Communities across North Carolina spend an inordinate amount of time focusing on economic development. It has become the desperate exercise of rural towns and urban areas to escalate the arms race of incentives as a proxy for making better communities.
The desire for job growth has taken a back seat to dealing with the real issues that affect quality of life. If we’re not careful, the long-term effects of incentives over substance might cost us far more in the future.
Economic developers will tell you that the cornerstones (there are literally four) of corporate recruiting are: infrastructure, health care, crime, and education. That sounds simplistic, but this axiom is backed up by chambers of commerce, EDC documents, and almost every study published on the subject.
So, why would economic development corporations, city councils, and county commissioners focus so much on incentives? Another simple answer, because it requires very little work: If we cut the tax rate for the guy with lots of jobs, then we don’t have to worry that our schools aren’t great, that the crime rate is abysmal, or that the water and sewer systems are in need of redesign. The creation of jobs is a quick fix, grabs headlines, and feels good.
Instead, I propose a greater vision, or challenge (depending on your perspective), for localities statewide. Embrace, at the community level, the need to address the cornerstones, and job creation will beat a path to your door. Now, lest you think I have delusions of grandeur, it can be done.
Let’s start with health care. Many of the communities across North Carolina do have good health care. Some even have great health care or proximity to it. Look around your community, do you have good doctors and proximity to a good hospital? As more folks hit retirement age over the next few years, this is a huge factor. If retirees are moving to your area, this can be a boom for the housing market. Fewer schools must be built, because retirees have empty nests.
Then we look at crime. Wilmington has been an amazing story on the crime front. Having been one of the most unsafe cities in the state, city officials hired a charismatic police chief, who involved citizens, went on the warpath educating folks about crime, and turned Wilmington into a safer community. That is great news for folks with families looking to move or start a business.
Then there’s infrastructure, and that’s problematic for many communities. Roads are a start. If you’re not near a metro area, you should hope your water and sewer systems are well-designed and can handle growth. The better-managed and more-efficient you are on this front, the more likely you will be able to accommodate a growing business’s needs. Overall, North Carolina’s roads have fallen into national disgrace, going from fifth best in the nation to 45th, according to some recent reports.
One of the most challenging issues statewide is education, both primary and secondary. Primary public education is in shambles statewide even though expenditures, after adjustment for inflation, continue to rise. Community colleges often produce more GEDs than high schools produce diplomas. There is no simple answer here, but community leaders should aspire to be better. We need to stop thinking government can solve this by itself. Deciding at the community level to promote volunteerism in the schools, to get citizens involved, and to refuse to tolerate failure would be a start.
In the end, the casual ease with which we dole out incentives does little to improve communities. It does not strengthen schools, hospitals or solve crime. But dealing with those issues is the greatest economic development foundation any community can make, and the citizens will be better for it.
Chad Adams is vice chairman of the Lee County Board of Commissioners, director of the Center for Local Innovation and Vice President for Development for the John Locke Foundation.