Could Rhode Island benefit from any of these companies moving here?
The research and development activities for these corporations and industries is located in Research Triangle Park (RTP), North Carolina. Located in the heart of North Carolina between Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh, Research Triangle Park is the home of innovation and the engine which drives North Carolina's innovation economy. The companies located in RTP have been issued 3,496 patents and 1,849 trademarks. The strength of the area is based on the economic and educational climate to be found there. There is a lesson here for Rhode Island.
But even more so, is there an opportunity here?
Today the Republican dominated NC state legislature has gotten on the budget cutting kick. This could impact the very research base that is the driver of their economy. And it could open an opportunity for other states to lure away some of these firms, an opportunity that Rhode Island should explore.
Are we exploring the opportunities?
Has the RI Economic Development Corporation considered this? Can the RI Legislature open its eyes to the fact that, despite the pension crisis, investing in the state university and educational system is critical to our competitive position attracting new business to the state? Can they see that the long term solution to the pension problem is increasing the tax base through creating jobs and economic opportunities?
Economic Development means investment
The solution to the pension problem is, in part, increasing the jobs and the State's and the local tax base. This is done by bringing business that can serve as magnets to attract entrepreneurs to develop businesses that can service or feed off of the them. For example, over the years the Navy's Underwater Research Center has been major economic engine for Newport and Middletown. We need more of these engines.
Rhode Island needs jobs and companies to produce those jobs. Rhode Island is planning to develop a research & development center in Providence based on our centers of excellence at Brown, RISD, URI and our Hospitals.This is a good idea. But, after years of indecision, Quonset point is still an under-developed asset and URI is just down the road.. Roger Williams University and Salve Regina University are nearby and yet Middletown's Industrial Park has vacancies. So do many of the state's industrial parks There are many potential locations for a company moving into RI to partner with the local educational institutions. In addition, Rhode Island is strategically located between the educational resources of Boston and southeastern MA, and financial resources of New York city and western Connecticut.
Rhode Island lent Nathaniel Green to lead the Continental troops during the American Revolution which helped to set North Carolina free from colonial rule. When I was growing up here in Rhode Island, the south including North Carolina wanted more, they stole our textile businesses with their offers of cheap labor and low taxes. As a result, many mills were closed and many workers lost their jobs. Turn about is fair play and maybe it is time for Rhode Island to raid the south. Maybe it is time to bring Nathaniel Green back home.
Why doesn't the State of Rhode Island, through the Legislature, the Governor's Office, and the Economic Development Corporation look to the impact of the NC budget cuts as a way for luring away, or stealing, one or two from the Research Triangle Park. It is time to start thinking outside of the box.
The research and development activities for these corporations and industries is located in Research Triangle Park (RTP), North Carolina. Located in the heart of North Carolina between Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh, Research Triangle Park is the home of innovation and the engine which drives North Carolina's innovation economy. The companies located in RTP have been issued 3,496 patents and 1,849 trademarks. The strength of the area is based on the economic and educational climate to be found there. There is a lesson here for Rhode Island.
But even more so, is there an opportunity here?
Today the Republican dominated NC state legislature has gotten on the budget cutting kick. This could impact the very research base that is the driver of their economy. And it could open an opportunity for other states to lure away some of these firms, an opportunity that Rhode Island should explore.
Are we exploring the opportunities?
Has the RI Economic Development Corporation considered this? Can the RI Legislature open its eyes to the fact that, despite the pension crisis, investing in the state university and educational system is critical to our competitive position attracting new business to the state? Can they see that the long term solution to the pension problem is increasing the tax base through creating jobs and economic opportunities?
Economic Development means investment
The solution to the pension problem is, in part, increasing the jobs and the State's and the local tax base. This is done by bringing business that can serve as magnets to attract entrepreneurs to develop businesses that can service or feed off of the them. For example, over the years the Navy's Underwater Research Center has been major economic engine for Newport and Middletown. We need more of these engines.
Rhode Island needs jobs and companies to produce those jobs. Rhode Island is planning to develop a research & development center in Providence based on our centers of excellence at Brown, RISD, URI and our Hospitals.This is a good idea. But, after years of indecision, Quonset point is still an under-developed asset and URI is just down the road.. Roger Williams University and Salve Regina University are nearby and yet Middletown's Industrial Park has vacancies. So do many of the state's industrial parks There are many potential locations for a company moving into RI to partner with the local educational institutions. In addition, Rhode Island is strategically located between the educational resources of Boston and southeastern MA, and financial resources of New York city and western Connecticut.
Rhode Island lent Nathaniel Green to lead the Continental troops during the American Revolution which helped to set North Carolina free from colonial rule. When I was growing up here in Rhode Island, the south including North Carolina wanted more, they stole our textile businesses with their offers of cheap labor and low taxes. As a result, many mills were closed and many workers lost their jobs. Turn about is fair play and maybe it is time for Rhode Island to raid the south. Maybe it is time to bring Nathaniel Green back home.
Why doesn't the State of Rhode Island, through the Legislature, the Governor's Office, and the Economic Development Corporation look to the impact of the NC budget cuts as a way for luring away, or stealing, one or two from the Research Triangle Park. It is time to start thinking outside of the box.
