Over the last few months I have traveled through Kentucky to the Ohio State line in the northern most part of the state, to Northwest Arkansas and most recently to Chicago, IL, all by automobile. Along the way I noticed vast expanses of flat terrain where a factory could be built with minimal site preparation. We tend to think of the old White Rodgers Building as a big building with over 100,000 sq feet but around Chicago I saw a empty buildings with over 1,000,000 sq feet. In 1959 the Arkansas Legislature enacted The Act 9, Industrial Revenue Bond law allowing factories to be built using financing through tax free municipal bonds. Thats how the White Rodgers factory was built. In 1965 the Aero-Jet Division of General Tire built the factory we now refer to as the old GDX building, currently owned and used by BadBoy Mowers. My point is that those times are gone and the odds of our Community ever getting a new factory that employs 200-800 are slim to none. We should always exploit every opportunity however the truth is that we should celebrate EVERY NEW JOB that our local employers provide whether it is one job or 175 jobs. Buying jobs, which is what we are really doing when we give businesses money for hiring additional people, in todays reality. The State of Arkansas Economic Development folks always say the best chances a community has for acquiring new jobs is by encouraging and supporting local companies who are growing and expanding and thus are needing new employees. Many communities are trying everyday to lure growing companies like BadBoy Mowers away from communities like ours. If we become complacent or if we become unwilling to buy jobs from local companies we risk losing the very jobs we so desperately need.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Apr 2014 16:26:23 +0000