The Current

He's under 40?

Congratulations to Jim for being named one of Central Pennsylvania's Top 40 Under 40 by the Central Penn Business Journal!!

We think it's because he has a blog!

From your friends and colleagues at the Chamber!!

Try some teenage advice for a change...

So, after waiting for my niece to finally get off the phone (she’s a teenager, what do you expect?), I asked her what it means if someone says, “Things seem to be going well, but if I could leave here I would.” You know what she said? “Sounds like things are better somewhere else.”

Well, as they say in the Guinness commercials, “BRILLIANT!”

Now if my teenage niece can figure that out, why can’t the Rendell Administration?

You see, the Administration just “commended” the Chamber for saying our economy is improving. They were referencing the recent release our 15th Annual Economic Survey. Of course, in true political opportunistic fashion, they used the survey as “proof” that the big cardboard checks that the Governor is dolling out around the state are working to stimulate the economy.

But let’s try and be a little more accurate, Governor. Yes, our economic survey indicates that the economy is improving. After all, we’re not going to hide what’s been happening nationally (although, the survey was taken before Hurricane Katrina). But more importantly, the survey also reveals some disturbing things about the business climate in Pennsylvania:

1. We saw a significant drop in the number of respondents who felt Pennsylvania was business friendly. In fact, only 18% felt PA was business friendly, down from 41% in 2001!

2. 40% of businesses said they would leave the state if they could. That’s 4 out of every 10 businesses, up from a mere 16% in 2001!

Given that these two indicators were a continuation of an ongoing slide from last year, I think most average folks would agree that the news is not all rosy. But I guess not-so when you have a political agenda that ignores the business community’s wishes (see The Chamber’s Agenda for Jobs). It isn't just us either, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Pennsylvania CONTINUES to lag behind the rest of the country in economic growth.

So, let’s keep the cheering down a bit Governor and perhaps not take all the credit for just a modicum of economic progress since clearly companies are saying it’s not good to do business in the Commonwealth and that they would to leave if they could. The Administration should try consulting people that understand the warning signs before it’s too late and try to look at the big picture rather than cherry pick info suitable for a press release.

Heck, I can give you my niece’s phone number, she'd love to talk to you. (never mind that she'd talk to anyone.) Oh yeah, and if you get through… tell her that her Uncle said hi and not to date the skater guy with the tattoo. (uh oh, now Uncle Jim’s in REAL trouble!)

I'm Baaack...

So I haven’t been around in a while. But it’s probably not a bad thing because those who don’t get away from the political scene tend to lose perspective on reality.

Right now I’m typing this in Hilton Head, South Carolina. And I can’t understand a darn thing half the people are saying down here! (Sorry Tara.)

Just so you know, I’m not on vacation. I’m working. And I don’t care how much grief I get, YOU try sitting through eight hours of presentations by chamber marketing folks.

By the way, you know how you can tell who the marketing people are in any given room? They’re the ones with the name tags on the right side of their body. Why? Because that’s the side of your body you put forth when you shake hands with someone. See… and you think this isn’t painful? By the way, I have to say… I’ve never had a problem reading nametags on the left side of the body. If you do, I’m guessing you need the nametag just to remember your OWN name.

So why am I here? Well, I’m at the Association of State Chamber Professionals (ASCP), a group of chamber professionals from all over the country who get together to share ideas and information on how state chambers conduct business. It used to be comprise just marketing folks, but I’ve crashed the party and they’re now expanding to include other chamber professionals. So why am I being so hard on them? Because they’ve given me grief for days, and I know they’re reading this now.

Seriously, though, this conference is also a means by which states can share issue information. I hear what works and doesn’t work for advocating any particular issue, and I learn what’s going on in other state capitols -- issues that may be making their way toward Harrisburg. And it sounds as if we may have some doozies coming that could cost you a lot of money and cost Pennsylvania more jobs!

So what’s this have to do with what’s going on in Harrisburg right now? NOTHING! Don’t tell me YOU drank the same water that some state government people have and think that Harrisburg is the center of the universe. Come on, I’m not ALL about providing useful information – after all, I’m with chamber marketing people. (Sorry Joyce, Maura, Mark, Dick, Drew and the rest of my ASCP friends, but I warned you!)