The author questions the courting of Mercedes-Benz by North Carolina and other southern states when that company announced plans to build a car plant in the United States.
The issues regarding local government programs for contracting services of minority- and women-owned businesses are presented in a question-and-answer format.
Local governments make a good-faith effort to help women- and minority-owned businesses participate in bidding for government contracts. One such way is through certification programs.
Economically strapped counties in North Carolina have been the major beneficiaries of efforts by the state's Industrial Recruitment Competitive Fund to bring industry, and thus jobs, to the state.
N.C. State University's College of Textiles, the Textile Clothing Technology Corp. in Cary, and Cotton Inc. in Raleigh are contributing to major research efforts designed to strengthen the textile industry's long-term competitive position.
Governor Jim Hunt is seeking to make North Carolina more attractive to corporations by revising the laws governing corporations in the state. Hunt has supervised the revision of Chapter 55 of the General Statutes, known as the Corporation Act.
A partnership between such governmental agencies as the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation and private businesses like Carolina Power and Light Company is producing ways to protect the state's natural resources and environment.
A joint experiment, the Hoechst Celanese Corporation & University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Research Partnership is applying total quality management principles to research projects that, it is hoped, will be mutually beneficial.
To bring companies and jobs to their area, competing cities sometimes offer attractive incentives, like use of a speculative building. While this can be a sound business approach, it can also be detrimental, creating costs that have not been budgeted.
Although the 1995 General Assembly reduced funding for regionalism, grouping the state's one hundred counties into seven consortia, the Commerce Department still sees it as an effective way to recruit new industries.
The Governor's Industrial Competitiveness Fund provides financial incentives to encourage businesses to relocate to the state. The fund is controversial, however, and the 1995 General Assembly reduced funding by 80 percent, to $2 million.
Arguing that public funds are used for private purposes, Winston-Salem attorney William Maready is challenging in court the offering by cities and counties of incentives to lure businesses to their areas.
The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled in 1996 in the case of Maready v. City of Winston-Salem that the use of public funds by cities and counties to attract businesses is not unconstitutional.
The state, which was first in the nation in 1992 in attracting new businesses, was replaced by Ohio from 1993 to 1995, and faces increased recruiting competition as other states become more aggressive in using business incentives.