Ain't that grand
Southern Business & Development magazine named North Carolina the South's State of the Year. The state shares the title with Alabama for the region's largest business deals.
The magazine ranks southern states according to the number of jobs created and investments logged. Government stats show that the state added 18,312 new jobs and $2.8 billion in investment.
My beef is with the lies, damn lies and statistics. The Greensboro Economic Development Partnership announces yearly how many jobs were created in the city. But the group never talk about jobs lost. Sure, there may be lots of investment, but what about the tax breaks given to companies. Those never seem to be included in the investment figures.
So, I have a hard time trusting the numbers.
I'd have to take a closer look at the ranking system to see how the magazine chooses states before giving an assessment. The publisher sure loves turgid prose, though.
"It was only a matter of time before the 'Grand Dame' of economic development came back in grand fashion," said Michael Randle, the publisher of Southern Business & Development.
In other news...the National Federation of Independent Business ranked North Carolina first among the 26 largest state economies for small business owners.
The catch: the overall ranking was negative. But it received positive marks in some areas, including business conditions and prospects.