Jim Fenwick: Poverty-level progress

I read that National Spinning Co. is bringing 50 jobs to Duplin County. If the jobs are created and $1.2 million is invested then the company gets a $100,000 grant from a state fund if there is a local match of the $100,000. So if all comes to fruition, National Spinning gets $200,000 from grants.

The 50 jobs will pay around $24,000 per year. The federal poverty level for a family of four is about $24,000 per year.

This letter is not about National Spinning but about our state and local governments that reward companies that create jobs that pay poverty-level wages. Doesn’t make sense to me.

This story was originally published July 5, 2015 at 2:06 PM with the headline "Jim Fenwick: Poverty-level progress."