August 27, 2009
The Mighty Wind.
New England is answering Obama’s clarion call and beginning to harvest its most viable renewable energy source. In Rhode Island, can Deepwater also blow life into our ailing economy?
The Rhode Island recession, among the worst in the country, has become something of a national curiosity: how could such a little state be in such big trouble?
The Boston Globe has weighed in. The New York Times, too. And in April, Rhody’s troubles made international headlines with a snarky little piece in the Economist. There was some finger-wagging about the state’s reliance on a rusting manufacturing sector. Talk of a poor tax climate for business.
And amid chatter that the state may have finally hit bottom, this dry assessment from University of Rhode Island economics professor Leonard Lardaro: “We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Let’s hope it’s not a train.”
The Ocean State has become a study in stagnation. A lesson in the perils of poor economic planning. And in the always-fierce competition for new business and new jobs, reputation matters.
