^The ANSON BIZ-ZINE
WADESBORO, ANSON COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S.A.

     (March 14, 2007) – Kevin Gullette has tendered his resignation as Anson County’s executive director of economic development. The resignation is effective April 13.
     “I have mixed emotions about leaving Anson County, but this is a good opportunity for me and my family,” Gullette said.
     "We have been fortunate to have the benefit of Kevin's talent and passion for economic development", said Anna Baucom, chairman of the Anson County Board of Commissioners. "He understands that economic development is the key to reduce poverty and improve quality of life for people and communities. We wish him and his family well."
     Gullette, who came to Anson County in July 2003, has taken a position as director of economic development and tourism for the City of Fredericksburg, Va., where he will manage 13 staff members and work within a budget of approximately $1.3 million annually. Fredericksburg is located in the Interstate 95 corridor between Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Va.
     Although he sees his move as an “exciting opportunity,” Gullette said, “on the flipside, Anson County was really starting to build momentum in addressing economic development issues.” He said the Anson Economic Development Corp. (AEDC) and the Anson County Economic Development Advisory Board have been taking positive steps to commit funding to an economic development program.
     “I think Anson County’s future is very, very bright,” he said.
     County Manager Andy Lucas commented, “I am very sorry to see Kevin go. He is an attribute to the citizens of Anson County. It will be our loss and Fredericksburg’s gain.”
     With Gullette’s resignation, Lucas said the County “will reassess our economic development program, evaluate all options and move on."
     "I think the commissioners agree that this is a time for us to review the options for our participation in this community's economic development efforts. We will have interim services to make sure that we do not miss opportunities to help our existing businesses or to talk with prospective businesses, "Baucom said.
     Baucom added that Anson County has been designated as a 21st. Century Community by the N.C. Department of Commerce. "This will open opportunities for the county to work more closely with Department of Commerce staff," she said.

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     (March 15, 2007) -- (The following presentation was made March 8, 2007, to the Wadesboro Rotary Club by Chuck Horne, president of Hornwood Inc., who addressed the question: is manufacturing to continue to create wealth and economic opportunity for our own people.)
     I recently read a book by Dan DiMicco, president of Nucor Corp., entitled Steeling America’s Future. It caused me to think about the loss of manufacturing jobs and the impact it has on our county, our state and our country. I would like to talk about this issue today and give some of my thoughts along with those of Mr. DiMicco.
     Think about where we’re meeting today. Twin Valley Country Club. 15 years ago this was a vibrant club with an adequate membership to pay the bills and make the necessary repairs to keep the club functioning. Today they are struggling to stay open because of one reason: lack of membership. Where did the members go? Did the population of the Anson County decrease? We all know it did not. The members who left were the supervision of businesses like Wansona, West Knitting and Dan River. They retired, moved away or died and new manufacturing businesses did not come to the area bringing those same supervisory positions to fill the membership at Twin Valley.
     Wansona, West Knitting and Dan River are all gone because of imports. I’m not here to debate the issue of free trade, although I have strong feelings about fair trade that I will express later. I only want to illustrate the importance of manufacturing to our economy. In 1958 there were about 14 million American workers and our gross domestic product was about $467 billion. Today there are still about 14 million workers and the 2005 gross domestic product was $13 trillion. Needless to say we have a more diversified economy, but the manufacturing segment has increased its productivity thanks to automation, improved processes and investment in new technology. In 1980 Hornwood employed 400 people and our sales were $26,000,000. Our 2006 sales were $43,000,000 and our employment was 375. Twenty-five less people producing an additional $17,000,000 in sales. In that same 26-year period we invested $37,000,000 in plant, property and equipment in order to become more productive and competitive. But competitive with whom? We cannot compete with a similar product coming out of China. They start with a currency that the government devalues by about 40%. In addition they provide subsidies and don’t have the same requirements for work place safety and pollution control. I find it interesting that the World Trade Organization prohibits currency manipulation, but takes no action against China.
     Let me talk a moment about the label “Made in USA.” When I see that label I believe it stands for our nation and our people; who we are and what we stand for. Does “Made in China” mean the same thing? In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed. It was designed to produce benefits for labor and business. The minimum wage, the 40-hour work week and child labor protection came out of that legislation. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 was enacted to further enhance the safety of our workers. The Clean Air Act of 1970 was put in place to start addressing many of our environmental issues, some of which were caused by manufacturing. And then there is ERISA, HIPPA and legal expenses for product liability. To me “Made in USA” not only reflects the values of our country, but also the cost of our commitment to workplace health and safety and workers rights and the commitment to our environment. Today we measure the environmental impact in terms of parts per million and parts per billion. Quite impressive! Let me add that Hornwood spent $250,000 on air pollution control equipment in 2006 and will spend an equal amount this year. We didn’t do that out of the goodness of our heart. We did it because it’s the law. There is a cost associated with compliance.
     So what does Bought in America stand for? I think what we’ve bought is a free trade framework that values cheap goods above the rule of law, workers rights, a clean environment and the interest of our own citizens. Does China have laws? Sure. But the facts remain that the means of production, the press, the internet and all communications media, the political apparatus, the law of the land and the actions of 1.3 billion people remain under the top down control of a highly centralized, totalitarian, one party state.
     So what does the loss of manufacturing mean to our community? I do not have data on Anson County, but I will share some data from Dan DiMicco’s book about our neighbors in Robeson County. I think it will illustrate well what is happening.
     In 10 years, from 1993 to 2003, Robeson County lost more than 8,700 manufacturing jobs – from more than 17,000 to fewer than 7,000. In 2003 alone, nine plants closed. At the beginning of that period manufacturing accounted for 31% of the county’s jobs. Ten years later that had dropped to only 18%.
     As a result of those 8,700+ lost jobs the region as a whole lost more than 18,300 jobs over 10 years. Regional household income had dropped by $674 million per year. That is roughly two thirds of a billion dollars lost to the regional economy. Rolled together it is a staggering number. But it is more than a number. It is a story of hardship and loss for individuals and families who cannot easily regain what they have lost.
     This lost household income reflects losses to wages, salaries, benefits, retirement incomes, business proprietors and professionals such as doctors. The local hospital administrator was quoted, saying that the hospital had been reduced to running a deficit because it was providing more services than the patients could reimburse. The hospital was reduced to trying to cobble together grant money to help close the gap.
     As the dominoes fell, local governments were not immune. By 2004 regional governments’ collections of indirect business taxes had decreased by $39 million. These sales taxes, business taxes, excise and other taxes cannot simply be collected in another segment of a local economy that has been hit so hard.
     In Robeson County during those years since 1993 more than 600 jobs were lost in education as a result of the manufacturing losses. More than 100 hospital jobs, almost 500 jobs in wholesale trade and another 475 jobs in motor freight were lost to the domino effect from lost manufacturing. Local banking suffered a net loss of almost 150 jobs, resulting in more than $13.6 million of lost income.
     As we would expect, unemployment rates climbed steadily and peaked in 2001 and 2002. Unemployment insurance payments almost doubled just from 2000 to 2001. Robeson County unemployment rates were double the state level.
Personal bankruptcies nearly quadrupled since 1994 and increased steadily as the economy experienced a severe downturn from 1999 to 2002. As the county’s economy lost manufacturing jobs, its displaced workforce lost access to health insurance and by 2002, three out of every ten people did not have access to health insurance. The infant mortality rate increased almost 2% from 1999 to 2000, which could also reflect this loss.
     Taxpayer funded benefits such as food stamps, Aid to Families with Dependent Children and other forms of assistance categorized as “income-maintenance benefits” shot up by $28 million from 1994 to 2001.
     When Robeson County manufacturers fell victim to the huge economic forces that are assaulting the entire sector, the dominos fell for suppliers, truck drivers, government, health care and most important in the homes and lives of its citizens.
     Some make the argument that we are moving from a manufacturing society to an information society. Are manufacturing jobs being replaced by “information” jobs? Not in Anson County. Working at Wal-Mart or the prison is a noble profession, but they do not produce the peripheral jobs in the same manner as manufacturing. Are there really that many information jobs? Look at the number of jobs such as software developers and call centers that have moved to India. When I attended my oldest son’s graduation from the College of Textiles 3 years ago, I was struck by the make up of the graduates. By my estimate 90+% of the 4 year graduates were US citizens, 50% of the master degrees were awarded to US citizens and 100% of the doctorates went to Chinese and Indians and yes I am profiling. I mention that because so many of our country’s innovations have come from manufacturing. The bullet-proof product Kevlar was developed in DuPont labs by research scientist and is an integral part of our defense and police protection. If the researchers are going back to China and India I doubt future innovations will come at the same pace.
     Intellectual property is another story. The piracy of CD’s and DVD’s is on a massive scale. The US copyright industry estimated losses of $1.7 billion in 2004 and the number is increasing each year. Russia, China and Brazil are the biggest offenders and yet we turn a blind eye and continue to trade with them.
     So let’s envision the loss of Hornwood, Wade Manufacturing, Premiere Fibers and Coffing Hoist, our 4 largest manufacturing concerns. I certainly can’t speak for the others, but here’s the Hornwood numbers:

• $6,500,000 annual payroll
• $2,400,000 annual health care reimbursements
• $500,000 annual water & sewer payments to the county
• $150,000 annual property taxes to the county
• $700,000 annual purchases from Premiere Fibers
• $500,000 annual paid locally for supplies, repair parts, etc.
• $50,000 annual in local charitable contributions 500 hours of tutoring at Lilesville Elementary

     This does not include the $1,000,000 we pay to Progress Energy and $1,000,000 to Piedmont Natural Gas.
     I’ve always heard that those dollars turn over several times in the area. Taking the numbers I’ve just listed and using a conservative turnover rate of 2, that is an approximate impact of $29,000,000 on the region. I suspect the numbers would be comparable for Wade, Premiere and Coffing Hoist.
     The plain fact is that we need manufacturing to continue to create wealth and economic opportunity for our own people.
     If we are going to make a better future for our country we must continue to make things in our country. We have the can-do attitude. We have the technical ability. We have economic power. We have the best workers. We have the cleanest factories and energy facilities. We have the culture and the people that gave the world the steamboat, the telegraph, the Model T, the telephone, the television, the personal computer and the power grid.
     What we need now is a vision: That the 21st century will be a greater century for American manufacturing than the century before it. We should be as committed to that idea as we are to our national security. And we should be committed to getting it done in the rough and tumble of the business and political worlds. When we peel back the layers of this vision, here’s what we see. We see a future in which:

• All employers trading in the world market are held to high and equitable standards.
• All producers commit the same resources to achieve comparable levels of environmental protection.
• International agreements are enforced fully and fairly, not only regarding specific trade actions, but also with regard to broader government policies such as currency and other economic intervention.

     The U.S. recently entered into a trade agreement with Vietnam that contained 2 provisions that we have not seen in other agreements. One provides that if Vietnam fails to eliminate subsidies to its textile and apparel industries, the U.S. may re-impose import quotas. The second was a provision to initiate anti-dumping procedures if it can be demonstrated that its products are being sold on the U.S. market at less than fair value. That sounds reasonable to me. However, the New York City based U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel cried foul and called the agreement a “secret deal” that has “pulled the rug out from under Vietnam” and that it was essential to their business that the provisions be removed. Give me a break! I wonder who gives the most in campaign contributions to our politicians.
     So I have to ask these questions. Do we have the willpower to draw the line in the sand against unfair trade? At what threshold of job losses and wealth erosion should we summon the nerve to change our policies? Shame on our government leaders if they refuse to provide us with a level playing field on which to compete. Shame on us if we don’t demand it of them. I for one intend to do just that. I hope others will join me. Thank you for your time and attention.

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     (March 22, 2007) – Although Anson County’s 6.9% unemployment estimate for January 2007 ended a five-month string of seeing the monthly figure steadily decline, the rate is just .3% over December 2006 and .4% above January 2006’s jobless rate.
     In January, Anson County’s labor force numbered 11,121 (down 46 from December); the number of employed people was 10,357 (down 155 from December); and the number of unemployed people was 764 (up nine from December).
     For 2006, Anson’s unemployment rate was 6.5%, 7.3%, 6.8%, 6.7%, 8.2%, 8.1%, 8.5%, 8.1%, 7.6%, 7.0% , 6.9% and 6.7%, respectively.
     The January breakdown for Anson’s neighboring counties:

• Montgomery – 12,363 labor force; 811 unemployed; a rate of 6.6% (up .3%).
• Richmond – 20,115 labor force; 1,590 unemployed; 7.9% rate (up .3%).
• Union – 86,816 labor force; 3,523 unemployed; 4.1% rate (up .6%). For January, the state’s unemployment rate was 5.0% – up .3% from December. North Carolina’s labor force numbered 4,476,952 in January with 225,677 people jobless.
  

       Statewide, Hyde County recorded the highest unemployment rate at 10.5% (2,408 labor force with 252 people jobless), followed by Dare County at 10.2% (19,405 labor force and 1,983 people unemployed); Scotland at 9.7 (14,993 labor force with 1,455 people unemployed); Swain at 9.2%; Mitchell at 9.1%; Tyrrell and Caldwell at 8.6%; Washington and Rutherford at 8.3%; and Graham at 8.2%.
       The civilian labor force estimates for all 100 counties are available on the Employment Security Commission's website at www.ncesc.com. For local information, call the ESC office at 704.694.6551 or visit www.ansonjoblink.com.

  
  

  
  
  

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  Hayes introduces Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act

       Congressman Robin Hayes (NC-8) announced on March 28 that he and fellow Congressman Mike McIntyre (NC-07) have introduced the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act to give greater resources to displaced textile and apparel workers. Hayes and McIntyre were joined by the following original co-sponsors all from North Carolina: Reps. G.K. Butterfield (NC-01), Bob Etheridge (NC-02), David Price (NC-04), Howard Coble (NC-06), Sue Myrick (NC-09), Patrick McHenry (NC-10), Heath Shuler (NC-11), Melvin L. Watt, (NC-12), and Brad Miller (NC-13).
       "I pledged that our office would do all it could to assist displaced workers from the 8th District and the State of North Carolina," said Hayes. "And this legislation will make it possible for these workers to receive expanded assistance and job training to help them to make a successful change in their career.
        "The Trade Adjustment Assistance Act is a good program. I worked hard to expand this program and make it better in the past, but we must make additional changes to help textile and apparel workers in this increasingly competitive global marketplace. While it is good that these workers are going to get extended unemployment benefits, we all know that an unemployment check is no substitute for a paycheck. But when workers are displaced, we want to give them the skills to successfully reenter the workforce."
       Congressman McIntyre stated: "North Carolina textile and apparel workers are facing challenging times in an ever competitive global environment. This legislation will help them as they move forward in securing work and providing for their families. We must do all we can to provide them with the tools they need to succeed, and expanding the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act will help them do that."
       Hayes' legislation makes the following changes to existing TAA benefits for displaced textile and apparel workers:

  • Expands TAA eligibility to include dislocated workers affected by a shift in productions in which the workers' jobs are moved to nations that have no preferential trade agreement with the U.S., including China and others.
  • Provides automatic eligibility for TAA benefits for textile and apparel workers. (Currently, the Department of Labor rules on each application for TAA in 40 days.)
  • Increases the Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) from 65% to 80%.
  • Simplifies the (HCTC) application process.
  • Increases TAA funding authorization from $220 million to $440 million.

       TAA benefits entitle textile and apparel workers to expanded unemployment benefits with a job retraining incentive. In North Carolina, workers are eligible for 26 weeks of unemployment benefits. With TAA status, workers are eligible for up to 104 weeks of unemployment benefits (26 weeks through NC Employment and Security Commission; 26 additional weeks covered under TAA; and 26 additional weeks if the worker is in a job training
       2001, Hayes worked in support of a measure to strengthen TAA. This legislation reauthorized and expanded the Trade Adjustment Assistance program (TAA) of the Trade Act of 1974. This bill improved the TAA program substantially. Highlights:

  • Eliminated federal red-tape by streamlining TAA into one program.
  • Shortened the determination period, from 60 days to 40 days, which the Department of Labor has to rule on who receives benefits. This will serve to get job retraining benefits to the unemployed faster than ever before.
  • Removes obstacles that have previously prevented workers from receiving TAA benefits and expands eligibility.
  
  
  Contact Rep. Hayes at 130 Cannon House Office Building, Washington D.C., 20515 or 137 Union Street South, Concord, N.C., 28025.

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  Dianne's Restaurants, Cooking and Catering, located at the Morven Truck Stop on U.S. Hwy. 52-S, held a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony March 29. Shown, from left, are Abduo Ali, owner of Morven Truck Stop; Dianne Colson, manager of Dianne's Restaurant, and her husband, Odell Colson; and Lynn Edwards, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce. Hours are Monday-Saturday from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. and Sunday from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. For more information, call 704-851-9633.

  
  
  

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