Recent forecasts from leading economist Mark Zandi suggest that the U.S. economy will struggle through 2011. Zandi predicts that economic growth as measured by GDP will not increase fast enough to generate net employment gains. In fact, the unemployment rate may increase as people who had stopped looking for work reenter the job market. The good news, Zandi believes, comes in 2012, when economic growth will accelerate to 5 percent in a noninflationary environment.
Zandi”™s forecast underscores the need for Connecticut”™s government leaders to put job creation and economic growth at the top of their agenda. If he is correct in predicting that the U.S. economy is only a year away from turning the corner, the state must be ready to participate in the recovery. That means adopting policies that convince business leaders from companies large and small that Connecticut is a good place to grow their productive capacities. If we fail ”“ if we don”™t take meaningful action to improve the state”™s competitiveness ”“ we”™ll miss out on the benefits of a national economic resurgence as business investment seeks more favorable conditions in other states.
Ensuring that Connecticut is positioned to fully participate in the recovery is important not only to the business community but also to the nearly 400,000 unemployed and underemployed Connecticut residents who are looking to the private sector for good jobs. In addition, finding a true, lasting solution to our fiscal problems requires a robust business climate to generate the sales and income tax revenue the state needs to deliver key services. Finally, if we allow the recovery to pass us by, we will lose a golden opportunity to secure a brighter, more prosperous future for our children.
Now that the 2011 General Assembly session has begun, we ask everyone to get involved and join us in urging our elected officials to follow through on their campaign pledges to support economic growth and job creation and restore business confidence in Connecticut.
John R. Rathgeber is president and CEO of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association. He can be reached at John.Rathgeber@cbia.com
