All in all, Charlotte has become one of the biggest beneficiaries of the largest corporate social welfare system in this country's history. That is in the federal goverment laying out cash to keep Charlotte businesses from going bankrupt.
People are mainly going jobless in Charlotte because manufacturing is being sent into the toilet (huge amount of auto related manufacturing here), the distribution sector has slowed down hugely, and there there endless numbers of small retail shops and small restaurants closing. These are all the people not being bailed out by the government.
When the people get angry enough at the politicians for continuing to bend over for the bankers, who suck wealth out of this economy, you will see real job carnage in Charlotte.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,698,410 times
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Did no one read Ani's post?
It's not about Raleigh, or Detroit or banking. The entire country is in the worst recession since The Great Depression. There are loads of problems, some more local to one area of the country than the other. Right now there are some pockets of jobs. They might or might not be there next year.
Someone wrote an article spouting off a comparison of Charlotte & Raleigh. She wrote the article for money. The list of where the young people are headed off to is good for bird cages. Wherever some jobs crop up is where they will go, for now. This is not etched in stone for all eternity. It won't make or break any metro area.
It's getting hard to find the Depression kids now. Their days are numbered. So, if you have never heard about The Depression, find a baby boomer. We heard all about it from parents & grandparents.
This country made it through The Depression & will make it through this.
11% voter turnout does not equal mass outrage. So yeah, I think what you stated is a gross mischaracterization. I'll not bother with your other petty comments. Those are all yours. I think you get it.
Neighborhood school advocates now have a five to four advantage on the Wake board, with the new members getting ready to serve four year terms, and the other person not up for re-election until 2011, and in a far suburban district at that. So yeah, nothing's going to change, all's good in the hood (sarcastic voice).
That was an excellent post. I am one of these young people that Tara is speaking about in her article. As much as I try to remain neutral about people moving to Charlotte and the comparison between Raleigh, after living in both areas I have to say that the RTP area beats Charlotte hands down, especially for young people. The biggest reason is that everyone on this board wants to just consider Raleigh versus Charlotte, and if we did this Charlotte should win everytime. However, you cannot view the RTP area as just Raleigh when Durham and Chapel Hill are 15-20 minutes away. The combination of universities, state jobs, nightlife, and jobs will help the RTP continue to blossom. Let's hope Charlotte can keep up.
The article cited by Lumbollo article highlights one of the major reasons why I hopefully will not have to move back to Charlotte. As much as I would like Charlotte to become a big city, the writing is on the wall that while it may still remain decently viable for folks to squeeze out a living the politicians did a horrible job attracting and diversifying the business sectors. I want to see what is going to happen when Ken Lewis jumps ship at BOA? Will BOA stay in Charlotte or move to New York?
Taheelhombre:
"Charlotte needs to find a way to attract the Creative Class/Cultural Elite, which is not an easy task. NASCAR, religious conservatism, and social conservatism are not gonna lure hip, young, or well-educated people nor the type of employers that hire them."
This a very important insight. I wouldn't neccessarily call us the cultural elite; however, most of us will demand more than viewing a spectacle of public drunkeness and the smell of burning rubber. I think that Charlotte will continue to have problems keeping and attracting young, well-educated people when it sells itself as the home of NASCAR Hall of Fame and such. These things aren't really what most of us are into. I hear so much talk about Charlotte comparing itself to cities like Portland and Denver. I wonder if anyone from Charlotte City Council has actually visited these cities, because Charlotte has hardly done anything to be considered on the level of these places. I don't think we all want to be spoiled, Starbucks-drinking beatniks, but it is amazing how much Charlotte with all its supposed progressive ideas (that I have yet to see) continually prides itself on low-brow entertainment (besides Blumenthal and the outdated Mint Museum), a useless bus-rail line transportation infrastructure, and abundant religious and social conservatism everywhere. It is hard to believe that bankers constructed a city so plagued by little to no employment of true fiscally responsible conservativism or business-driven interests when considering the presence of strong traditional values in all other aspects of North Carolina life. Then again when examining the current state of the market, maybe the bankers shouldn't have been in charge of putting together a city in the first place.
Last edited by 1WVULAWGRAD; 10-10-2009 at 03:43 AM..
That was an excellent post. I am one of these young people that Tara is speaking about in her article. As much as I try to remain neutral about people moving to Charlotte and the comparison between Raleigh, after living in both areas I have to say that the RTP area beats Charlotte hands down, especially for young people. The biggest reason is that everyone on this board wants to just consider Raleigh versus Charlotte, and if we did this Charlotte should win everytime. However, you cannot view the RTP area as just Raleigh when Durham and Chapel Hill are 15-20 minutes away. The combination of universities, state jobs, nightlife, and jobs will help the RTP continue to blossom. Let's hope Charlotte can keep up.
The article cited by Lumbollo article highlights one of the major reasons why I hopefully will not have to move back to Charlotte. As much as I would like Charlotte to become a big city, the writing is on the wall that while it may still remain decently viable for folks to squeeze out a living the politicians did a horrible job attracting and diversifying the business sectors. I want to see what is going to happen when Ken Lewis jumps ship at BOA? Will BOA stay in Charlotte or move to New York?
Taheelhombre:
"Charlotte needs to find a way to attract the Creative Class/Cultural Elite, which is not an easy task. NASCAR, religious conservatism, and social conservatism are not gonna lure hip, young, or well-educated people nor the type of employers that hire them."
This a very important insight. I wouldn't neccessarily call us the cultural elite; however, most of us will demand more than viewing a spectacle of public drunkeness and the smell of burning rubber. I think that Charlotte will continue to have problems keeping and attracting young, well-educated people when it sells itself as the home of NASCAR Hall of Fame and such. These things aren't really what most of us are into. I hear so much talk about Charlotte comparing itself to cities like Portland and Denver. I wonder if anyone from Charlotte City Council has actually visited these cities, because Charlotte has hardly done anything to be considered on the level of these places. I don't think we all want to be spoiled, Starbucks-drinking beatniks, but it is amazing how much Charlotte with all its supposed progressive ideas (that I have yet to see) continually prides itself on low-brow entertainment (besides Blumenthal and the outdated Mint Museum), a useless bus-rail line transportation infrastructure, and abundant religious and social conservatism everywhere. It is hard to believe that bankers constructed a city so plagued by little to no employment of true fiscally responsible conservativism or business-driven interests when considering the presence of strong traditional values in all other aspects of North Carolina life. Then again when examining the current state of the market, maybe the bankers shouldn't have been in charge of putting together a city in the first place.
You are obviously very young and unfamiliar with cities, states, the economy, and the world in general. Your article is gramatically good but it honestly seems as if it were written by a 14 year old. The information you present is based on personal bias and does nothing but annoy. Your negative opinions present no valuable information to those that are seeking valuable facts and information about the area. You should stick with the Raleigh forum. I agree that comparing Charlotte with Raleigh is Stupid. Why don't we just compare Charlotte with Statesville? Makes just as much sense. The general concensus is that Raleigh is a place that is number one in many areas but is small and definately not a hotbed for excitement. Citing a previous article by Lombollo does not give you any extra credibility.
I think that Charlotte will continue to have problems keeping and attracting young, well-educated people when it sells itself as the home of NASCAR Hall of Fame and such.
Oh really? I'll let CarolinaBlue explain this one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carolina Blue
Hold on everybody, blow the whistle, TIME OUT!!!! LOL.
Let’s clear up a few things….
1) Raleigh has a greater “percentage” of educated young people in its population (see graph below)
Percentage of College Graduates:
2) Charlotte has one of the highest “net migration rates” of the young and educated in the country, much higher than Raleigh’s. Charlotte ranked #2 in the last census study that was done. Charlotte’s Rate = 344.3, Raleigh’s Rate, including Durham = 49.2…
Raleigh attracts a lot of young educated folks, but it appears it’s a bit of a revolving door. Apparently most of Raleigh’s growth comes from the retention of an older, more stable family type population. I recall reading that the fact that Raleigh is such a college town area, also makes it’s population very transient. People who work in education, and R&D, and also students themselves tend to move a lot.
Top Metros for Net Migration of the Young and Educated:
And if you still aren't convinced, here is some more from CarolinaBlue.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carolina Blue
This is true. I’ve put those numbers below. And in the 2008 Forbes “Best Cities for Young Professionals” list, Charlotte actually outranked Raleigh (8th vs. 12th). And in 2007 Charlotte ranked 13th, while Raleigh was 17th. But no one ever mentions when we beat them in rankings, the Capital Conspiracy lives!!! (I’m being facetious).
NASCAR Hall of Fame and such. These things aren't really what most of us are into.
What a laugh!!! ROTFLMAO!!! You have NO CLUE what NASCAR is to Charlotte do you? NASCAR brings in MANY people from places like *gasp!* WEST VIRGINIA. To Charlotte (most folks living in Charlotte), NASCAR is all about SpeedStreet (an urban 4 day street festival in uptown Charlotte). Nascar is also in markets like Miami, Richmond, and Atlanta. Raleigh was simply "left out" (and for good reasons). Here is a video of Speed Street so you can understand the "spin" Charlotte puts on this sport.
This video above shows EXACTLY why the CIAA tournament left Raleigh for Charlotte. Charlotte is where its at!!! Don't force me to post some CIAA videos. Don't make me do it!!!
Last edited by urbancharlotte; 10-10-2009 at 09:30 AM..
Does 1wvulawgrad understand that we are talking about Charlotte, North Carolina, not Charlotte, Michigan or other place? Thanks urbancharlotte for providing substantial rebuttle to discredit those pessimists. NASCAR is only one thing that helped make Charlotte a prosperous. Second, I am glad that Raleigh is doing well. But, Raleigh is no Carlotte. Raleigh is to Charlotte as Charlotte is to Dallas. I have friends from London that have gone to Raleigh on business and considerate it boring. These same people love Charlotte, Charleston, and Savannah. I do remember that Barney Fife (Andy's deputy) used to go to Raleigh for meetings and found places that are open at night.
That was an excellent post. I am one of these young people that Tara is speaking about in her article. As much as I try to remain neutral about people moving to Charlotte and the comparison between Raleigh, after living in both areas I have to say that the RTP area beats Charlotte hands down, especially for young people. The biggest reason is that everyone on this board wants to just consider Raleigh versus Charlotte, and if we did this Charlotte should win everytime. However, you cannot view the RTP area as just Raleigh when Durham and Chapel Hill are 15-20 minutes away. The combination of universities, state jobs, nightlife, and jobs will help the RTP continue to blossom. Let's hope Charlotte can keep up.
The article cited by Lumbollo article highlights one of the major reasons why I hopefully will not have to move back to Charlotte. As much as I would like Charlotte to become a big city, the writing is on the wall that while it may still remain decently viable for folks to squeeze out a living the politicians did a horrible job attracting and diversifying the business sectors. I want to see what is going to happen when Ken Lewis jumps ship at BOA? Will BOA stay in Charlotte or move to New York?
Taheelhombre:
"Charlotte needs to find a way to attract the Creative Class/Cultural Elite, which is not an easy task. NASCAR, religious conservatism, and social conservatism are not gonna lure hip, young, or well-educated people nor the type of employers that hire them."
This a very important insight. I wouldn't neccessarily call us the cultural elite; however, most of us will demand more than viewing a spectacle of public drunkeness and the smell of burning rubber. I think that Charlotte will continue to have problems keeping and attracting young, well-educated people when it sells itself as the home of NASCAR Hall of Fame and such. These things aren't really what most of us are into. I hear so much talk about Charlotte comparing itself to cities like Portland and Denver. I wonder if anyone from Charlotte City Council has actually visited these cities, because Charlotte has hardly done anything to be considered on the level of these places. I don't think we all want to be spoiled, Starbucks-drinking beatniks, but it is amazing how much Charlotte with all its supposed progressive ideas (that I have yet to see) continually prides itself on low-brow entertainment (besides Blumenthal and the outdated Mint Museum), a useless bus-rail line transportation infrastructure, and abundant religious and social conservatism everywhere. It is hard to believe that bankers constructed a city so plagued by little to no employment of true fiscally responsible conservativism or business-driven interests when considering the presence of strong traditional values in all other aspects of North Carolina life. Then again when examining the current state of the market, maybe the bankers shouldn't have been in charge of putting together a city in the first place.
urbancharlotte beat me to it, because I was also going to say, you might want to check your facts. That WSJ article was simply a "prediction", and I would say wishful thinking considering New York is on that list. Charlotte has actually outshined Raleigh considerably with attracting, and most imporantly "retaining" young professionals. If you look at fiascos like Raleigh's handling of the recent U2 concert, their first time in that city while Charlotte has hosted them successfully in the past; and things like the way Raleigh loss the CIAA tournament, you'll see the Triangle has a lot of work to do.
And let's keep this in perspective. Tara Servatius' rant blew that whole article out of proportion, but thats what's to be expected of her. That WSJ article actually didn't knock Charlotte at all, or even say that Charlotte would not continue to be an attractive city for young professionals. It simply said, "And Charlotte, N.C., a banking center, lost some of its luster to the financial crisis." That's really all it said.
That was an excellent post. I am one of these young people that Tara is speaking about in her article. ......
Why thank you.
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There are loads of problems, some more local to one area of the country than the other. Right now there are some pockets of jobs. They might or might not be there next year.
