Tonight the long anticipated speech by President Obama will be delivered to millions of anxious Americans looking for answers during this global recession. Early reports indicate that the President will unveil proposed legislation named the American Jobs Act. I have spent much of my career assisting companies expand operations and do business in the United States. I saw these companies first hand in the role of Director of Foreign Direct Investment for the Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment. From that experience I believe that the federal government must take bold steps to provide an environment for job creation across the United States. Outlined below are those steps that need to be taken to increase economic activity, corporate expansions and job growth. The consequences of ignoring these issues will lead to the United States losing corporate growth to competitor nations and leave millions of Americans in the unemployment line instead of at new job.
• Workforce Development: Federal dollars packaged to the states to fund advanced education at the community colleges and vocational schools. Learning is a lifelong process and the need for sustainable careers has never been higher. The federal government needs to provide more subsidized curriculums that align with the needs of companies in individual states. This combination of an educated workforce and hiring employers will lead to significant expansions across the United States.
• Investment in Infrastructure: Commerce in America is dependent on our roads, bridges, and airports. Believe it or not, not everything is moved by just clicking your mouse or keyboard. These infrastructure responsibilities have been kicked down the road for more than a generation. The investment in infrastructure would also provide construction industry jobs for workers with various education levels and skill sets.
• Job Hiring Incentives: Companies from Main St. to Wall St. are reviewing their balance sheets and making decisions concerning their workforce. While job hiring incentives will not sell a CEO on creating jobs on its own, this commitment from the federal government will be an important component. The incentives can be tiered to reflect the types of skilled positions needed by the companies.
• Green Cards For Graduate Degrees In Math and Science: Many of the best and brightest engineers, physicists, and biochemists are being educated at our universities and then shoved out the door, with the end result being graduates educated at US schools starting companies and creating jobs outside of the United States. These science and math graduates can provide a next generation of CIO's and CEO's that can create millions of jobs in the United States during their careers if they can continue their work here in the United States.
• Leverage State and Municipal Governments: States and cities across the United States are trying to retain and create jobs. While the federal government needs to provide leadership, companies will often be interfacing with economic development officials at state and local level. This formal communication will also aid in these governments providing strong client service to companies needing assistance.
• Market America to the Global Economy: While the United States ranks #1 in foreign direct investment attraction, there is still a much larger market share that can be gained. The federal government can increase funding to the SelectUSA office within Commerce to help achieve these goals.
• Winning Isn't Everything It's The Only Thing: The last point from the legendary American football coach, Vince Lombardi, also rings true when it comes to turning this economy around with the creation of jobs. The President must be able to convey to American voters that the Obama Administration can create environments for economic success in in every community and there is no turning back.
Patrick Bench is a Vice President, Public Affairs at Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications. Previous to his experience at RBSC, Bench was the Director of Foreign Direct Investment, Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment.
