EDITORIAL: Farewell, 2004. Goodbye and good riddance!
By Bill Settlemyer
Executive Publisher
Gee—where did that come from? Well, let me see. It was an election year, and with all the mudslinging and attack ads, this one felt like someone putting a pot over your head and banging it with a big spoon for months on end.
And then there was (and still is) the war in Iraq. A majority of Americans now doubt the wisdom of going to war, but we appear to be united in our support for our troops and our desire for a successful outcome to this bloody and dangerous mission. Last year was a tough year on the battlefield and 2005 doesn’t look much better.
On the economic front, 2004 was the year we learned that global outsourcing would affect not just factory and call center jobs, but white collar and high tech jobs as well.
And while the national economy continued its slow recovery from the dot-com bust and the 2001 recession, “lackluster” was the watchword, with the oil shock only adding to pain. 2004 GDP growth was healthy, but the job market remained weak.
Who could have imagined that the year would end with the incomprehensible loss of life from the south Asian earthquake and tsunami? This natural disaster put all our other 2004 trials and tribulations in perspective.
Our little corner
Thankfully, here in our little corner of the world, the picture in 2004 was much brighter:
Our “all-weather regional economy” continued to grow, spurred by a housing boom fueled in turn by the growing popularity of our region as a place to live, work and retire. Both our workforce and our employment numbers were up substantially, and the area’s unemployment rate was tracking downward to levels well below the rates for South Carolina and the nation.
Much-needed sales tax measures passed in Charleston and Dorchester counties. The impressive margin of support for the Charleston tax showed decisively that residents understood the need to fund roads and mass transit and preserve green space as our region becomes more urbanized.
For the first time in years, we got a taste of low airfares thanks to the arrival of Independence Air. It now appears doubtful that the airline will survive as an independent carrier, but we’ve done everything we could to support their service to our region. They’ve done their part too, receiving a great deal of praise from area residents for providing affordable, friendly and efficient service. Cross your fingers!
North Charleston and the Noisette Co. continued on a steady path of development, renovation and urban renewal that holds great promise for the city and the entire region. Plans also moved forward for redeveloping the blighted Charleston Neck area, another promising opportunity to practice principles of “smart growth.”
Last month’s blockbuster announcement from Vought-Alenia that a $300 million facility would be built next to the Charleston International Airport to support production of Boeing’s new 7E7 Dreamliner was a dream come true for the state and region’s economic developers. The announcement alone was a huge feather in our cap, and if all goes well the opportunities associated with this project will multiply as it moves forward.
Unfinished business
So welcome to 2005. Let’s hope and pray that the world becomes a more harmonious and less dangerous place in the months to come. Whatever happens, we have business to attend to right here in South Carolina and the Lowcountry:
Education. Efforts to improve public education must continue, no matter how difficult the challenge. Business leaders have been reminded once again by consultants working with the Charleston Regional Development Alliance that quality public education is of paramount concern when it comes to attracting and growing high-paying businesses.
Which is why I think the proposed “Put Parents in Charge Act” is so misguided. No economic developer has ever told us that our goal should be to subsidize private school tuition. They say the opposite: Companies looking at relocating here want to know that (1) their employees can choose to put their kids in quality public schools instead of having to pay private school tuition, and (2) the area’s public schools are capable of turning out the workforce they need to staff their companies.
The state’s political leaders would serve our economic future far better by working directly to improve public schools rather than supporting a plan that will pull more middle-class students away from them.
Urban growth. This light is “blinking red” in terms of its importance. We need to apply best practices from around the country to the huge challenges posed by rapid growth. We need to address roads, mass transit, affordable housing, better zoning and planning for residential and commercial development and the preservation of the natural environment that drew so many of us here in the first place.
Economic development. Within a few months, Angelou Economics will present the region with a new plan for promoting economic development and fueling the growth of high wage jobs. I can’t predict what they’ll have to say, but given that their base of operations is Austin, Texas, they will bring to bear the perspective of a community that successfully made the leap from an economy based on oil and cattle to one that is focused on high tech jobs.
Whatever action steps Angelou recommends, I hope that a broad-based high-energy effort will emerge from our business community, one that does a far better job of engaging the multitude of very smart and capable younger people who are waiting in the wings to get a piece of the action when it comes to business leadership.
Goodbye 2004, hello 2005—let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work!
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