Economic Impact

I recently attended a meeting of workenomics and heard a startling statistic. In 2010, Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services pumped $231 million into the economy of Licking County.

$231 million.

Around $140 million went to food stamps and programs for the aged, blind and disabled. The remaining amount went to medicaid.

1 out of every 6 people in Licking County were "touched" by ODJFS.

There are certainly different ways of looking at this. On the surface, it would seem a bit disappointing that so many people needed help in our community. But given the economy, that's probably not too surprising.

From a more positive view, the increase usage of those programs did increase employment for those in nursing homes and grocery stores.

No matter what viewpoint you may have on this, $231 million had a strong impact on Licking County in 2010.

"The Economy Is Recovering"

This was one of the first statements today of the mouth of Andrew B. Busch - Global Currency and Public Policy Strategist for BMO Capital Markets' Investment Banking Division in Chicago. I attended the 11th Annual Heartland Bank Economic Forum where Mr. Busch was the keynote. Some interesting take-aways for me were:

• A study conducted by the Kauffman Foundation found that from 1980 to 2005, companies five years old or younger created over 95% off all new jobs in America.
• If the federal government keeps spending at the current rate, we will see Trillion dollar deficits over the next ten years.
• It is a strong possibility that the U.S. could lose its AAA rating by 2014 if current spending continues.
• The Health Care Reform Plan recently passed does anything but encourage job growth. Why would a company at the 50 employee threshold want to hire and go above the 50, since they will now have to cover 100% of the health care coverage for every employee at $8,000 a head? And for those already above the 50, it would be cheaper to pay the $4,000 fine instead of the $8,000 coverage. It just doesn't make any sense.

He also discussed how to create job growth: Lower corporate taxes. He asked how we (U.S.) plans on beating the competition from China when their corporate tax is roughly 12% while ours is 40%. We are not on a fair playing field to start with.

A big thank you to Heartland Bank for the invitation today.

- Posted by Cheri

American Prosperity

We are a forgetful nation. In many ways. We forget who fought for our freedoms. We forget to whom created all things. We forget what principals our country was founded on.

And then something or someone comes along promising to cure all of our troubles. Promising that it will make us feel good. Promising it will taste a little sweeter in our mouths.

And we fall for it.

We are a forgetful nation who needs reminded. Here is a great video that I took the time to watch this morning (9:27 minutes long, but worth it).

Thanks for the reminder Todd.

Third Frontier (Issue 1) Needs Your Support

Today, the Licking County Chamber of Commerce unanimously endorsed State Issue 1, otherwise known as the Third Frontier program. This issue will appear on the May 4th ballot.

Get the rest of the story here:

http://www.lickingcountychamber.com/newsdetail.asp?news_id=144

- Posted by Cheri

State of the State - Part 2

This is a continuation from my previous post on a new report issued by The Buckeye Institute For Pubic Policy Solutions.

We have heard how bad Ohio is, but what about Licking County? We are fortunate that we have a diverse industry base, which has helped us with our unemployment rate, unlike some other Ohio counties. Some positive things we have going for us are:

• We are growing. Current population is 157,721, up from 128,300 in 1990 and 145,491 in 2000
• We have one of the highest median household incomes in the state at $53,757 (rank: 15 out of 88)
• And we have one of the lowest unemployment rates - 8.9% (rank: 75 out of 88)

I found it interesting, but not surprising that Education and Health Services was our largest growth sector from 2000-2008: +21.8%. A close second was Professional and Bus. Services (+18.4%). Leisure and Hospitality had an increase of 11.7% and Construction grew by 9.4%.

We lost the most jobs in the manufacturing area, with a decline of -22.3%, compared to the overall state loss of -26.3%. Our second worst performance was in Financial Activities, with a decrease of -11.8% vs. the state average of -4.2%.

As a general overview, Licking County had an overall -.4% job loss, while at the same time saw a +15.0% increase in government jobs.

Growing employment numbers is a good thing, but growing government is not.

To get the complete report, you can download it at: http://www.buckeyeinstitute.org/docs/2010StateoftheState.pdf (FYI - It is a large file)

State of the State - Part 1

I was given a copy of the recently released State of the State from The Buckeye Institute For Public Policy Solutions. Here are some interesting stats from the report:

• In nineteen years, Ohio's job market only created a net 176,100 new jobs, or just over 9,000 jobs per year
• Ohio is the 7th largest tax burdened state, if you include state and local taxes
• The 176,100 new jobs created were in the private sector; 75,100 government jobs were added for the same time period
• After the technology crashes in 2000 and after 9/11, Ohio lost more jobs than every state expect Michigan. From 2000 to 2009, Ohio lost a total of 544,100 private-sector jobs.

But there is good news for Licking County. Stay tuned. . .

"Cautiously Optimistic"

The Licking County Manufacturer's Council met today, for their first meeting in the new year. As they went around the room to give their round table update, several of them reported that they are cautiously optimistic about 2010. One even said that he thought that they had already hit their bottom and were now on their way up. Other comments inlcuded:

"2010 is going to be all about new products"

"2010 should be realtively decent for us"

"We are looking for positive growth once a new Highway Bill is passed"


All in all, the message was pretty positive. And this group isn't one to only report the good. We had many meetings throughout the past two years where layoffs were the topic of discussion. A few members reported today that they will be hiring in 2010.

When I hear good news from the manufacturing community, I take it as a good indication that things are looking up for business in Licking County.

- Posted by Cheri

The Too Successful Program

In less than one week the $1 billion Cash for Clunkers program has run out of money, according to POLITICO. It was supposed to last through the end of October. Read the entire story here.

Now if you want to be scared, watch this from Glenn Beck:

GM - Government Motors?

Is Socialism right around the corner? I certainly see signs of it. And I'm not alone:

Some Good News In The Economy

No, this is not April Fools Day. There really is some good news regarding the U.S. economy. Jeff Thredgold, President of Thredgold Economic Associates has a great post entitled Happy Talk that lists 43 items of good news. Here are some of his points:

• The number of people who have quit smoking (46 million) now exceeds the number who still smoke (45 million). Roughly 21% of adults smoke today, versus nearly half in the early 1950s
• U.S. exports to China have risen roughly 24% per year since 2001, making China the fastest growing market for U.S. goods
• Average U.S. life expectancy has reached 78 years (men 75, women 80), the highest ever.
• Donations to charity set an all-time high in 2007, with more than $300 billion donated by individuals, foundations, and corporations.
• During the early 1960s, the five-year survival rate from cancer for Americans was one in three. Today it is two in three. . .highest in the world

And my favorite:

• Men's contribution to housework has doubled over the past 40 years, while their time spent on child care has tripled.

Maybe I'll post this statistic in every room at the Hottinger household. Eventually it has to sink in right?

Thanks Steve.

Networking Is Key When Job Searching

Today we received confirmation that Ecolab will be closing its doors by the end of October. It is such a disappointment to hear that kind of news. 131 jobs will be lost there. I have also heard about three other companies making cutbacks as well. I truly feel for those people. It reminds me of one of my favorite movies - Dave - where he gets the most satisfaction by finding people jobs. That is what I wish I could do for all the displaced workers today.

Interesting enough, I read about a woman who was working at Tommy Bahama in Naples, Florida while she was job searching. The article talked about the importance of getting out and networking and not just relying on websites to post your resume.

I wish the very best to those who are in the process of looking for employment during these tough times.

Debate On Stimulus

The Message WILL Be Heard By Many

Author of Community Capitalism, Ron Kitchens, is in town. Yesterday he met with the Licking County Commissioners and some small groups before taking the stage at The Midland Theatre last night. Read the story here. Today he is taking a tour of our county and will speak to the Newark Rotary Club.

In one of the small group meetings he touched on the importance of having a strong education system. We discussed the upcoming levy of the Newark City Schools and he said: "you need to pass this levy not just for the kids, but for good jobs and the economy." He told a story about a company who said they will only locate in a community that has a strong K - 16 program. He also mentioned the fact that you have to stop all the negativity; it will drive away business opportunities.

If you think voting no on a school levy is only sending a message to the school board and administration, you are dead wrong. That message will be carried much further. It will be heard by existing employers and ones who were looking to possibly locate here. It will be heard by families who want to live here, but are unable to find work. It will be heard by the college students at COTC, OSU-N and Denison University, who we are now asking to stay in the community instead of moving out of town or even out of state. And yes, it will be heard by all the children in the school system when they no longer have the classes or courses offered by many other schools in Licking County and around the state. But ultimately, the message will be delivered back to you, by the declining value of your property.

Do I think that by voting yes on the levy that all of our problems will disappear? Absolutely not. There are other issues we need to deal with. But what I am confident of is this: if we continue to turn our backs on our schools and end up with the state taking over, economic development will be dead in this community. And we will have no one to blame but ourselves.

I would prefer to send a different message to everyone. One that says we value education; we are a thriving community; we support and encourage industry and are known as a great place to live, work and raise a family.

That should be our message.

Ohio Is "Back In The Game"

Today my husband and I were requested to attend a meeting together in the "capital city" (Columbus). It was with senior management of one of our local employers. I was a bit hesitant going into the meeting, but it turned out to be very positive and very promising.

The company we met with has facilities in many parts of the United States and abroad and we discussed how competitive Ohio is in terms of business regulation, taxes, incentives, etc. I am pleased to report that, at least to this large employer, Ohio is now "back in the game" and is no longer off the radar screen. When we asked why, the response was because Ohio came through and did things to save jobs that they haven't encountered anywhere else. We truly made a difference. But there are still issues that Ohio needs to deal with to make the buckeye state more business friendly, especially to existing employers. But the good news is that we have a seat back at the table.

Quote of the Day

"Every dollar the Federal Government does not take from us, every decision it does not make for us, will make our economy stronger, our lives more abundant, our future more free"

- Ronald Reagan

Technology in Brazil

Although this clip is more than a year old, it seems even more appropriate today, given the current situation:

Thanks Pam.

An Alaskan Perspective

I normally don't use this blog as a way to promote any political party or candidate. During this heated election, I was pretty much silent except for promoting Chamber events or advocating why it is important to support pro-business issues. But I was catching up on some reading today and came across a copy of a speech Governor Sarah Palin gave to Hillsdale College friends and supporters during the College's "North to Alaska" cruise posted in the September 2008 issue of Imprimis.

With the election over, I think it is pretty safe to write this, but some may disagree. I am only going to post a small portion of her speech. I found it interesting and I hope some in Washington will take a serious look at this perspective:

"Alaskans find it incredibly frustrating that others - many of whom have never even set foot in our state, much less lived here - dictate how and when we can best use our own resources. Whether over the barren tundra or in our majestic mountains, we have a strong history of responsible development. To date, Alaska has sent more than 15 billion barrels of oil, safely and efficiently, to the lower 48. One look at the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System illustrates that development and wildlife can and do coexist.

I've heard it said by some politicians that Alaska doesn't have enough oil to make a difference. I can tell you honestly that we DO have enough. And while consultants and experts debate the current energy crisis, Alaska is already preparing for its next role - providing American consumers with a safe and secure domestic source of crude oil and natural gas. In fact, if energy imports were curtailed completely, Alaska could provide our nation with seven years of crude oil independence and an eight-year supply of natural gas. These are numbers that reflect known and recoverable oil and gas deposits.

To repeat, Prudhoe Bay has produced 15 billion barrels of crude oil, and there's more where that came from in ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge), which is home to more than ten billion barrels of oil and nine trillion cubic feet of natural gas. I know this is a controversial issue. But most Americans do not realize that of the 20 million acres that make up ANWR, we are asking for the right to access just 2,000 of them - a mere 1/10,000th of the total area. Opening up just that sliver of ANWR - which would create a footprint smaller than the total area of Los Angeles International Airport - could produce enough oil (an estimated one million barrels per day) to ease America's fuel crisis and greatly reduce our dependence on foreign oil."

Controversial - yes. But should it be off the table for consideration - no.

Ohio's Economy Part III

I find it interesting how data collection can be interpreted differently. It just depends on which data is included in the report I guess. Two very good reports have recently been released on Ohio's Economy. One is from the Ohio Department of Development and Ohio's Business Roundtable called Ohio Tax Reform: Year 2 in Review. Ohio has made significant progress in terms of declining taxes on both businesses and individuals. This report drills down into the impact the tax reform has had on different industry sectors. Very interesting.

The other report is from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Bureau of Labor Market Information called 2008 Ohio Economic Analysis. This report isn't so rosy for Ohio. It has some very good information regarding workforce trends and projections as well as stats on the educational level of Ohio's residents. Also very interesting.

The good news is that in some areas Ohio has improved, but in others there is much work to be done. And it isn't something that can be fixed overnight.

Ohio's Economy - PART II

I posted an article (Ohio's Economy) on our website in the news section a few days ago. It was written by Lt. Governor Lee Fisher. It was his opinion of the future of Ohio's economy.

Today I received an email from a member who sent me an article about Ohio's economy which appeared in the WSJ a few weeks ago entitled "The Self-Inflicted Economic Death of Ohio".

Quite a contrast from the Fisher article.