House plans daylong R.I. economy forum
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HOUSE MEMBERS have been invited to the Statehouse next Tuesday for a day of presentations from various speakers about the economy.
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PROVIDENCE — The R.I. House of Representatives has scheduled a daylong forum for next Tuesday that will examine the state, regional and national economies.
The forum will be held in the House Chamber on the second floor of the Statehouse on Tuesday, Dec. 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will be hosted by House Speaker William J. Murphy, D-West Warwick, and House Majority Leader Gordon D. Fox, D-Providence.
Murphy noted that the House has never before held a forum on the economy for its members. “Due to the unprecedented economic challenges we’re facing, we felt it would be very beneficial to hear from the experts about what is happening here and around the country, and the ideas that are being tried elsewhere to stimulate the economy,” he said in a statement.
The House leadership said seven presentations are scheduled for the forum:
• Aaron Klein, deputy assistant for economic policy at the U.S. Treasury Department, will discuss the national economy.
• Bryan Hassel, a charter-school advocate, will talk about the link between education funding and economic development.
• Arturo Perez of the National Conference of State Legislatures and Chris Whatley of the Council of State Governments will discuss the fiscal challenges facing states.
• Robert Tannenwald, vice president of Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and director of the bank’s New England Public Policy Center, will talk about the regional economy.
• Professors Peter Howitt of Brown University, Edward Mazze of the University of Rhode Island and Edinaldo Tebaldi of Bryant University will discuss Rhode Island’s economic outlook.
• Stephen Lane, CEO and co-founder of Ximedica LLC; Jack Templin, principal of ThoughtCap LLC and director of the R.I. Economic Development Corporation’s RI Nexus program; and Laurie White, president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce; will talk about the knowledge economy in Rhode Island.
• Chris Benzak of Newport Biodiesel LLC, Keith Hartley of Rhode Island Precision Co. and Robert Leaver of New Commons Inc. will discuss the creation of green jobs in the state.
The forum “will give legislators a comprehensive look at the state of the economy and the challenges before them as we begin a new legislative year,” Fox said.
All members of the House have been invited to the forum, which is open to the public and will also be broadcast live on cable television.
The General Assembly will convene on Jan. 5 for the start of its 2010 session.
This sounds like an intelligent line-up, not the usual bloviating governor's conferences with only Rhode Islanders talking and saying the same things as last year and the year before that.
One omission here: the arts. Positioning RI as one of the "top three" world cities for the Emerging Artists. Create a web site to sell RI-connected emerging artists. Conducting a series of professionally run Art Sale Tours. This would be a signature way to boost to the overall economy. The Tours could showcase the RI theatre scene as well. It would be even better to create 2-3 Fellowships to pay for emerging artists from Europe and Asia to live and work in RI for 2-3 years, and get some serious press on this. RI is uniquely positioned to be such an art center; no other New England state could replicate this.
This sound like an exciting forum which could spur financial and economic partnerships along the lines of a more educated and skills development workforce, creating (more) geo-economic business incubators and the stimulating efforts our state government (levels & locals) can filter, thrive and fairly produce to kick-start the manifold approach to stabilizing and growing Rhode Island's economy - GOOD LUCK!
JAYCEES Education & Library Foundation