And just what does a Senior Dean for Development and Government Relations at Cleveland Community College actually do? I don’t have a clue, but I am pretty sure there are no teaching duties to the job.
And Massa Eddie is always talking about bringing in jobs to Cleveland County. So. I did a search for jobs in Cleveland County and this was the top ten items on the list:
1. Dog Walker. Pays $25 per hour but it is likely to only include no more than one hour per day,
2. Route Service Sales Representative. Picks up and delivers uniforms, cleaning rags and chemicals to local businesses.
3. Rehabilitation Specialist at the Adventure House dealing with mentally disabled adults.
4. Registrar/Hospital CHS Cleveland Emergency Department-takes information from incoming patients.
5. Shipping Receiving Warehouse Worker at Buckeye Fire Equipment
6. Registrar/Hospital CHS Cleveland ED
7. Freight Handler
8. Warehouse Worker
9. Administrative Assistant-Temporary $7.75-$15 hour
10. Work from Home-Customer Service
All these jobs are necessary and good. But where are all the top paying manufacturing jobs Massa Eddie claims he is bringing into Cleveland County?
Well, Massa Eddie has an answer for that too. “Charlotte’s Backyard” is a new website put out by the Cleveland County Economic Development people “associated” with Massa Eddie that are supposedly recruiting for workers in Charlotte to fill jobs in Cleveland County. They are actually silly enough to believe that workers will move from Charlotte to Cleveland County for lower paying jobs because things are cheaper in Cleveland County? Like gas? Yeah, Right.
This “Charlotte’s Backyard” has a bright and shiny approach, just like Massa Eddie, but when you actually try to look up some jobs you will be sorely disappointed. You find the same stuff Listed in the ten jobs noted above. Most of the better jobs are somewhere else besides Cleveland County. Many are far away. And many of the jobs may be suited for a kid still living at home. If you were the breadwinner for a family of four with one of these jobs, you would also qualify for FoodStamps. No wonder Massa Eddie doesn’t talk about the 20,000+ people on Foodstamps. Many of those on Foodstamps today may very well be working one or two of those jobs Massa Eddie claims he provided.
So, in evaluating Economic Development over the past 12 years Massa Eddie has been a Cleveland County Commissioner, what is the only collusion? This great Economic Development Program is mostly hot air. FoodStamps are the only thing that has kept Cleveland County afloat and still does.
Now, let’s examine this Cleveland County Economic Development Program a bit. The program Massa Eddie is “associated” with? Who are they, how much $$$ does it take to run it and who do they answer to? For the question who are they?, the CCEDP list two women. Kristin Reese and Beth Norman. Incidentally, under for “our successes,” they claim The NTE project, the Duke Cliffside project, the Southern Company project and the AT&T Data Center for a total of $4.4 BILLION, of which Massa Eddie Holbrook, all the other commissioners and the entire CCEDP had exactly nothing to do with. I was at the Commissioner’s Meeting when NTE walked in the door and announced their project as a courtesy. They asked for no incentives. They were there just to say hello. The commissioners repeatedly asked the NTE guys why they came to Cleveland County? Was it because of our good schools? Good this and good that. No said NTE. “We chose the site where the intercontinental gas pipeline intersected with an existing high powered electrical transmission line.” But Massa Eddie and his EDP claimed it anyway. They even claim it as a “manufacturing” facility. So much for the Truth and Massa Eddie Holbrook.
Now, how much tax dollar funding does the CCEDP and their two women receive. It’s in the millions. All this tax money coming in from motel occupancy tax goes straight to these two women to spend. How they spend it is also a big question.
Now for the jackpot, who does the CCEDP answer to? Well, with all those $millions of Tax dollars you would think CCEDP would be a county agency reporting to the County Commissioners or some other elected official. That way they would have to be transparent and have to make financial reports that the taxpayer public could see. Right??? Oh NOOOOOO!!! They are a branch of the Cleveland County Chamber and answer to nobody. Massa Eddie is only “associated” with The Chamber, like a Mafia “God Father is associated with his crime family, mob.
From an examination standpoint, if it looks like a criminal enterprise and walks like a criminal enterprise; then it must be a criminal enterprise. A tax supported criminal enterprise at that. With a legalized power to steal from the citizens, Taxpayers. Al Capone and John Gotti must be turning over in their graves because they didn’t think of this.
Here are some backup information facts and figures provided by the United States Census Bureau. An official agency of the United States Government. Which totally disproves Massa Eddie’s BS numbers.
Economic Indicators show a decline in Cleveland County during the term in office of Massa Eddie Holbrook:
• From 2015 to 2016, employment in Cleveland County, NC declined at a rate of 0.96%, from 40,571 employees to 40,183 employees. (So, where are all those jobs Massa Eddie Brags about?)
• Between 2015 and 2016 the population of Cleveland County, NC declined from 97,178 to 97,113, a 0.07% decrease and its median household income declined from $39,453 to $39,134, a 0.81% decrease.
• Wages. Households in Cleveland County, NC have a median annual income of $39,134, which is less than the median annual income in the United States.
• 20.8% of the population in Cleveland County, NC live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 14%. The largest demographic living in poverty is Female 25-34, followed by Female 45-54 and then Female 55-64. (Any woman voting for Massa Eddie is committing economic suicide. Men are not far behind.)
• People in Cleveland County, NC are getting older. In 2015, the average age of all Cleveland County, NC residents was 41.4. (The young workers that are leaving Cleveland County are leaving older people behind.)
Well folks, all this is the good news about Massa Eddie’s Economic Development record in Cleveland County. Let this digest awhile, sit down with a cool drink and come back for the rest of the story.