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| Introduction |
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A most timely and
often overlooked fact that must be understood and dealt with is how the
rapid growing global economy is changing the future economy of North
Carolina and the prospects for farming, textile, furniture, and tobacco jobs
in Eastern North Carolina. We need "sound the alarm" so this danger will be acknowledged by our communities and their leaders. If we fail to see this massive change in our work place and its effect on our jobs, our communities, our lives, we will surely not have made any plans to mitigate its harmful effect. We can, however recognize, and put into place, potential remedial action available to us prior to its full impact. We immediately need to train and educate for the professions and "knowledge jobs" that will grow as the "cheap labor" jobs phase out. North Carolina with it well managed and well run community college system is somewhat ahead-of-the-curve in this element of preparation. Other elements, equal in importance, however, are required for us to really excel in the world market ahead, and I believe these elements are being ignored, even denied, and we are poorly prepared to correct them. Time is not on our side. If we delay, our work force will move elsewhere seeking jobs and many of the remedial options and opportunities will be lost. If we delay, our population will migrate and the "lights" on the next nighttime satellite will be out in Eastern North Carolina. Our many other efforts to improve our area to make it more attractive to industry will become moot as our workers, our taxpayers, our people will have moved away. Not only must we be better trained and smarter, we must also must be more efficient. We in North Carolina currently have a unique population dispersement for the United States. Nighttime satellite photos indicate an unusual and unique population locate in our rural east. Currently, we are beginning to see a migration from this eastern region, first, as commuters who drive to jobs, second, as reduction in population, as families move in to robust metropolitan developments. Experience elsewhere would indicate that the drive-in commuters will soon be stymied by our poorly designed and poorly developed highway system in central eastern North Carolina. With environments and legal restrains new roads, or just new upgrades, can take decades to plan and build. A better and more efficient way must be provided for these commuters to have dependable and safe transit. This must be done within months not years. Time is not on our side. If we delay, our work force will move elsewhere seeking jobs and many of the remedial options and opportunities will be lost. If we delay, our population will migrate and the "lights" on the next nighttime satellite will be out in Eastern North Carolina. Our many other efforts to improve our area to make it more attractive to industry will become moot as our workers, our taxpayers, our people will have moved away. Those who are now moving out of the area ( taxpayers) must be encourage to stay and enjoy their current high quality of life, but know that they can broaden the area they can search for work into higher paying areas that provide stable employment. This transportation must be safer, less polluting, cheaper and far more efficient. Even if they would work for Far East wages, our inefficient highway transportation will price us out of the Global market. If we fail to accept this innovative and simple plan, we can see our future, no crystal-ball needed, just look at Atlanta and other large more mature cities and the lack of "lights" on satellite photo in their rural surroundings. We in North Carolina have an excellent rail system that can be highly efficient and can offer incredible savings in delivery of food, material, and it can offer a far safer, friendly to environment and more efficient mode of commuter transportation. Our use of highways to distribute freight is extremely inefficient. A train, with a crew of two, can haul 200 shipping containers. We now use 200 18-wheelers with 200 drivers. Those extra drivers can contribute more to the economy and be more productive if trained in "knowledge jobs" or in support of "knowledge jobs". We must stop encouraging road freight and start encouraging railroad freight systems that will be jointly used with commuter and passenger systems. Raleigh, a potential, if not already, metropolitan city is smart to move ahead-of-the-curve with it TTA system which when coordinated with a commuter and passenger systems, reaching into the rural east, that will provided a future work force at a much lower cost to Raleigh and Wake County . A well run and well designed commuter system that will open the door for companies to locate their "back-office" operations away from the high real estate of central city. It will be the key for future development and the foundation for commuter systems reaching 360 degrees into already establish residential communities where cost of living will be and is cheaper and infrastructure is often in place.
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