EDITOR’S VIEW

hat does former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich have in common with yours truly? If you guessed we’re both from Georgia, you’re correct. But more importantly, we made remarkably similar points in separate sessions at the Republican Governors Association annual conference held at the end of November in Orange County, Calif. Gingrich addressed the governors in one gathering; I participated in a panel discussion with three governors and topical experts on economic development matters the following day.

   Many of the former Speaker’s comments were based on work he is doing as chairman of American Solutions (www.americansolutions.com), a non-partisan public policy entity formed to develop unique solutions to the issues facing the United States at this time. My input came mainly from intelligence gathered in the course of producing our November 2007 issue, which focused on state business climates.

   In different ways, we both made these two points: (1) Everyone in state government, elected or otherwise, from the governor to the local high school math teacher, has to understand the need to effect change for the better and the importance of thinking globally – and preparing the generations to come accordingly; and (2) don’t wait for change to come from whoever occupies the White House in 2009. In fact, Gingrich’s understanding that one cannot change things for the better from the White House down was key to his decision not to seek the Republican nomination for the ’08 general election.

   “The states are definitely ahead of Washington in developing new programs and business solutions and ideas,” said Gingrich.

“As governors, you can actually do things as opposed to just proposing things.”

   “The states that can act innovatively and courageously to mitigate the 35-percent federal corporate tax rate will compete more effectively with markets around the world for manufacturing jobs,” I told the governors and other attendees during the “Sustainable Economic Development” session. If you read the November issue, there was no shortage of input from high-level, private-industry executives making that very point. The U.S. is at a competitive disadvantage by virtue of the tax structure.

   But, as Gingrich made clear, even if the U.S. tax structure was on par with those of more competitive economies, the federal government is stuck somewhere in the 1950s in terms of its ability to deliver services efficiently. According to polls done for his work at American Solutions, Americans in general are not pro-business. “But they understand that businesses’ drive to deliver services profitably has made them dramatically better at delivering goods and services than government,” noted Gingrich.

   Therefore, if governments want to be successful – at creating and retaining jobs for our purposes here – they should be run more like a business with the governor in the CEO’s role. In that light, and if enough governors take such advice to heart, executive mansions and state capitols might one day be symbols of agility and competitiveness on the global playing field.

   “It is a practical fact that with the right investment in information technology, an entrepreneurial culture and a system that rewards people who achieve things and makes it expensive for people to fail is what the world that works is about,” said Gingrich./

   In a major election year, consider this: If “Inc.” appeared after your state’s name, how long would it stay in business?

   Till next time,

   Mark Arend