Virginians engage in a lot of mutual back slapping. Yes, Republicans and Democrats agree, we’ve got one heckuva business climate. Thanks to our bipartisan, pro-business consensus, we’ve ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the country practically since the dawn of time. Yessiree, we really are awesome.
Indeed, it’s a beautiful thing to be ranked No. 1 as the best place to do business. But there is a big piece missing from the story.
Virginia may rank as the top (or runner-up) state in various rankings, but we must ask ourselves, what are we ranking? For the most part, the “best state” surveys compare the relative attractiveness of states for corporate investment, whether manufacturing, back office or corporate headquarters. Corporate investment is an important source of economic dynamism, but it is only one source. Internally generated growth through start-ups and organic growth of existing industry is just as important, if not more.
Which brings me to the Information Graphic of the day. Throughout the past decade of scoring top honors in the Best Place to Do Business sweepstakes, how well have Virginia’s major metropolitan regions actually fared in key indicators such as job creation and, even more importantly, income growth? While we’re asking, how have we fared in comparison not only to other U.S. regions but to metropolises around the world?
This map from the Brookings Institution compares the growth performance of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas with 200 of the world’s largest metropolitan economies. (For background and details, see the Global MetroMonitor.) This particular view compares metro performance for 2010-2011. But the results aren’t much better for 2007-2010 or 1993-2007.
In a global context, Virginia’s three largest metro areas (Washington, Hampton Roads and Richmond) are the very opposite of hot stuff. And the 2000s were a decade of unprecedented growth in government spending. What happens when the federal gravy train runs off the rails?
My sense is that we are collectively way too complacent, too wedded to inefficient human settlement patterns, and too resistant to reforming under-performing institutions like education and health care. Someone or something needs to light a fire under our asses.
— JAB