Wall Street is wonky, and there's plenty of economic uncertainty, with the R-word — recession — being thrown around a lot lately. So let's hear about some new insight into the state of the economy. A senior economist with the Bank of America Institute recently offered his perspective during a gathering of the Charlotte Economics Club. Here to talk about that, and more, is the Charlotte Ledger Business Newsletter's Tony Mecia, for our segment BizWorthy.
Marshall Terry: OK. So David Tinsley, in his address, said consumers in Charlotte and across the country are responding to a shifting economy in different ways. How so?
Tony Mecia: He said that looking at the bank's data, he had seen sort of a split — in that the higher-income households are largely continuing to spend while lower-income households are kind of pulling back and are really getting walloped by higher food costs, higher utility costs and lower wage growth. And it's sort of interesting to listen to bank economists talk about this. Because they're able to see, sort of in real time, what people are doing with their money, how they're spending the money that's coming into their accounts, what they're spending money on.
Terry: So, what was the overall takeaway that Tinsley presented — or, maybe, how worried should we be?
Mecia: Well, he did stress that consumer spending is largely holding up in the aggregate. I think the consensus view among economists is that the odds of a recession are going up. It doesn't mean that it's going to happen. But with some of the things going on in the economy, I think economists are saying they are seeing that risk rising.
Terry: Let's look at some medical and economic development news now. A new era in Charlotte is about to begin. The first students have been accepted at the city's new medical school. When did they start?
Mecia: Yes, there's been a lot of anticipation about this. Charlotte's first four-year medical school, Atrium, says 48 medical students have been accepted. They're going to start on July 7. They will be in the new complex at The Pearl. There are two buildings going up there in the Midtown area, so just a few more months.
Terry: All right. You report that armed security guards will be placed at parks uptown. What's prompting that? And, who will be providing them?
Mecia: Yes. At a meeting this week of Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Committee, park officials said that the county would be providing armed security guards. These will be private security guards hired by Mecklenburg County. They'll be at several parks uptown — Romare Bearden Park, First Ward Park, Fourth Ward Park — and then a section of the Little Sugar Creek Greenway in Midtown. They said it's in response to some concerns about crime. There have been some highly publicized shootings, for example, at Romare Bearden Park in the last couple of years. This edition of armed security guards is in addition to some of the things that Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are doing.
Terry: Finally, on to an update on a story the Ledger has been following for a few years now — and that is what's going on with Charlotte's Aldersgate Retirement Community. Remind us what's going on there. And, then, what's the latest?
Mecia: Right. We've been reporting over the last few years that Aldersgate has had some financial troubles in being able to repay vendors and refund money to families. The state had stepped in and was supervising Aldersgate's finances.
This is a major east Charlotte retirement community. The new leadership at Aldersgate has been working to find a merger partner or another nonprofit to affiliate with.
They say they've narrowed that list down to one, and the trustees are going to vote on March 28, and then announce the decision to residents on April 2. When that happens, they say that will be a good thing for Aldersgate's finances. They haven't identified who that is, what company that is, or what nonprofit it is. So it's a little bit unclear. Stay tuned. We'll find out.
Support for BizWorthy comes from the law office of Robertson and Associates.
