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By most objective measurements, the state of Tennessee has had a strong year in the area of economic development and job creation. While national media focused on Volkswagen Group of America’s decision to locate a $1 billion, 2,000 job assembly plant in Chattanooga, our state has experienced other successes as well, perhaps not as high profile, but equally important. The people in Henderson, Tennessee are just as excited about automotive supplier Arvin Sango coming to town with a start up workforce of 40 employees as are the people in Gallatin about the arrival of Shoals Technologies, a maker of components for solar panels or folks in Newport about 100 new jobs at Lisega, the German pipeline supply maker. And while there’s an intense focus on new companies coming to our state, roughly two-thirds of the 25,000 new jobs our department helped create in FY07-08 came from companies already doing business in Tennessee.

 

Given the budget challenges the state faces, it’s understandable for some to question whether Tennessee can sustain the momentum of the last 12-24 months. My answer is an unequivocal “yes”. Tennessee has been and will continue to be open for business and business interest in Tennessee is strong. In May, Site Selection magazine named Tennessee the most competitive state in the country for economic development. In November, the same publication listed Tennessee as one of the top two business climates in the U.S. Our agency’s pipeline of potential projects is as full as it has ever been in the last five years and we’re focused on pursuing job creation projects which create the strongest return-on-investment possible for the people of Tennessee. The Volkswagen project, for example will generate more than $500 million annually in new personal income for southeast Tennessee.

 

Governor Bredesen has always suggested corporate incentives are deal “closers”, not deal “makers” and that continues to be Tennessee’s approach. A state has to demonstrate it has the right workforce, location and business climate before a discussion about incentives ever begins. That’s why Tennessee has strategic advantages over some of its competitor states and we’ll continue to aggressively market those advantages. Those who suggest Tennessee might be pulling back or freezing its efforts to create higher skilled, better paying jobs for its citizens in the current economic environment are, at the very least, misguided.

 

In Tennessee, we’ve been fortunate the state’s economic development efforts have enjoyed bipartisan support through multiple administrations. A good paying job doesn’t come with a designation as Republican or Democrat, it simply helps a Tennessean support a family and build a better life for himself or herself. That’s why Tennessee will continue to make investments in the training of workers and in the public roads and infrastructure which allow growth to take place. In a recession, the challenges to job creation are greater to be sure, but the effort is no less worthwhile. Our state is not about to pull back at a time when good jobs are sorely needed.

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Please Note: The editorial originally ran in The Tennessean on Wed., Dec. 3, 2008.