A Titanic Issue
February 3, 2010 - by
People who care about North Carolina
It’s the proposed Titan concrete plant near Wilmington
Fans say Titan, based in Greece
The plant will employ 160-200 people at $70,000 a year. It will pay a lot of taxes. It will generate other jobs, like at the state port. And there will be construction jobs building the plant.
But Titan is bogged down by environmental complaints. And opponents are trying to taint it by association with Mike Easley.
Perdue’s Commerce Department supports the project. Commerce leaders worry that stopping the plant will send a bad signal to international companies – and hurt North Carolina
But Perdue’s environmental officials apparently want to kill it.
The governor’s job is to referee this dispute. She has to decide who is right. She has to lead.
If she thinks the plant is unacceptable environmentally, she should say so.
And if not, she should stand up and say we need the jobs.
Right now, Perdue seems to be letting the project die slowly by a thousand cuts, hoping it will go away and spare her the burden of making a decision that makes somebody mad.
When Jim Hunt was governor, he had to make this call again and again. When a project satisfied the state’s environmental requirements, he would put everything he had behind getting the jobs for people.
This is an important test for Perdue. She can either let things happen, or she can lead.
A Titanic Issue
February 3, 2010/
People who care about North Carolina
It’s the proposed Titan concrete plant near Wilmington
Fans say Titan, based in Greece
The plant will employ 160-200 people at $70,000 a year. It will pay a lot of taxes. It will generate other jobs, like at the state port. And there will be construction jobs building the plant.
But Titan is bogged down by environmental complaints. And opponents are trying to taint it by association with Mike Easley.
Perdue’s Commerce Department supports the project. Commerce leaders worry that stopping the plant will send a bad signal to international companies – and hurt North Carolina
But Perdue’s environmental officials apparently want to kill it.
The governor’s job is to referee this dispute. She has to decide who is right. She has to lead.
If she thinks the plant is unacceptable environmentally, she should say so.
And if not, she should stand up and say we need the jobs.
Right now, Perdue seems to be letting the project die slowly by a thousand cuts, hoping it will go away and spare her the burden of making a decision that makes somebody mad.
When Jim Hunt was governor, he had to make this call again and again. When a project satisfied the state’s environmental requirements, he would put everything he had behind getting the jobs for people.
This is an important test for Perdue. She can either let things happen, or she can lead.