President Obama’s ‘you didn’t build that’ speech isn’t going anywhere (see video). I think what struck me about the president’s comments weren’t about the roads and the bridges, but about how he was “always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart.” That’s where I heard the contempt in his voice.
Honestly I get what the president is saying, and if you know anything about business here in the Triad knows a main strategy had been to establish resources for businesses owners as the area’s economy continues to transform. Still, I couldn’t help but think about one local business owner as he described his experience when seeking help from the federal government to export industrial furnaces:
Crafton said he went to commerce officials hoping to learn the best places to do business, but instead officials were asking him for the same information.
“They were saying ‘you tell us where you want to be, and we’ll pave the road,’” Crafton said. “But we didn’t even know those areas, and we didn’t know where to begin.
“In general, it reinforces my belief that there is an awful of inefficiencies and bureaucracy. A private industry trying to operate like that wouldn’t survive but about an hour and a half,” Crafton added.
Crafton said communication was a problem. “There is a fair amount of help if you know the right places to go to. The government surprisingly has a bunch of agencies. What isn’t surprising is they don’t talk to each other.”
