That’s what the N&R hopes the U.S. Commerce Department’s $1 million grant will produce for Greensboro.
Just so you know, the Strong Cities Strong Communities program was established by executive order. And here’s the real irony —-federal Director of Domestic Policy Cecilia Munoz says Strong Cities, Strong Communities is “a remarkable initiative, one that takes innovation, a determination to cut-through the red-tape and ensure taxpayer dollars are used wisely.”
The interagency council overseeing Strong Cities Strong Communities is based at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which is the poster child for red tape and waste of taxpayers’ dollars.
........As you post your comment, please conform to Piedmont Publius's simple comment policy: we welcome all perspectives, but require that comments be both civil and respectful. If you wouldn't say it to a co-worker in front of your boss, it probably is not civil and respectful. We will delete any comment that fails this test and issue a warning to the poster. A second offense will result in a ban on commenting on this site. In sum, disagreements, arguments even, are welcome; abusive behavior is not. Thanks.
25
2012 At 10:17 am, Roch Smith Said:
Interesting that the N&R should offer the longitude problem as an example, as that ended up being solved way, way outside the box. As it turns out, the solution was not something that would measure distance, as nearly everyone supposed was required, but rather a seaworthy watch. The longitude problem was solved with the invention of the chronograph, a time piece that could work at sea where the pendulum powered clocks of the day would falter.
It would be great to see Greensboro think that far out of the box — and I hope I’m wrong — but my suspicion is that these funds will find their way to the usual hands who will take some worn out notion of ourselves, spruce it up with the latest marketing catch phrases and announce it as the ingenious next great plan. But it won’t be a chronograph.
25
2012 At 7:07 pm, Fred Gregory Said:
From Dr. Joe Guarino at the Greensboro Guardian:
Greensboro’s Welfare Mayor
Hosannas resounded throughout the Politically Virtuous City this past week. The Obama administration handed the city of Greensboro an election season $1 million grant, funded by deficit dollars, ostensibly for economic development. City Manager Dense Turner Roth, who previously worked in the offices of Democratic members of Congress, was quite pleased. Mayor Robbie Perkins and Councilman Zack Matheny, both of whom are nominal Republicans, were so pleased that they could hardly contain themselves.
Perkins previously had advocated hiring a Washington lobbyist for the city to seek various types of federal funding.
What is the problem? First, the program is drawing funds from a federal government that is tallying up historic levels of debt. Second, city officials are making themselves complicit with a cynical election year ploy on the part of the great Obama. And third, the city of Greensboro had to represent itself as an “economically distressed city” in order to qualify for the money.
Essentially, Mayor Perkins was openly communicating to the federal government that the city of Greensboro is a welfare case–that it is in economic distress, and in need of federal assistance. But if we are communicating that message to the federal government, then perhaps we should also be communicating it to prospective employers–to those who would bring jobs to Greensboro or create them here. Tell them that we are economically distressed.
Recall that News and Record editor Jeff Gauger recently compared Greensboro favorably to declining cities in the rust belt, in places like Ohio. Does he consider Greensboro to be sufficiently distressed economically to justify Obama’s sending an election season grant to our fair city–and our accepting it?
Decades ago, when Greensboro was a great city, it would have been considered a stigma to declare itself economically distressed, and to grovel for federal deficit funds. But such a consideration does not seem to constrain folks like Perkins, Roth and Matheny.