Gov. Bev Perdue says she opposes privatizing liquor sales in North Carolina. Locker Room’s all over it, not to mention Meck Deck, who says the governor is “clearly unhinged from reality.”
Now let’s turn to the other issue at hand: American Express, which is moving 1500 jobs out of Greensboro. The governor was here to feel our pain and lend comfort, best as she can:
…The second series of questions I asked was about the environment of North Carolina, did it have anything to do with the Triad or the people or the tax structure or the economy —anything we could fix differently,” Perdue recalled asking a top company executive Wednesday morning. The answer came back “No.”
Yes, we realize that Am Ex’s move had nothing to do with the business climate in here. So the question is what the state is going to do to recruit businesses to replace Am Ex? My guess is the usual —–economic incentives.
Honestly, North Carolina has a great opportunity to —- as council member Robbie Perkins put the other day —–benefit from others misery as other states are looking at tax hikes to close huge budget gaps. If our state does the right thing and closes our $3.7 billion budget gap without raising taxes, then we will be in a prime position to attract companies from other states.
But it’s going to take considerable political courage to do that, and I hope the Republican-controlled General Assembly will muster such courage.
