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Letters
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Business New Haven
12/14/1998
By: BNH
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By the Numbers
Your November 16 editorial referenced an October 28 Wall Street Journal article on the entrepreneurial climates of the 50 states, which ranked Connecticut and New York 47th and 48th [respectively] in the nation. In addition to defying logic and common sense, this finding is insupportable even by the study's own criteria.
Cognetics Inc., the private research firm that conducted the study, stated that entrepreneurs need a place with “a great research university, an educated workforce, a nice place to live, an entrepreneurial environment, and a good airport.”
What is Connecticut's national rank in these categories?
• A great research university. Yale University ranks first (U.S. News & World Report). The University of Connecticut (Health Center), medical and dental schools) ranks in top 20 national public universities. Its dental school ranks first. [The state ranks] sixth in total university research and development.
• An educated workforce. We rank third in workforce college attainment, second in workforce productivity, and second in patents issued per-capita.
• A nice place to live. We're first in per-capita income, second in average annual pay, third in total area of parks and recreation areas, and first in Social Security benefits.
• Entrepreneurial environment. Connecticut ranks first in percentage of workforce employed in technology-based industries. It is also first in traded sector strength (strength of industries competing in national and international markets).
• A good airport. Bradley International Airport has ten all-cargo airlines and serves 5.5 million passengers each year. In addition, the state has four commercial airports and 19 general-aviation airports.
In addition to the numbers not adding up, Cognetics' findings are at odds with every business survey conducted in the last five years and a host of economic indicators. Connecticut's rate of export growth is outpacing the U.S. rate of growth, and new business starts - supposedly a key indicator in Cognetics rankings - were up 5.7 percent in 1998 (a total of 12,154 new starts).
Connecticut is recognized for having a quality of life second to none, a strategic geographic location, a skilled work force that is among the most educated in the nation, and some of the best colleges and universities in the world.
In addition, Connecticut's business environment has been dramatically improved by Gov. Rowland's efforts to reduce the cost of doing business in our state. Connecticut's corporate tax is now lower than half the nation's states, the R&D tax credit has been expanded, and workers compensation costs have been cut by 40 percent.
Cognetics President David Birch said, “Connecticut is seeing few new businesses take root.” In fact, more than 200 new companies have come to Connecticut from out of state in the past three years alone, while the number of software firms in the state has doubled (to more than 1,000) in ten years.
The study cites job losses over the past two decades) without pointing out that more than 80 percent of the jobs lost in the recession have been gained back over the past four years. Connecticut's economy is dynamic and growing, and job-loss numbers from the 1980s are not as relevant as how the economy is performing now. Economists across the region are unanimous in forecasting continued economic growth for Connecticut.
Statistics can be misleading, but by any measure it appears that Cognetics employed old data and questionable analysis to reach its faulty conclusion.
Your editorial says the survey should serve as a “wake-up call.” Actually, Governor Rowland made that call four years ago. Since then, Connecticut has diversified and grown its economy, put in place an industry cluster initiative, launched a bioscience cluster on October 7 and ushered in unprecedented cooperation between business and government. These results speak for themselves.
- James F. Abromaitis
Commissioner
Department of Economic & Community Development
Correction
In a November 16 story on the Regional Cultural Plan, we reported that plan Director Nan Birdwhistell was also senior vice president of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce. She left the chamber to assume her current position. Our mistake.
I need to ask you to make one correction in your next edition with respect to my current employment. I no longer work at the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce. I resigned from that position in order to take the position as director of the Regional Cultural Plan. Obviously, I continue to work closely with [chamber President] Matthew Nemerson and others at the chamber on issues in common.
In addition to my work as Regional Cultural Plan director, I am also counsel at the Hartford and New Haven law firm of Murtha, Cullina, Richter & Pinney.
I look forward to our continued dialogue. Thank you again.
- Nan Birdwhistell
Regional Cultural Plan
New Haven
Write To Us
Business New Haven welcomes letters to the editor pertaining to subjects written about in these pages. Letters should be typewritten (or submitted on 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII format) and sent to LETTERS, Business New Haven, One Church Street, New Haven, CT 06510, faxed to 203-781-3482, or e-mailed to bnh@map.com. Letters should include author's daytime phone number for verification.
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