Nickerson, Ne and the Cost of Progress

[JJ Husker]

Knapp may be right about the reason Nickerson turned this down. I don't know, heck I've never even heard of Nickerson and don't know where it is. But, the type of people that industry will attract is not necessarily the reason for my comments. I will say the change in culture could contribute greatly to it though. A small community of 400 in rural white Nebraska just wouldn't deal well with the culture shock IMO. I've seen it way too many times. Much of the downside is due to traffic and smell and straining the local infrastructure. I think most of it depends on what kind of a good neighbor the employer is. It's been my experience that larger packinghouse type employers generally are not the best contributors in smaller communities. Sure some of them do lots of good things but too often they over strain the infrastructure (think water supply, wastewater, roads, etc.) without paying their fair share of building these systems up to where they need to be. They will talk some of these towns into all kinds of tax breaks and exemptions and then basically rape and pillage the community. Larger towns and cities can usually handle it but a town of only 400 wouldn't really stand a chance with a large poultry producer, unless that is what they really want the identity of the town to change to. IMO, these employers and the towns can handle it in places over 40,000 or 50,000 population. Much smaller than that though and it seems things almost always change for the worse. That's what I've seen in these towns and I've seen a bunch of them.

 

I will say that those "white collar" jobs without "those" people in tow just aren't looking to locate in a small town of 400. Why would they? Better jobs than that require a larger, more educated workforce. I'm guessing that a small town of 400 in rural Nebraska is already heavily agriculture based and likely doesn't really need and can't support an employer dangling 1100 jobs. The people filling the majority of those jobs will not be locals. They just won't be, primarily because they don't have the workforce readily available.

[knapplc]

Here's the twist to this Nickerson debate - the company is dead set on putting the plant in this region. We've been hearing scuttlebutt of new sites since the Nickerson vote, and now it looks like one might be moving forward.

The kicker is, it's immediately south of Fremont. That's the same town that now requires you to show proof of citizenship to attain housing because, you know, it's right on the border with Mexico.

Site south of Fremont surfaces as location for chicken plant

FREMONT — Land south of Fremont has surfaced as a possible site for a chicken processing plant.

Members of a sanitary improvement district have met with Fremont officials to discuss annexation of land near the Hormel plant along Old Highway 275. The site would require Fremont to extend water lines and utilities to the site.

Mayor Scott Getzschman says the 400-acre parcel is among several area sites under consideration.

 

 

The most likely site is between Cloverly & Studley roads. And yes, they did name Studley Road after me.

 

[JJ Husker]

I will say, since this place is directly south of Fremont, the workforce would be available. I guess that's a no brainer or the company would not want to locate there. For some reason, I pictured a place 60 miles away from anywhere in the middle of a cornfield. Ha, probably because I've been in Colorado too long.

 

Back in the day, our church sponsored a family of Vietnamese refugee boat people. Brought them to Columbus initially but within a couple short years they had all moved to Fremont to work at the Hormel plant. You want to talk about an unbelievable work ethic. They made the most of their shot at picking themselves up by their bootstraps. They became self sufficient almost immediately. And yes, I would say it was by doing work that many "locals" didn't really want to do.

[HuskerShark]

 

 

I'm coming about this from a different view point. I work with local economic development.

 

On one side, I hear people in the community say....

 

1) Why can't we attract jobs?

2) Why don't kids want to stay here?

3) How can we attract people back to the area?

....etc.

 

But, then an opportunity like this comes up that would change the community and they don't want it.

 

Would you want your son or daughter to work a job like that? I know I have much higher goals for my kids than trading their whole lives away working in a factory.

 

Whose sons and daughters are going to work at all these factories that Trump will bring back? If not "ours" then it must be "theirs", but if "theirs" aren't allowed past "the wall" then it shall be "ours".

 

If it was "our" sons and daughters doing these jobs, Nickerson most likely would have approved the plant. This facility would have paid better than the local gas station. It would have paid better then the waitress at the bar. It would have paid better than most hourly positions in the entire community.

 

Not to mention the dozens of management and skilled labor jobs that are adequate for "our" children.

 

 

So what's your point? That since I am voting for Trump that I don't have perspective on these types of things? I'd say that the "jobs" part of Trump's campaign is one of the least important in my mind. IMO, we need more people going out creating jobs and opportunities for others, and less people looking & training for jobs. Technology has the ability to replace every cashier in the country if we wanted it to. I say let it, especially if McDonald's employees think they need $15/hr.

[StPaulHusker]

I would be interested in knowing what the attraction to Nickerson was versus say Winslow, or Hooper, or any other smaller Nebraska town in the general vicinity.

[knapplc]

I would be interested in knowing what the attraction to Nickerson was versus say Winslow, or Hooper, or any other smaller Nebraska town in the general vicinity.

 

They probably wanted to keep it near Fremont so they had a view of the lovely skyline.

[funhusker]

 

 

 

I'm coming about this from a different view point. I work with local economic development.

 

On one side, I hear people in the community say....

 

1) Why can't we attract jobs?

2) Why don't kids want to stay here?

3) How can we attract people back to the area?

....etc.

 

But, then an opportunity like this comes up that would change the community and they don't want it.

 

Would you want your son or daughter to work a job like that? I know I have much higher goals for my kids than trading their whole lives away working in a factory.

 

Whose sons and daughters are going to work at all these factories that Trump will bring back? If not "ours" then it must be "theirs", but if "theirs" aren't allowed past "the wall" then it shall be "ours".

 

If it was "our" sons and daughters doing these jobs, Nickerson most likely would have approved the plant. This facility would have paid better than the local gas station. It would have paid better then the waitress at the bar. It would have paid better than most hourly positions in the entire community.

 

Not to mention the dozens of management and skilled labor jobs that are adequate for "our" children.

 

 

So what's your point? That since I am voting for Trump that I don't have perspective on these types of things? I'd say that the "jobs" part of Trump's campaign is one of the least important in my mind. IMO, we need more people going out creating jobs and opportunities for others, and less people looking & training for jobs. Technology has the ability to replace every cashier in the country if we wanted it to. I say let it, especially if McDonald's employees think they need $15/hr.

 

^^^The red is my point.

 

A company was going to create 1100 jobs, but because they aren't "good enough" jobs we don't want them.

 

I didn't mean to necessarily single you out, I just know that you are outspoken about your Trump support. A lot of Trump supporters I've talked to like him because he says he will keep manufacturing jobs in America and get rid of illegals. Well, if we keep all our "crappy" manufacturing jobs and get rid of all the people willing to work them, I just don't see how that works....

[BigRedBuster]

Sooo....now we don't want manufacturing jobs.

[knapplc]

Maybe it'd be OK if the plant manufactured sections of The Donald's wall?

[JJ Husker]

It's a valid point. The best thing we could do for our economy is quit sourcing the majority of our manufacturing overseas. But, part of the problem is Americans have grown soft and don't want to work that hard. Hey, if you can buy $6 coffee daily and sit on your ass to earn your paycheck, why stand all day long doing mindless repetitive motion physical labor? I wouldn't want to do it either. But it does annoy the hell out of me that we'll extend unemployment benefits etc. but keep sending the bulk of our manufacturing out of the country.

[HuskerShark]

 

 

 

 

I'm coming about this from a different view point. I work with local economic development.

 

On one side, I hear people in the community say....

 

1) Why can't we attract jobs?

2) Why don't kids want to stay here?

3) How can we attract people back to the area?

....etc.

 

But, then an opportunity like this comes up that would change the community and they don't want it.

 

Would you want your son or daughter to work a job like that? I know I have much higher goals for my kids than trading their whole lives away working in a factory.

Whose sons and daughters are going to work at all these factories that Trump will bring back? If not "ours" then it must be "theirs", but if "theirs" aren't allowed past "the wall" then it shall be "ours".

 

If it was "our" sons and daughters doing these jobs, Nickerson most likely would have approved the plant. This facility would have paid better than the local gas station. It would have paid better then the waitress at the bar. It would have paid better than most hourly positions in the entire community.

 

Not to mention the dozens of management and skilled labor jobs that are adequate for "our" children.

So what's your point? That since I am voting for Trump that I don't have perspective on these types of things? I'd say that the "jobs" part of Trump's campaign is one of the least important in my mind. IMO, we need more people going out creating jobs and opportunities for others, and less people looking & training for jobs. Technology has the ability to replace every cashier in the country if we wanted it to. I say let it, especially if McDonald's employees think they need $15/hr.

^^^The red is my point.

 

A company was going to create 1100 jobs, but because they aren't "good enough" jobs we don't want them.

 

I didn't mean to necessarily single you out, I just know that you are outspoken about your Trump support. A lot of Trump supporters I've talked to like him because he says he will keep manufacturing jobs in America and get rid of illegals. Well, if we keep all our "crappy" manufacturing jobs and get rid of all the people willing to work them, I just don't see how that works....

I gotcha. I wouldn't consider myself in that camp that you describe, but I get your point. I'm not so much about jobs as trade and national safety.

[Omaha-Husker]

I would be interested in knowing what the attraction to Nickerson was versus say Winslow, or Hooper, or any other smaller Nebraska town in the general vicinity.

 

The Fremont Chamber of Commerce did a lot of hard work to bring it to the general area. I am sure they wanted to keep it close enough for Fremont to see an impact.

[Red Dead Redemption]

You gotta pay me more than $15/hr to choke someone else's chicken.

[84HuskerLaw]

I would say that it would be a great addtion to a community of maybe 3000 or so but would be the 'tail wagging the dog' in a little town of 400. The town couldn't support the infrastructure (sewer, water, etc as well as the law enforcement, etc.). Good jobs would be great for any of the hundreds of thousands of smaller towns across this country but they MUST be "middle income" (i.e. $50,000 plus a year PER worker). Creating a bunch of grunt work minimum wage plus a couple bucks jobs is NOT economic development. In fact, in my view, it is just the opposite and will lead to more economic decay. Likely create a massive influx of low and moderate income folks with all the associated social issues such as divorce, parentless kids, unpaid utility and housing bills, etc.

 

A good sized firm for a town of 400 might be to add about 20 middle income jobs. That many each year for 5 years would literally transform the town into an All American city like we once had all over the country. IRS, postal service, etc. type jobs would be a good start. Most small towns, especially if not the county seat town, have lost all the office and government and other service positions. Most lost their medical providers (doctors, dentists, etc) as well as car dealers, even mechianics, plumbers, electricians, etc. These are good paying family supporting type jobs. Most are all but gone from the smaller towns. They are needed and becoming "a company town" by having something like this happen would be very 'ify'. The big danger is what happens to the entire town when the company a decade or so down the road decides to close up shop and move a couple hundred miles or more away. The town is economically "nuked" in the process.

[knapplc]

Echoes of the sentiment in Nickerson in this article. There are fewer manufacturing jobs in America every year as corporations move them out of the country for cheap labor. People want jobs, don't want to have to get a college education, but they can't live like their parents did on the kinds of jobs available for a person without a degree - or they're not willing to work those jobs.

 

http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/04/news/economy/america-left-behind-white-men/index.html