Gov. Timothy M. Kaine sounded the right note on “global competitiveness” in an address to the 58th Virginia Conference on World Trade in Roanoke yesterday.
“We ought to decide that we want to be winners and do what it takes to be winners,” Kaine said, as reported by Rex Bowman with the Times-Dispatch.
“Attitude toward globalization is a key component. So many communities in Virginia have lost jobs overseas, have lost economic opportunities. In many parts of Virginia there is understandable anxiety about the global economy. Can we acknowledge that anxiety but really go after global connections? We are better positioned than any other state to be winners in a global economy.”
Global trade is a net positive — it creates far more wealth than hunkering down with protectionist policies. At the same time, trade creates short-term losers. Rather than insulate the losers from change — a recipe for stagnation — state policy should be to help the losers adapt. That’s why the Kaine administration task force on workforce development is so crucial. Virginia needs to do a better job of mobilizing its resources to help workers displaced by trade (or, more frequently, by new technology) learn new, more marketable skills.
It’s also crucial that the state find solutions for moving freight out of the increasingly bottlenecked Virginia ports. So far, most energy has been expended on building a Third Crossing, widening Interstate 95 and building a new U.S. 460. Perhaps we also should be examining the option of using Public Private Partnerships to increase rail capacity out of the ports. Just a thought…