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Friday, October 9, 2009
How I See It
Bialecki: Mass. making progress on economic plan
MHT's Efrain Viscarolasaga: Tech companies may have to wait for stimulus funds
MHT managing editor Rodney Brown on NECN: 22 tech companies give back to community
There are early signs that Massachusetts is beginning to emerge from this harsh economic downturn and that we are poised to do so faster and stronger than much of the rest of the country. We ranked first in the nation in job growth in May and have seen steady progress since. Housing sales have seen a 50 percent increase in the last several months. While unemployment is still too high, those numbers also reflect the good news that people are choosing to stay in Massachusetts and to enter or re-enter the job market here, hopeful for new and better opportunities.
Throughout the past nearly three years, the governor and his team have worked to shape a future for working people and businesses in the Commonwealth that builds on our strengths and positions us better for global competition. His constant challenge to us is to make our own opportunities in Massachusetts, rather than just wait for the economic winds to blow us around. While there is no easy solution to the challenges that face us, we have been making steady progress, as the early signs confirm, on a three-part plan for sustainable job growth.
First, we are building upon our position as one of the world’s great centers for innovation. We have a long and remarkable history of innovation, of course, but innovation is a vital part of our present and future as well. Massachusetts companies are on the cutting edge in biotech, clean energy and energy conservation, robotics, video gaming and mobile communications. Our battery companies power hybrid and electric cars and our robots support our troops abroad and vacuum our homes.
Through the governor’s Life Sciences Center and Clean Energy Center, local students are getting internships with local companies, promising young researchers are receiving funding to pursue their work, and startup companies are getting funding assistance as they convert their ideas into market-ready commercial products. By building collaborations with business and the universities in each of these areas, the governor and his team have made state government into an active partner in their growth. That means jobs and wealth created by and for Massachusetts residents.
Second, in keeping with the governor’s pledge to be “governor of the whole state,” we are making the case to investors for the competitive advantages of doing business outside of metropolitan Boston, as well as in the city. The Boston “brand” is strong and important to our marketing strategy, but we are also selling the virtues of doing business elsewhere in the state, where the costs of housing, power and labor are often lower. And we are getting results: A Fortune 100 financial services company hiring 300 employees in downtown Springfield, software companies locating offices in Fall River and Lowell, and solar energy manufacturing facilities opening in Devens and New Bedford. The jobs they create are for both college graduates and lower-skilled workers. And that expansion opens up opportunity for the talent we know exists in every corner of the commonwealth.
Third, we continue to make the public investments needed for our long-term success, especially in education and infrastructure. We have protected, and will continue to protect, the excellence of our public schools, despite tremendous budget pressures. Thanks to the governor’s accelerated bridge program, we are reducing the number of structurally deficient bridges in Massachusetts each year. The roadwork, broadband expansion and public campus projects that have been such an inconvenience lately will enhance the quality of life and business climate in the near future.
We have a plan to build a stronger commonwealth and we are making steady progress, in spite of the economic headwinds. Before Gov. Patrick took office, Massachusetts ranked 45th in the country in job growth. We rank 24th today. We have reversed the loss of young people and working families to other New England states. We have ranked at or near the top in national surveys of good places to do business and entrepreneurial activity. While we have much more distance to climb, the signs are pointing in the right direction. We won’t let up until every business, every worker and every family shares in the promise of a brighter future.
To keep making progress, there are some old habits that we must begin to break. Charming as our New England modesty sometimes is, we need to recognize our world-class opportunities and market them with confidence. We need to collaborate more within the private sector, between the private and public sector, and with our colleges and universities. We are making some of our greatest progress in areas like the life sciences, IT and clean energy through just that kind of collaboration. That needs to become our hallmark.
The governor constantly reminds his cabinet that we should never presume we have a corner on all the best ideas. To that end, the governor will convene leaders from around the state at a jobs summit at the end of October and ask them to identify additional ways we can, working together, speed up the commonwealth’s economic recovery. We have great confidence in the opportunities on our horizon, if we stay on our current course. We look forward to working together to accelerate that success.
Greg Bialecki is Secretary of Housing and Economic Development for the commonwealth of Massachusetts. This op ed was submitted to multiple news outlets. We included it here so readers could generate discussion about it. Please add your comments below.
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