Saturday, August 9, 2014

Ohio jobs numbers, our past...but, what's in our future?

Continued sobering job numbers - We (Ohio) need a double dose of espresso and some vision in supporting job growth in such established sectors as advance manufacturing and focus on strong industry clusters such as the health industry and medical research and the currently frozen (in Ohio) renewable energy sector as well as pushing for immigration reform. And, then there is the issue of what we're doing in education.

Rich Exner of the Plain Dealer has done an admirable job on his tax comparison (w/10 other metro areas), but as a City, region and state, we're lacking political leadership and vision in how to be truly globally competitive.  See:

11 Takes on Taxes FAQ; answers about what went into the calculations

And, his latest on job numbers from 1959 to-date:

Ohio lags U.S. jobs growth, as it has under a half-century of governors from John Kasich to Michael DiSalle



The issue of Ohio's more than decade long recession (2000 - 2011), and how our state has lagged the national average in job growth since the late 1950's need more attention.

There are no easy solutions, but the recent freezing of renewable energy standards, Ohio's turning away of $400 million in funding for rail infrastructure are two of the most backward examples of what continues to keep Ohio down.  Thanks to George Zeller for being one of the most hard working and vocal economists to provide the numbers.  Now what will we do with them and how can we create a better vision and pursue actions to provide more opportunities for all Ohioans?

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