Poor North Carolina. Every time the prospect of a major car manufacturer coming is dangled before us, we get our hopes up. Jobs. Opportunity. Revitalization. An economic boon. Then, inevitably, we get let down. Yesterday came word that Volvo is no longer considering North Carolina as a potential site for building an auto plant. Instead, it’s looking like we’re once again going to lose out to our neighbor to the south.

Asked about the report, Commerce Secretary John Skvarla would only say “companies want certainty.” And North Carolina’s incentives program is full of uncertainty, amidst wrangling between the House and the Senate. Volvo’s rejection of the state is not a surprise, we got hints of it a month ago when there were reports that legislative disputes were hindering the state’s chances of landing the automaker.

Volvo’s turning down NC is just another indication that companies don’t just want low taxes or a business-friendly environment. States like South Carolina and Georgia have those things, but they’re also willing to dish out a little extra money to large companies who want to expand in their areas. Unless the state gets its act together, they’re just going to keep missing out on these opportunities.

NC’s failure to land Volvo is not good news for Pat McCrory. It’s not bad news either, but the landing of a major automaker would have been a shot in the arm for the state and would have resulted in a big boost for the governor as he starts campaigning for a second term. Now, it’s back to the drawing board. With the Senate refusing to give the governor the tools he needs to recruit jobs, the governor has one less tool with which to chart out a successful reelection bid.

4 Comments

  1. Ron Rabatsky

    It’s just not McCrory. The ALEC and AFP led #ncga of Art Pope deserve most of the credit for making NC an uninviting place to live. Volvo certainly knows this from its presence in High Point/Greensboro.

  2. Someone from Main Street USA

    The idea that low taxes are the only thing attracting businesses to a state is stupid. But then again, NC is being led by those fond of keeping their stupid hats on…

    NC has failed to attract significant new business to the state. And they did what they could to trash the film business. Apparently those outside of NC seem to feel that the stew of theocratic rhetoric, anti-democracy voting bills and attacks on education stirred up by the NCGOP is simply not nutritious enough to grow a business.

    But we DO see growth in low-wage (poverty-level) jobs – but that’s about it. Nice job NCGOP!!

  3. larry

    It’s not bad news either? I think it is just amazing that the loss of Volvo seems to weigh more in your view in the politics of the loss. Volvo has a long history in its relationship with our State. Trucks and its IT business alone employs a lot of folks in the Greensboro area and have been here for couple decades.. North Carolina should have been a logical move and would have brought good paying jobs to the State. So some of the wages loss in the first tens years of this century could have been recouped. The loss of those possible wages is not political its plain old bread and butter needs for the good people of the State. Maybe Republicans need to think less of power and politics, including you, and more for the people who live in this State.

  4. Apply Liberally

    So, John, you’ve just pretty much admitted that it’s GOP dysfunction and internal haggling that’s costing the state such opportunities.

    Your saying things like “legislative disputes were hindering the state’s chances of landing the automaker,” and “Unless the state gets its act together, they’re just going to keep missing out on these opportunities,” and “With the Senate refusing to give the governor the tools he needs to recruit jobs, the governor has one less tool with which to chart out a successful reelection bid” gives testimony to the reality that your party hasn’t a clue about carrying out economic development grant, incentive, or job programs, doesn’t it?

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