Archive for September, 2009
Thursday, September 10th, 2009
This morning, Jobs for New England Now was thrilled to announce the rollout of its second state chapter, Jobs for Massachusetts Now, which will work to promote job growth and economic development in Massachusetts. Groups participating in the Massachusetts project include the Retailers Association of Massachusetts (RAM), Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM), South Shore Chamber of Commerce, Metro South Chamber of Commerce, and NFIB Massachusetts.
Since we began Jobs for New England Now just five months ago, we have taken an active role in educating Connecticut policymakers and residents about how we can make the region more attractive to companies that provide jobs to our residents, and we intend to do the same in the Commonwealth.
Moving forward, the project will have an active online presence at both www.jobsformassachusettsnow.org and the larger group’s website at www.jobsfornewenglandnow.org. Both websites house studies, opinion pieces, recent news and blog commentary from coalition members, and other academic experts. Additionally, members of Jobs for Massachusetts Now will work throughout the region in a variety of ways to promote pro-business policies that will help spur job growth and maintain existing job opportunities throughout the region.
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Thursday, September 10th, 2009
From today’s Republican-American: A state-sponsored investment company has awarded $1 million to a Torrington company that is building a new type of windmill on a nearby farm.
Connecticut Innovations announced on Wednesday its investment in Optiwind Corp. as part of its campaign to encourage clean energy in the state.
“We want to help this Torrington company create cutting edge, green technology jobs right here in Connecticut,” Gov. M. Jodi Rell said in the announcement. “At the same time, we can help Optiwind to advance its efforts to address climate change. This state investment is a win-win scenario.”
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Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
From the Boston Globe: The number of jobs in the state’s solar energy industry nearly doubled from 2007 to 2008 – and the numbers are on pace to grow sharply again this year, according to Massachusetts officials.
Ian A. Bowles, secretary of the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, said he would disclose the numbers today at the trade show Cleantech Forum XXIII. The two-day show opened today at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.
A survey of nearly 100 solar energy employers in Massachusetts showed the number of jobs in the sector grew from 1,086 in 2007 to 2,075 in 2008, Bowles said. The growth is “indicative of the health and welfare’’ of the local solar energy industry, he added.
Tags: Innovation, Jobs, Solar
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Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
From Sunday’s Hartford Courant: With the recent announcement that Pratt & Whitney is evaluating whether to relocate 1,000 jobs, some elected officials proclaimed that we must, at all costs, keep well-paying manufacturing jobs in Connecticut. Given that well-paying jobs have been leaving Connecticut for many years, we can only hope that the magnitude of Pratt’s potential loss will produce meaningful and constructive state action to match those words.
Indeed, we must react with a sense of urgency to this latest wake-up call and aggressively address Connecticut’s woeful economic direction. Gov. M. Jodi Rell deserves credit for her efforts to retain the Pratt jobs, but rather than react to announcements of job relocations, our elected officials must establish a climate that causes businesses to retain current jobs and create new ones.
The piece was authored by Oz Griebel, who is president and CEO of the MetroHartford Alliance.
Tags: Business, Connecticut, Griebel, Jobs, Rell
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Friday, September 4th, 2009
Jodi Corzine’s Piece from last Saturday’s WSJ: Connecticut grabs $7,007 in state and local taxes per man, woman and child resident, according to the Tax Foundation, more per capita than every state but New York and New Jersey. That’s hardly the company any state would want to keep these days, but the politicians in Hartford seem intent on following Trenton and Albany off the tax-and-spend cliff.
This week Republican Governor Jodi Rell proposed a $1-billion-plus income tax hike, raising the top tax rate to 6.5% from 5% on individuals with incomes above $500,000 and couples with earnings above $1 million to close an expected two-year $8.5 billion budget deficit. The tax hike would be retroactive to January 1, meaning the government would snatch money that residents have already earned. Perhaps she aspires to the nether-world approval ratings of New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine.
Given the size of its deficit, it’s hard to believe that for 200 years Connecticut balanced its budget without any income tax and became the richest state in the bargain.
Tags: Budget, Connecticut, Jobs, Rell, Taxes
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Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
From the Fairfield County Business Journal: An enviable performance during the recession notwithstanding, a new study puts Connecticut among the bottom feeders nationally for its economic performance leading up to this year.
…On income-related measures, Connecticut ranked sixth nationally as might be expected, but the state was pulled down by a woeful score on entrepreneurship measures, placing in the bottom five nationally; and scoring in the bottom dozen on net migration by more families leaving the state than coming in.
Tags: Business, Connecticut, Economic Outlook, Jobs
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Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
The Labor Day weekend is always one of the last signs that our summer is about to come to a close. But before we say good-bye to those backyard BBQ’s and family vacations, we relish the extra holiday as one last opportunity to soak up the sun, spend a day on the beach, or get together with family and celebrate some time together before the kids are back in school and the extra-curricular commitments of life takeover our daily schedules.
Unfortunately, we sometimes forget why Labor day was was originally created. Check out the Department of Labor website and you will see clearly spelled out that “Labor Day was a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.” There’s also some interesting background on the creation of Labor Day, which has been around for more than 100 years.
Which brings us to this point. Despite the recent economic challenges our nation has endured, this Labor Day should be a major reminder to local policymakers that it is even more important than ever to get New England’s residents who have lost their jobs off the unemployment line. Our local policymakers need to do everything possible to encourage investment from businesses in this community and make our environment more attractive for other companies to come to the region. We need to find new incentives that will help bring new business to New England and help keep the doors open of those businesses that already exist here. Labor Day should be about celebrating the jobs we have and the hard work our residents put into them each day. When the nation is experiencing some of the highest unemployment rates in decades, it may be difficult to truly celebrate that meaning of Labor Day this year, but hopefully a year from now we will have a brighter and more optimistic picture to enjoy during the long weekend.
Tags: Innovation, Investment, Jobs, Labor Day, New England
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Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
State Should Aid Innovation: “If Connecticut is going to climb out of this recession with the rest of the nation, it will be even more important for policymakers to put a strong focus on promoting innovation and investment to help companies create high-quality jobs along with a return to profits.
Promoting higher returns on innovation makes the state more appealing for new and existing businesses to make the commitments to local facilities that may provide new jobs and opportunities for residents. Policymakers can provide incentives for businesses to launch new products and services in Connecticut.”
Matthew Nemerson is president and CEO of the Connecticut Technology Council, E-mail: mnemerson@ct.org. Paul Moran is executive director of Jobs for New England Now, E-mail: paul@jobsfornewenglandnow.org.
Tags: Connecticut, Innovation, Investment, Jobs, New England
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Tuesday, September 1st, 2009
From Today’s Boston Globe: The death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy is raising concerns about the future of programs he championed that benefited the state’s major employers, particularly in the fields of health care, higher education, and technology.
Hospitals, universities, life sciences companies, and research centers – which together provide hundreds of thousands of jobs in the state – all were accustomed to turning to Kennedy for help.
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