Revisiting Bob Johnson's Remarks About Charlotte

By now, most everyone in Charlotte's business community is aware of Bob Johnson's comments on the perils of doing business in Charlotte.

"Charlotte is a very, how would I call it, close-knit, arrogant, sometimes incestuous town," he said to a group of black business people earlier this month.

"...It's close-knit, and if you come to this town, and you look like you're one of those people that might break some glass ... it's going to be tough for them to relate to.

"The thing that concerns me is that I'm just surprised that the city doesn't do more for African-American small businesses. And I don't really understand that."

Johnson's words were harsh indeed, and might simply come down to sour grapes after a bad bet on the Bobcats? Still, I can't help wonder whether there is any truth in his statement? Has anyone heard this sentiment before; that black entrepreneurs have it especially hard in Charlotte, more than most other cities? Who are the entrepreneurs in town whose successes prove Johnson wrong, or whose failures prove him right?

Let's face it: Bob Johnson arrived in Charlotte boasting one of nation's best business minds; after founding and building Black Entertainment Television into a media juggernaut, he sold it to MTV for more than $3 billion. Somehow, though, Johnson stumbled badly in Charlotte. Most blame his aloofness to Charlotte, and his status as an absentee-owner. Others, albeit quietly, were always asking whether this Southern town was truly ready to deal with its first big-city black power broker. Any thoughts on this?

Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/03/21/1327317/ex-bobcats-owner-blasts-charlotte.html#ixzz0jKNi3oyB

Charlotte's Middle-Class Crunch

Please pardon my absence from the blogosphere. As the Observer's new business columnist, I've spent the past couple months filling up with ideas, opinions, questions and a few rants that will start appearing in this space - along with my newspaper column.

One issue I'm really interested is this nation's disappearing middle-class. While there's all sorts of studies about what income bracket actually makes a family "middle-class", there seems to be little disagreement that this group is being squeezed from all directions.

Last month, an Obama Administration task force charged with figuring out ways to unburden America's burdened middle-class released its first annual report.

The study mostly stated the obvious. Among its conclusions: "After a lifetime of employment, American workers deserve a secure retirement. Yet for middle-class workers today, especially in the wake of the historic losses to retirement savings and housing wealth in the financial crisis, retirement seems anything but secure."

To be fair, the task force did unveil a few initiatives to address the middle-class squeeze, from tax credits to help with soaring child-care expenses to beefed-up regulations for company 401-K savings plans. The initiatives are slated for the 2011 fiscal year.

Yet meanwhile, there's plenty of angst about the ability of today's middle-class, particularly Baby Boomers, to fully recover from the depths of this unique downturn.

An article in USA Today, published last year, summarized the situation this way:

"The 77 million Americans in the Baby Boom generation face an economic storm: The Wall Street meltdown trampled their retirement nest eggs more than any other group. After losing their jobs during what they thought would be some of their peak earning years, many are struggling to get back into the workforce. Healthcare costs are rising, and declining home values mean they might not be able to count on home equity to guarantee an easier retirement."

I'd love to hear your stories about how this economy is threatening your family's security - or someone you know - in America's storied middle-class; from your ability to send your kids to college, to scaling back on the home you live in, trips you take, or car you drive, etc. The Baby Boomer generation might be hit the hardest, but I'd like to hear stories about Charlotte's crunch from anyone who is feeling it.