Building a Better Business Climate

Governor Terry McAuliffe wasn’t the only one to welcome Virginia’s No. 7 status in CNBC’s 2017 “Best States for Business” ranking.

“Good news? Of course it is!” wrote Chris Saxman,  executive director of Virginia FREE in an email blast yesterday. “Better is better and moving back into the Top Ten is important for a number of reasons especially since Virginia’s rankings have fallen recently. “

But there was cause for concern, Saxman warned. Virginia’s ranking for the “cost of doing business” category was a crummy 35th.

“Virginia FREE has pointed this glaring problem out in previous commentaries. We also have urged legislators and candidates talk with local business owners in their districts to discover what drives business costs and how state government can mitigate those costs,” he wrote.

Legislators need to work with policy experts in chambers of commerce “to see all sides of the policy changes that are necessary,” Saxman urged. Tackling undue regulatory burdens would help address the poor Cost of Doing Business, he suggested. “However,” he added, “Virginia should get these reforms done correctly and that takes time.”

That’s a key point I made in my previous post about the best-state-for-business ranking. Improving the business climate takes time. It takes dozens of incremental, often obscure reforms. And it takes more than the superman exertions of a single governor. Ideally, if the reforms are to last, they should arise from bipartisan consensus. In an era of polarized politics, consensus may be harder to achieve than ever — but it’s more necessary than ever.