Lt. gov.: Area will play role in economic recovery

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 3:00 AM  |  Printer friendly version | E-mail to a friend | By Emily Ford

eford@salisburypost.com

CONCORD — The Cabarrus County region will play an important role in North Carolina's economic recovery, state officials said Tuesday at an economic summit.

The N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis is an example of the "innovation that will drive our economy," N.C. Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton told area business leaders. "This region will be key to our recovery."

Recovering from the recession that hit North Carolina harder than many other states will take education and tax reform, added N.C. Rep. Ruth Samuelson, who lives in Charlotte.

The Cabarrus Regional Chamber hosted the State of the Region Summit in a movie theater at Concord Mills, one of the biggest attractions in the state.

The mall, speedway and Research Campus will spur continued economic growth and development for Cabarrus County, Dalton said.

"The North Carolina Research Campus is an amazing vision," he said. "We are all proud of what is going to be accomplished."

Dalton called the $1.5 billion life sciences complex a "miracle in the works" and said intellectual property developed there will help boost the state's economy.

The campus, founded by Dole Food Co. owner David Murdock, includes eight North Carolina universities working together to understand human health, nutrition and agriculture on a molecular level. Scientists hope to find treatments and cures for disease, as well as develop more nutritious crops.

The campus is built on the ruins of Pillowtex, a textile manufacturing plant that went bankrupt in 2004 after "federal trade policies sent our jobs overseas," Dalton said.

The loss of the textile and furniture manufacturing industries devastated North Carolina, he said. "It's not our fault, but it is our crisis."

The state's jobs task force called the Workforce Commission will meet next month at the Research Campus, highlighting the potential of the Cabarrus region, Dalton said.

The state will rebuild its economy by attracting more military contracts, he said. While the state has one of the largest military presences in the nation, North Carolina lags far behind in military contracts, he said.

The state will see a growing demand for jobs in healthcare, including nurses, radiologists and physical therapists, Dalton said.

Biotechnology will grow faster than most economic sectors, and North Carolina is ranked third in the country for biotech companies, he said.

These "second-wave" jobs will revolve around research conducted in North Carolina into biofuels, cancer and nanotechnology, he said.

"New economies follow new inventions," Dalton said. "Kannapolis is a great example of how research will drive the jobs of the future."

A study commissioned by the city of Kannapolis estimated that the campus will generate 37,000 jobs across the region. Growth at the campus has stalled during the recession, and some people have lost their jobs.

To avoid the budget crisis that has crippled the state and put it deeper in debt, North Carolina must modernize its tax structure, Samuelson said.

The structure is based on manufacturing and construction, two industries that took the biggest hit during the recession.

Rather than relying on high income and sales taxes, the state should "flatten" the tax code and "start taxing things that we don't normally tax" including services, she said.

So legislators need to hear from lawyers, real estate agents, hair salon owners and others who might have to add a tax to their services, Samuelson said.

Taxing services would mean lower income taxes, she said.

"We've talked about flattening in the tax code for years and it never gets done because of politics," she said. "Maybe that's the silver lining in the recession. Now we have no choice; change must come."



See related story.