The Rhode Island Economic Policy Council has unveiled 10 strategies designed to strengthen the state’s economy (see story on page 3). Rhode Island, according to the EPC, “should maintain its unique authenticity of place – while educating a population of knowledge workers.” The state should continue to grow a high-tech economy and retain good middle-wage jobs, suggests the EPC.
“Our state is one of the few places left in America that hasn’t traded authenticity for prosperity,” said Christopher Bergstrom, executive director of the EPC. “We’re not completely overrun with strip malls or with suburban subdivisions from horizon to horizon, and we have a strong sense of heritage and community. Those qualities, combined with our ethnic diversity, our natural resources, our manageable size and our walkable communities, position us well for attracting new economy businesses and workers.”
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The EPC strategies are sound. They include an emphasis on developing economic niches and nurturing those authentic advantages that make Rhode Island such a desirable place to live. They also include an emphasis on education, improving the climate for entrepreneurs, and promoting uses for Narragansett Bay.
The strategies, much to our agreement, acknowledge that we are part of a Boston Metro economy and we must build on that. Only by accepting that we need to be a part of something bigger will we in fact give our economy the best opportunity for growth.
What is missing in the EPC report is a detailed plan for funding such bold proposals.
The proposals have the backing of Gov. Lincoln Almond, the EPC’s co-chairman. Almond points to several tax incentive programs, including the recent phase-out of the tax on long-term capital gains, and funding for the state’s innovative Slater Centers as evidence of the potential for the General Assembly embracing the EPC proposals.
We hope the governor is right and that these bold initiatives are given the political – and more importantly, financial – backing that they deserve.
