Rural Economies Suffering, Still!
LAURINBURG - James Ward has worked hard all his life. And the active 82-year-old Laurinburg man wants to work some more.
The only problem is, there aren't any jobs out there. Not for him, not for most people in Laurinburg or the rest of Scotland County.
Since the beginning of the year, the county has maintained either the highest, or one of the highest, jobless rates in the state.
In October, when the figures were last measured, the county's unemployment rate was at 17.2 percent - the highest in the state for the month.
And if you ask Ward, it doesn't seem to be improving.
After filling out several applications for jobs and spending time at the county's Employment Security Commission, Ward isn't exactly discouraged. But he knows enough to realize there simply aren't any jobs.
"We got a pretty little town," he said. "But nowhere to work."
Source: The Favetteville Observer
The economic fate of rural counties across North Carolina, and the country for that matter, have long been ignored by policy makers. When the economy was doing well in the suburban and developing regions of the state, development to the poorer sections of the state was discussed but local governments find it is more difficult to intice individuals to relocate to a less developed communities for various reasons. This issue has forced local governments to offer huge incentive packages that often only benefit the corporations if they decide to relocate.
As the economy improves slowly in the developed communities of North Carolina, it is of major importance that North Carolina does more to attract new industry and jobs to rural underdeveloped areas like Laurinburg/Scotland County. I believe this issue of rural economic underdevelopment is the single most important issue facing North Carolina and hope to see more discussion from our leaders in Raleigh in the short session of the general assembly.
This article is telling a hard truth about the economic disparties between the urban and rural areas of this state. We need a Marshall Plan for rural North Carolina, especially in the eastern and western sections. The Triangle, The Triad and the Charlotte area are the choice spots for development and jobs, so it is tempting for the more hard pressed communities to draw in industries with unsound inticements. What we need is for legislative leaders to guide its job making and growth investment decisions to all areas of the state. And those decisions should be sustainable for local communities, not the type of initiatives that may be long gone when the economic winds shift elsewhere.
Reply to this