No WhiteWash!

Update: This blog has sent the post below to 83 people via email or U.S.Mail that are in the list below.

Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman
Mayor of Sullivan County
Sullivan County Commissioners
Bristol City Council
Bluff City Mayor and Alderman
Kingsport Chamber of Commerce
Tennessee Legislators for North East TN
U.S. Congress Legislators for North East TN
Commissioner Matt Kisber- TN Economic & Community Development
Governor Phil Bredesen
Tennessee Candidates for Governor
NETWORKS Sullivan Partnership Board of Directors and Members

I am sure that the past and current elected leaders will want this graph and the facts below to disappear because it reflects on their lack of response to address the problem with Sullivan County and its cities in its declining population and other problems in the Sullivan County area.  This blog will continue to expose the facts and there will be ”No Spin” and “No WhiteWash! of the data presented on this blog.

Top Eleven Largest Counties Population – 1980 to 2030

Data for the graph and the table below is from the following links State and County Population and Population Projections for the State of Tennessee

Other Facts

• In 1980, Sullivan County was the fifth largest county and it is estimated that in 2030, Sullivan County will be the eleventh largest county.
• The population of Sullivan County is an older population and the median age for Sullivan County is 42.9 years, Tennessee is 37.2 years and Florida is 39.8 years.  The Percent 65 Years and Over for Kingsport is 20.1%, Bristol is 19.5%, Sullivan County is 17.8% and Florida is 17.4%.
• Sullivan County and its cities, (Kingsport and Bristol) have a large number of young adults leaving the area.
• The death rate for Sullivan County is more than the birth rate.
• Sullivan County birth rate is low as compared to the state.
• Sullivan County only gained 852 people between years 2000 to 2008 which gave a net gain of 0.56 percent growth.
• Average Household median income is low for the area.  Kingsport is $34,391, Bristol is $36,454, and Sullivan County is $37,559. Two people in the same household making the new Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour would make $30,160 per year.
• The percent of poverty for those 65 and older in Sullivan County, TN is 12.2%, Kingsport is 11.6%, and Bristol is 16.2%. These percentages are 2007 numbers and could be higher due to the recession.  The household median income for 65 and older in Sullivan County is $28,070.
• The poverty level for Kingsport is 18%, Bristol is 14.6%, and Sullivan County is 15.8%.  These percentages are 2007 numbers and could be higher due to the recession.  Poverty level for 2009 is defined for a person’s income to be $10,830 per year.
• Kiplinger’s Personal Finance survey rates the Kingsport MSA as having the highest cost of living, low median income and the worst job growth out of 10 major cities/metro areas in Tennessee.
• The area unemployment is high with Kingsport having the highest unemployment – See link for more details Jobs/Unemployment
• The Republican Party has continuously controlled Tennessee’s 1st Congressional District since 1881.  It appears for the most part that most of the new jobs are going to the more Democrat Party area.
• Kingsport has publicly stated that they would like to make Kingsport a destination city for visitors to the area while not addressing the real problems the area faces.  Spending the tax payers’ money to obtain a short-cut to generate revenue, in my view, does not help the average citizen. Spending money for a conference center expansion and aquatic center will not solve the area’s problems.  The aquatic center will not make any difference when one needs a job and there is not one available locally.  By the same token, if a job exists in the area and you need it badly, then the aquatic center does not enter the picture.
• The area has one of the largest employers (Eastman Chemical) in the state and a major tourist attraction (Bristol Nascar Race).  It appears that the elected leaders have become complacent about finding new good paying jobs because these two businesses have not increased the population and/or stopped the exit of young adults leaving the area.
• Kingsport is the largest city in Sullivan County and is proud of its reputation for having good schools.  Dobyns-Bennett High School has been named by Newsweek magazine as one of the top high schools in the country.  Having great schools apparently is not enough to keep the young adults from leaving the area in search of good paying jobs.
• Kingsport has built a Higher Education Center, but I have a concern that there will not be the needed jobs in the area for those who finish their education.  I am for education, but with the large number of students, and with nothing major coming in as far as jobs, many will leave to look elsewhere for jobs.  Increasing the percentage of college graduates in the area is good, but the percentage of college graduates might be skewed because of the number of college educated young people leaving the area and the fact that the large percentage of older folks that do not have higher education.
• It appears that local cities are striving to get new retail business into the area as an easy way to increase revenue.  Having retail is a quick way to get revenue, but as retail increases in a given city, then the share that retailers gets decreases because they have to share retail sales among many retailers.  I think a better approach would be to increase the flow of money into the area via good paying jobs, which would  provide for longer term stability for these retailers and this will also increase the standard of living for city/county citizens.
• Because of declining revenues or increased spending, cities in Sullivan County have chosen to annex new areas for the tax revenue, increase their population, and to enable the city to borrow more because of the increased asset value.  This helps the cities, but decreases the already low standard of living for the citizens.

Conclusion

The facts presented above may concern some that bringing out these issues will cause folks or businesses to avoid the North East Tennessee area.  The facts presented above are available to anyone who desires to do research.  I am sure that any large company would do their research before deciding to invest in Sullivan County.  I also feel that “enough is enough” and the issues need to be up-front and center stage to be addressed.  No more hiding the issues….deal with them head on so the region will begin to respond economically. Good paying jobs in my view is what is needed to restore what has been lost.

There must be lots of jobs and a few hundred will not do.  It should be a broad mix of jobs that would be attractive to different types of workers who have different skills or educational training.

We need elected officials that will not cater to special interests groups or use get rich quick schemes to get revenue into the local government.  Get the money flowing into the area via good paying jobs and then the region might become attractive to those job seekers. The current and past economic development efforts are not working and efforts need to be stepped up and action is needed now.  If the economic development people are not capable of delivering results, then they need to be replaced.  If local politics are hindering the economic development efforts, then that needs to be exposed and addressed.

If you are an elected official or economic development person and your views or lack of vision is holding up the region from rebounding, then you need to step aside.

What you can do?

• Go to BMA and Sullivan County Commissioners meetings and make your views known.
• Talk to your BMA or Sullivan County Commissioners individually.
• Talk to your neighbors and friends and get them involved.
• Send this post via email to your friends and neighbors.
• Talk to your U.S  Congress Legislators. and Tennessee Legislators
• Vote in the next election for those that can address the area’s problems
• Keep the pressure on the elected officials.
• Write letters to the editors at the local newspapers (Kingsport and Bristol).  Let this blog know if your letter to the editor is refused and provide a copy via the “You Report It! menu item at the top of the this page.
• Participate in local talk radio shows to express your views.
• Start your own blog.
• Now is the time to voice your concerns before taxes are raised in the future

Comments are Welcome

Please feel free to add comments via this blog

NASHVILLE – State tax revenues continued to decline in July, making it the first time in Tennessee history the state has experienced a full year of negative growth.  Finance and Administration Commissioner Dave Goetz today reported July revenue collections, pointing to sales tax collections which have experienced negative growth for 17 out of the past 19 months when compared to the year before.

“Franchise and excise tax collections showed positive growth for July, but all the over collection resulted from significant one-time payments, not from an upswing in economic activity in Tennessee,” Goetz said. “We continue to strictly monitor revenue collections and our expenditures in order to maintain a balanced budget.”

Overall July revenues were $815.0 million or $61.8 million less than the state budgeted. Continue reading “July, 2009 Revenues for Tennessee” »

Sperm banks and donor agencies say the recession is prompting a surge in calls from people who hope to make money by donating their sperm or eggs.

…..Compensation varies by region, state and donor agency. At Oregon Health & Science University Fertility Consultants in Portland, sperm donors get $100 per collection and can donate twice a week, says lab director David Battaglia. Egg donors, who undergo an outpatient extraction procedure, can get $5,000 for a donation, he says.

Read more via Sperm, egg donors increase during recession – USATODAY.com.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose for a second straight month in May but were weaker than expected, adding to growing fears of an anemic economic recovery from a deep recession.

Read more via U.S. home sales add to recovery worries | Reuters.

Moving back in with mom and dad sends relationship back in time

The recession has dealt a lot of low blows in the past several months, but none so devastating, perhaps, as forcing adults to do the unthinkable: move back in with mom and dad.

Read more via Grown kids return to the nest — and regress – Kids and parenting- msnbc.com.

Even with the Medicare drug benefit, even with the prevalence of low-cost generics, even with loss-leader discounting by big chains, many Americans still find themselves unable to afford the prescription medications that manage their life-threatening conditions.

Read more via Slump Pushing Cost of Drugs Out of Reach – NYTimes.com.

When it comes to what makes us happy at work, job satisfaction surveys have been showing for years that the size of our paycheck is losing ground to intangibles like autonomy, mobility, low stress, flexible hours, job security, health coverage and other benefits, and paid time off. Does pay matter?

Read more via 10 Great Jobs for the Recession and Beyond – TIME.

Just when many state governments are weeks away from the start of another budget year, a new crisis has emerged that threatens their finances: the closing of nearly 2,000 automobile dealerships.

Coupled with the slowdown in automobile manufacturing and sales, the dealership shutdowns recently announced by General Motors Corp. and Chrysler will have a deep impact on state and local governments already enduring what may be the worst recession since the Great Depression. Consider that a fifth of California’s sales tax revenue is from new and used car sales.

“As these local dealerships close, the impact will be more profound than people realize,” said Sen. Mark Norris, the Republican Senate majority leader in Tennessee. Chrysler is planning to close 14 dealerships in his state.

Read more via Tracking the recession: Car dealer closings will add to state budget woes.

Companies will start to play a mind game with consumers that is slightly different from what we’ve seen in the past. Some companies assume that the consumer doesn’t have any money. But now they’re learning that that’s not the case. Consumers still do have money — at least many do — but the reason that they’re not spending it is because they’re afraid they may lose the money in the future.

So companies are trying to find the triggers they have to pull on in order to make people feel comfortable about spending money.

Read more via How Shoppers Make Decisions In Recession – TIME.

Americans everywhere are feeling the recession’s pain – some more than others.  Click on the link below to see your state rank

Read more via Where does your state rank? – CNNMoney.com.