Joseph Galarneau: N.C.’s reputation tarnished

Regarding the April 6 news article “PayPal cancels planned N.C. jobs”: As a high-technology start-up CEO and former North Carolinian, I see PayPal’s recent move to abandon its Charlotte expansion as the first in a long line of similar corporate moves.

Perhaps business executives in the legislature feel that HB2 enhances the economic climate, but they mostly represent old-line, low-wage industries and not the sort of companies that chambers of commerce salivate over from high-paying sectors such as technology, pharma and financial services.

From my time as a student at N.C. State, Duke and the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics, I know that North Carolina is full of highly qualified candidates that would be a good match for my Big Data company, which is based in New York City and looking to expand. But I could not bear to see my LGBT employees treated as a second-class citizens, even though a majority of North Carolinians – particularly those in urban areas – disagree with HB2.

The state’s reputation as a progressive, business-friendly environment with a solid educational system – basically, an economic development magnet – has been significantly tarnished by the GOP, with this backward law being the most significant, but unlikely the last, blow.

This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Joseph Galarneau: N.C.’s reputation tarnished."