From Staff Reports

During a question-and-answer session that followed his presentation on “The State of the Economy” to the Council of Independent Business Owners on Feb. 7 at UNC Asheville, area workforce expert Nathan Ramsey never ducked a question. 

The closest he came was when an unidentified man asked if Ramsey had “comparative costs” that were used to justify the elimination of certain road projects.

With a smile, Ramsey replied that he did not have that information. However, the crowd then erupted laughter when he quipped that, “At Waffle House, it’s 50 cents extra per egg” — due to rising egg prices.

CIBO member Mac Swicegood asked, “Do you have (financial numbers for) Helene’s impact per county?

“The estimate we have right now is from the state budget office,” Ramsey answered. “I haven’t seen that breakdown per county.”

An unidentified woman said she has “heard that 40 percent of small businesses will not survive (Helene’s impact) in the area.”

Nodding, Ramsey replied, “45 percent is the average after a storm like this... In my opinion, the more businesses we can save, the quicker we will recover... I think there’s going to be a lot more disruption... If we could put us (the area) in a time capsule — and get out a year from now... I think we’ll be in good shape. That’s a really messy and complicated process....”

H.K Edgerton, an Asheville native and Southern heritage activist, stated, “A lot of people in single-family houses are now in multi-famiiy houses... This thing called ‘affordable housing’ — we don’t have ‘affordable housing.’ Also we don’t have the land....”

Smiling, Ramsey replied, “So FEMA wouldn’t put any housing in a floodplain... So the state is putting in temporary housing in a floodplain... And FEMA will turn around and reimburse the state.

“You’re right on ‘affordable housing.’ If you spend more than 30 percent of your income, it’s not ‘affordable.’ We have a lot of people in WNC who pay more than 30 percent (of their income for housing) … more than 50 percent... We’re an extreme example of that.”

An unidentified man asked, “With the varying ideas on the timeframe on the recovery of the region, with varying ideas on the impact of the storm… maybe it’s conservative… Will it take five or 10 years (for the Asheville MSA) to recover?”

Ramsey replied, “I think it will take at least five years… probably more. It could take 10 years for recovery in some sectors

“I’m optimistic about the future of our region. Hopefully, we will recover faster than we thought... As long as the national economy stays reasonably strong, that’s a big help to us.

“If you look from a national perspective, for a locale with about a half-million people, it shouldn’t be that hard to help us recover... I think as long as our national economy remains robust, we will be good”

A unidentified man asked, “Where is the $130 million from (former President Joe) Biden?”

Ramsey answered, “I think it was more like $100 million….  There was no line item in that bill that says North Carolina is going to get ‘x.’ Most of that involves things we’re going to go after — and get.”

While many others had questions to ask, CIBO moderator John Carroll — citing time constraints —  ended the program, at which point the crowd enthusiastically applauded Ramsey’s presentation.