“Establish Commerce.” Those words, tucked into the next-to-last sentence of our Declaration of Independence, shouldn’t be lost in a haze of barbecue smoke as we celebrate this weekend.
There’s nothing wrong with backyard grilling, or remembering the courage and foresight our ancestors showed in breaking with Mother England. Still, we should reflect on what will best safeguard our way of life in the years ahead.
Physical security aside, true independence will best come by reinforcing and improving the economic strength of this nation, its 50 states and cities like Atlanta.
It comes down, really, to choosing between progress and innovation, or falling behind. There are no other options in an intensely competitive world economy that’s beyond anything the Founding Fathers could have imagined.
This region and Georgia have, in many ways, fought well to remain global players.
Last week, we won a court victory on access to water. The problem’s still not fully resolved, but the latest ruling should speed progress. The city of Atlanta also placed fiscal stability over politics in approving a new pension plan that reduces unfunded liabilities in coming years.
Much more remains to be done, and we must work toward and accept nothing less than the world-class results that will be needed to ensure our future prosperity.
Gov. Nathan Deal recognized the task ahead when last spring he launched the Georgia Competitiveness Initiative. It’s intended to help draw better-paying jobs here.
In a statement announcing the effort, Deal said, “We understand that to deliver economic development, we must set ourselves apart in a global race for capital and jobs.” Put another way — independence, of the kind gained by chiseling down our unemployment rate one hire at a time.
That can only happen if the private and public sectors better apply their strengths toward the common goal of speeding our economy’s still-sputtering recovery. A report this month by the Council on Competitiveness aptly titled “Ignite 2.0” states that, “To remain competitive in the global marketplace, sustained cooperation and ongoing collaboration between government, industry, academia and labor leaders is required to effect real change.”
And change Georgia must, for competitors know our strengths and weaknesses perhaps better than we do. The Manufacturing and Logistics 2011 Report Card by Ball State University gives Georgia marks ranging from B-pluses in logistics industry health and economic diversification down to a D-plus in human capital and an outright F in worker productivity and innovation.
Among other things, that means this state and its capital city can’t progress without improving the quality of its workforce. We must produce better-educated graduates who are prepared for tomorrow’s needs.
Only then can businesspeople, research universities and others do the best possible job of pursuing investments that will put Georgia back to work and strengthen the independence we’re honoring this weekend.
Andre Jackson, for the Editorial Board
Atlanta Forward: We look at major issues Atlanta must address in order to move forward as the economy recovers.
Look for the designation “Atlanta Forward,” which will identify these discussions.
