When most people picture economic development, they think of smooth-talking men convincing companies to bring their jobs and investment to a community in exchange for infrastructure improvements and tax breaks. They think about backroom deals at the steakhouse and golf course. While this may be true to some degree in some communities, there is a growing movement towards equitable economic development.
“Our Gross National Product…counts air pollution and cigarette advertising…special locks for our doors and the jails for the people who break them. It counts the destruction of the redwood and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl.
It counts napalm and counts nuclear warheads and armored cars for the police to fight the riots in our cities…
Climate change demands lower carbon dependency in electricity generation and transportation, by far the two largest global economic sectors in terms of energy use. Clean power solutions already exist: Today 40% of U.S. power generation comes from non-fossil sources, and the electric power sector consumption of fossil fuels is at its lowest level since 1994—25 years of continuous progress. However, 95% of transportation energy comes from fossil fuels.
On Thursday last week, May 9, I was watching one of the business TV channels to learn about the status of our trade war with China, and the anchor announced that President Trump was about to speak. I stayed on the channel to listen, and, surprise! The first sentences Trump pronounced had nothing to do with China, and everything to do with surprise medical bills: “This must end. We’re going to hold insurance companies and hospitals accountable…this will be something that will have a big impact…” the president said.
Establishing trust requires elements of organization, honesty, integrity, openness, and sound policymaking and implementation. Building confidence requires “response-ability”, competence, commitment, and reliability.