Quote:
Originally Posted by sh9730
P S - although nowhere near the Boom times of 7 years ago - building permits in CG are UP again this year quite a bit - as well as some new apts and mobile home parks (nice ones) that are filling quickly. There are gains in employment from some of our larger employers (Hexcel Corp - 100 new this year - a new Yogurt manufacturing facility being built which will employ 300 or so eventually etc...)
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You are not incorrect that some Chinese vendors and other international companies could setup shop in PhoenixMart, but in order to qualify for the EB-5 program most of the investment must attract and be directed towards American companies. In the case of PhoenixMart, they would be required to be a showcase center for NAFTA qualifying companies...that's if they choose to spend money on setting up infrastructure for this type of project. And therein lies the problem; that business model is inefficient and is unsophisticated. With more sustainably driven models, like JIT manufacturing and semi-customization, there really will be no need to showcase goods in such a setting...especially one so far away from a major urban center. This would require too much time for travel.
As for CG's growth rate, it is almost nonexistent averaging only 1.45% per year since 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau (which has been known to overestimate growth rates). That means that since 2010 only 1,391 people have been added to CG's population...most over the age of 65. The small gains in employment have not compensated for the number of jobs lost during the recession; hence, the unemployment rate in CG is higher than the state average and much higher than metro Phoenix' rate (hovering over 10% with the most recently pegged rate at 10.10% in March 2013). The most recent employment growth rate for CG is actually negative (-0.04%). This sounds more like a scheme for buying citizenship rather than creating sustainable employment in a sustainable manner.
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/04/0410530.html