Cape Fear Capital TV Offers Small Business Alternative To The Pathways To Prosperity Industrial Recruitment Strategy For The Cape Fear Region

Wilmington, August 13, 2014 (Newswire.com) - The Cape Fear Capital Connection TV show, produced by Talk Media TV, offered a small business growth plan as an alternative to the conventional wisdom of industrial recruitment in the Pathways to Prosperity Plan, commissioned by the New Hanover County Commissioners.

The County Commissioners obtained the Pathways to Prosperity report in December of 2013, from Garner Economics, a consulting firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. The report provided several recommendations regarding regional economic development. Among the recommendations:

"Why would the Commissioners waste more tax dollars on a strategy that is an utter failure?" asked Vass.

Thomas E. Vass, Program Host

• The Commissioners should promote the willingness to offer creative and unique industrial recruitment incentive packages that are coordinated with other local and state units.
• The Commissioners should endeavor to attract high-quality jobs and talent to the region.
• The Commissioners should take on transformational initiatives that will have a positive, game-changing effect.

“Essentially, the Garner Report suggests to the Commissioners that they continue doing more of the same, but to do it better,” said Thomas Vass, the host of the Cape Fear Capital Connection. “This would be a great idea if the past 50 year economic track record had been a success,” Vass noted.

On the Monday, August 11, 2014 radio program, called Cape Fear Capital Connections, Curtis Wright and Vass discussed how the current economic strategy of using incentives to lure industry to the region had been a failure. Vass provided economic data, obtained from the Garner report, that per capita incomes in New Hanover County had declined 6% in five years.

“Why would the Commissioners waste more tax dollars on a strategy that is an utter failure?” asked Vass.

In the alternative strategy, prepared by Vass, the goal is to increase the level of capital investment in small high technology firms located in the 7 county Cape Fear economic region.

“There are 112 small technology firms in New Hanover and Pender County,” said Vass. He noted that 94% of all the small firms employed less than 50 workers, but that 60% of all job creation depended on these types of small firms.”

“There are five big, global corporations in New Hanover, and ten big corporations in Cumberland County,” said Vass. “The economic strategy is to have the small companies supply the big companies, so that the local economic effects are greater, he explained. “This beneficial economic effect will only happen if the small companies invest in equipment and machinery to produce at the high quality criteria demanded by the big companies,” he stated.

The alternative economic strategy presentation is available on FaceBook, and on the Private Capital Market News Network website.

About The Cape Fear Capital Connection TV Show: Each week, the show covers the news and information of capital market events in the Cape Fear Region. Tom Vass, the host, interviews local executives to find out what they are doing with their companies and explores topics of how their companies can be more successful. The broadcast technology combines internet connected tv distributed by Innova Television Networks, traditional and internet radio, and a network of interactive websites. The videos of the show are archived on LiveStream.