Economic Development in South Carolina

[vicupstate]

DuPont plant in Florence to close

This is sad and notable, not just because it is another plant closing, but becaus ethis was the first genuine industrial plant to open in Florence. Prior to it's opening in 1961, the economy was almost completely based on ariculture and the railroad.

[CorgiMatt]

I should probably add that BMW also says there is a possibility that many of the jobs may come permanent. More importantly, the opening of the $750 million expansion to the plant means the hiring of significant numbers to work the assembly lines. We should see those coming on line before too long...

How will the company's offer to buyout 3000 employees figure into that? Could it mean new employees taking their place at lower wages? Worldwide sales are down 20%.

http://www.thestate.com/746/story/882414.html

Edited July 30, 2009 by CorgiMatt

[monsoon]

I never understand corporate decisions, re: building an expansion while attempting to reduce workforce.

I think BMW has some issues with the need for this plant. They didn't exactly do it any favors by moving Z4 production back to Europe so now the only thing that is built there is the SUVs. This was always a questionable market for BMW and now that these things have fallen out of favor, even more so.

I would be happier if BMW put one of its mainline sedans in there. Preferably something in the 3 series line.

[Spartan]

The buyout is voluntary at this point, so who knows what it really means.

[CorgiMatt]

South Carolina's economists are reporting good and bad news about the state's emergence from the recession. There is a lot of hope and the state "has a lot to offer," but... The news for the urban areas sounds better than for the rural areas.

http://www.columbiabusinessreport.com/news...-recovery?rss=0

[CorgiMatt]

Income growth in SC's metros followed national trends from 2007 to 2008, slowing.

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20...ONTPAGECAROUSEL

[CorgiMatt]

And they've just come out with an updated forecast on jobs recovery over the next year by MSA. Charleston is expected to lose only another 0.5% more, Columbia only 0.6% and Greenville only 1.5%. Even Raleigh is projected to lose another 2.2%, and Charlotte and Atlanta even more.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2009...h-graphic_N.htm

[CorgiMatt]

Here are the comparisons in home sales from June to July in SC's three major metros.

Charleston up 8%, Columbia up 12%, Greenville down 12%.

http://www.columbiabusinessreport.com/news...p-in-july?rss=0

And here's the latest year to year comparisons in home sales across the state.

It seems overall that the housing market is stabilizing, although the state as a whole saw a slight dip.

http://www.screaltors.com/mls/SC_MLS_July09.pdf

Edited August 14, 2009 by CorgiMatt

[krazeeboi]

Links eventually go out of use or may become broken, so please try to include a brief summary of contents when posting a link. Thanks.

[Spartan]

This is big news for Sumter... The military is investing $150 million in Shaw AFB to relocate the Third Army HQ and 1000 soldiers (plus families) from Ft. McPhearson in Atlanta. This is also good news for South Carolina in general. Hopefully the next round of BRAC will continue to be favorable to our state.

Herald-Journal

[CorgiMatt]

Bruce Yandle, Dean Emeritus at Clemson's business school, says SC got caught with its pants down (paraphrasing) around 2001, when we went from outpacing the nation in economic growth to falling behind it, by not positioning ourselves to transition from a manufacturing state largely dependent on textiles to a knowlege economy state. He says his research is showing clearly that cities and towns with colleges and universities at the center of their economies are and will be the state's economic growth engines.

http://www.strom.clemson.edu/teams/ced/esr/ESR_2009_09.pdf

[krazeeboi]

This is big news for Sumter... The military is investing $150 million in Shaw AFB to relocate the Third Army HQ and 1000 soldiers (plus families) from Ft. McPhearson in Atlanta. This is also good news for South Carolina in general. Hopefully the next round of BRAC will continue to be favorable to our state.

Herald-Journal

Sumter could really use some news like this.

[krazeeboi]

Bruce Yandle, Dean Emeritus at Clemson's business school, says SC got caught with its pants down (paraphrasing) around 2001, when we went from outpacing the nation in economic growth to falling behind it, by not positioning ourselves to transition from a manufacturing state largely dependent on textiles to a knowlege economy state. He says his research is showing clearly that cities and towns with colleges and universities at the center of their economies are and will be the state's economic growth engines.

http://www.strom.clemson.edu/teams/ced/esr/ESR_2009_09.pdf

Makes you wonder why state leaders weren't trying to get ahead of the curve years ago. How could NC leaders have the foresight to invest in the knowledge economy in the 1950's (when RTP was born) while SC leaders only recognized the benefits of doing so about 3-4 years ago?

[goodbye]

It is good to see Clemson University and Greenville begin to develop a close relationship as this will certainly be a critical component in future growth and development. Now we need a state government that understands the need to provide these schools with the funding necessary to continually enable effective growth within our urban economic centers. Such development is underway in Spartanburg as well.

[krazeeboi]

Now we need a state government that understands the need to provide these schools with the funding necessary to continually enable effective growth within our urban economic centers.

I think a reasonable effort is being made towards that end with the endowed chairs program. But even more important than that is making in-state tuition more affordable. That requires more of an investment in students and not just sports programs, faculty salaries, etc.

[Spartan]

And not axing education budgets when times are rough. Obviously cuts need to be made during rough times, but North Carolina is raising taxes for two years to reduce some of the impact on budget cuts- and that's just for K-12 education. Meanwhile South Carolina's K-12 system, community colleges and universities are forced to raise tuition and "fees." The priorities of our state are clear, so it's no surprise things are the way they are. The education system should be our top priority. Once we get that straight, the rest will sort itself out. Ironically, it will probably take a generation after substantial changes are made before real results are evident.

[krazeeboi]

This is so true. Honestly speaking, some folks are just going to have to die first. They don't mind keeping the status quo the status quo and everyone "in their place." I have no idea why it seems that the good ol' boy mentality is more deeply entrenched in South Carolina than in other neighboring states.

[CorgiMatt]

As for what gays have to do with economic development in SC, the attached article sums it up nicely. It's hard to measure the harm that comes from not being accepting of and welcoming to a broad diversity of people, including gays, but the harm is there and will only get worse with time if SC's leaders' outlook does not change. Some cities in the state are great for gays to live in, but sometimes the sentiment of a state outweighs anything a city can do.

http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/...nasEconomy.html

[GvilleSC]

As for what gays have to do with economic development in SC, the attached article sums it up nicely. It's hard to measure the harm that comes from not being accepting of and welcoming to a broad diversity of people, including gays, but the harm is there and will only get worse with time if SC's leaders' outlook does not change. Some cities in the state are great for gays to live in, but sometimes the sentiment of a state outweighs anything a city can do.

http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/...nasEconomy.html

So, if South Carolina were more openly accepting of homosexuality, simply through policy, we'd not be in a recession right now? That's weird, because California was one of the first states to actually enter this recession. I'm sorry, but I think that article is really reaching. The economy is all about industry and jobs, which can be very loosely tied to various things, but to relate buying power of a certain demographic to the economic well being of an entire state is a little bogus to me... States with higher per capita incomes are pretty much in the same boat as those with lower income levels. But, who knows

[CorgiMatt]

The recession is notwithstanding and I didn't say we wouldn't be in recession right now if we were more welcoming. We weren't in recession when the article I attached was written. The issue has nothing to do with the current global recession. It may have a lot to do, however, with how quickly we come out of recession, or with whether we will ever recover compared to other states. Just because people are still moving to SC doesn't mean a lot more wouldn't be moving here if they didn't have the image of a back-water place in their minds when they think of this state, and things such as the Confederate flag and anti-gay measures, even if only vaguely, do stick in people's minds when they size a state up. California's problem is that socially they promised too much to too many people, marriage for gays excluded. Hmmmm. I guess the affluent California gays are moving to Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Iowa. Why do all the states that would grant me the full civil rights of heterosexuals (including the right to marry someone I'm sexually attracted to and in love with) have to be so frigid in winter?

[Spartan]

Moderator's Note: Posts about Governor Sanford, etc. were moved here: http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/SC-2012-...Rac-t50467.html

[krazeeboi]

As for what gays have to do with economic development in SC, the attached article sums it up nicely. It's hard to measure the harm that comes from not being accepting of and welcoming to a broad diversity of people, including gays, but the harm is there and will only get worse with time if SC's leaders' outlook does not change. Some cities in the state are great for gays to live in, but sometimes the sentiment of a state outweighs anything a city can do.

http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/...nasEconomy.html

This is pretty much Richard Florida's position which I'm not sure I'm too keen on. From my viewpoint, it seems that places that are more moderate, as opposed to being ultra conservative or ultra liberal, tend to fare the best economically, from the standpoint of both citizens (cost of living) and businesses (cost of doing business).

[CorgiMatt]

South Carolina's unemployment rate fell to 11.8% in July and moved from the fourth highest in the U.S. to the 6th highest. While an SC economist urges caution that this could because fewer people are looking for work due to giving up, it should be noted that the labor force in the three major metros increased from June to July and from July '08 to July '09 while the unemployment rate for each MSA dropped. Could those figures, coupled with the economist's comment, be reflective of migration to our largest metros, not only from other states but from the rural parts of SC, and of an improvement in the MSAs' job markets?

http://www.sces.org/lmi/news/July_2009.pdf

Edited August 22, 2009 by CorgiMatt

[krazeeboi]

Competition Accessories has announced it will invest $3.3 million to relocate its headquarters and distribution center to Rock Hill from Ohio. The move is expected to generate 40 new jobs. The company plans to relocate during the third quarter of this year. Competition Accessories will also create a distribution center for aftermarket motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle and personal watercraft accessories.

[gman430]

General Electric has announced that will it move and expand it's small jet-engine parts manufacturing operation in Greenville creating 100 new jobs with a starting salary of $27 an hour. It's great to see them moving into a building that is already built and vacant instead of building a new one: http://www.thestate.com/breaking/story/924319.html