Our society has long passed the time when a job of any kind was better than no job. We now understand that putting people to work in low-paying jobs puts a damper on the local economy's ability to get ahead.

Decatur is losing one of its longest-running industries and one that pays a pretty good wage. Many Decatur retirees and present workers raised families on Wolverine Tube pay and sent their children to college.

Decatur began missing Wolverine some time ago, ever since the industry began having financial woes. The plant employed more than 1,000 workers in 1999. When the plant closes in January, that number will be cut about in half.

When it opened in 1948 on 270 acres on the Tennessee River, Wolverine was the most modern copper tubing facility in the world. Bringing in Wolverine as the second major non-agricultural industry was part of a plan to shift Morgan County's economy away from relying on cotton and corn and to improve the quality of life here.

Overseas competition, a revolution in the tubing industry and, perhaps, leveraged buyouts put the company in a financial bind, thus it's closing.

Wolverine couldn't or wouldn't re-invent itself despite its commitment to research and development. Wolverine will mothball its plant.

In the meanwhile, local officials say they will assist in helping bring in jobs to replace those that will disappear after the first of the year.

In doing that, let us not fall back on the false theory that any job is better than no job. Those we recruit should not only match Wolverine pay, or pay better, but also should be part of the next generation of industries that will have as long a run as Wolverine.

Statistics show local median wages have declined for several years. That is not progress.

Morgan County's policy should be not to assist any industry looking to locate here if it doesn't pay equal to or better than the average wage.

To do otherwise is shortsighted.

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