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No offense, but I'm wondering why this subject seems to be of such concern to Greenville residents. Am I missing something? I always thought Greenville was too busy trying to be the next Charlotte or Atlanta to care what's going on elsewhere in the state. I mean that can be a good thing as far as having something to aim for, but I wonder why an airport that's seemingly not a competitor of sorts with Greenville-Spartanburg is getting this sort of attention from folks in Greenville. Just curious about that.
I'm not sure if anyone is doing any hoping from what I'm reading, but stating the facts and being concerned sounds necessary. What do you see when you look at these numbers?
The recession and a lot of teleconferencing in state government the face of cutbacks. Concern - yeah, right.
Passenger numbers dropping 4 years in a row.....not a blip, unfortunately.....a problem that needs to be addressed. Is anybody proactively doing anything about it?
The fact that the largest metro in the state will drop well below 1 million in passenger numbers this year, at the current trend and serve only about half the number of passengers as its two smaller instate metros.....that is an embarrassment for any citizen in the state.
What do you guys think would be a solution? How does CAE turn around these dismal numbers?
Wait till the economy has recovered more from the recession. State capitals always overcome recessions later than manufacturing areas. But in the long run being a state capital is an advantage. With the Midstate's new focus on growing businesses and drawing in more businesses, along with the eventual round of new hiring by the state that will take place once the public finds out state workers don't just sit around on their butts after all, CAE will relieve your concerns in the end, gsupstate. Don't be so pessimistic. Be patient.
No offense, but I'm wondering why this subject seems to be of such concern to Greenville residents. Am I missing something? I always thought Greenville was too busy trying to be the next Charlotte or Atlanta to care what's going on elsewhere in the state. I mean that can be a good thing as far as having something to aim for, but I wonder why an airport that's seemingly not a competitor of sorts with Greenville-Spartanburg is getting this sort of attention from folks in Greenville. Just curious about that.
It's really just one Greenville poster who likes to stick their nose into all things Columbia.
The recession and a lot of teleconferencing in state government the face of cutbacks. Concern - yeah, right.
Does state government generate a good deal of air travel / passengers? Seems most state government functions have people driving in from around the state, not using CAE.
Wait till the economy has recovered more from the recession. State capitals always overcome recessions later than manufacturing areas. But in the long run being a state capital is an advantage. With the Midstate's new focus on growing businesses and drawing in more businesses, along with the eventual round of new hiring by the state that will take place once the public finds out state workers don't just sit around on their butts after all, CAE will relieve your concerns in the end, gsupstate. Don't be so pessimistic. Be patient.
I disagree. Being a state capital by itself means nothing or very little. Refer back to my example of Harrisburg, PA. At best I think a state capital brings stability assuming the rest of the state is doing decently well economically. A (flagship) state university helps, and can bring in a certain cosmopolitan element with it, but again it is more stability- than growth-oriented.
What is needed is an ambitious businesses culture that needs to be added on top of that. The Midlands lacks that relative to it's other in-state peers. Too many workers, whether for the state government, university, or large stable employer like BCBS or SCANA, including educated ones, are content to draw their steady professional paychecks and maybe occasionally spend some money at a Starbucks or a Belk. Sure we have a handful of law partners, surgeons, and tenured professors that have more disposable income, but they are not setting the mood in terms of a broader sense of "economic mojo".
There aren't enough assertive business-oriented or upward-mobility-minded folks that want to build bigger and better things, grow the city more aggressively, and in turn attract the more accouterments of larger, more ambitious cities, such as better airline service or higher-end retail/restaurant establishments. More to the point, while many in the upstate aspire to be at least something like a Charlotte/Atlanta, too many people in the Midlands outright disdain and fear being such a big, "uppity" city. The fact that Greenville has a Trader Joe's, P.F. Chang's, etc. before we do, despite out higher income/education, doesn't just mean they're a wannabe new-money booster city chasing inauthentic national chains and we're better because we support nice local businesses. It means they have a more positive, economically progressive attitude that builds a business environment which in turns attracts these establishments.
So, if we develop such an environment on top of the base of state government, etc., we can then end up more like the front-page success stories like Austin or Raleigh or Nashville, or even the more modest successes of places like Indianapolis or Columbus, OH. These cities are just as known for their Dells, SASs, RTPs, Eli Lillys, Battelles, Nationwides, Limiteds, etc. as their being state capitals. If we don't don't do that, then we should be prepared to be content being another Tallahassee, and watch our airline passengers continue to bleed, even to more "blue collar" cities like Greenville or Jacksonville.
In the long run, we might be more stable, but as long as other cities continue on a more aggressive but still sustainable path (i.e., pro-growth but not depend on bubbles like housing), we will be left behind, despite whatever "better metrics" we may have.
Does state government generate a good deal of air travel / passengers? Seems most state government functions have people driving in from around the state, not using CAE.
I just retired from the state and the director of my agency and a couple of his right-hand people used to fly all over the country every time you'd turn around. All I hear about is conference calls and teleconferencing now. State agency travel budgets have been slashed big time.
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