When the Prosperity Partnership launched four years ago to make the Puget Sound region a formidable competitor in the world economy, optimism reigned like a month of sunny days in December.
We already had a healthier dose of prosperity compared to many other parts of the country with the dial on our economy-o-meter turned up all the way to “Zoom.”
Not any more.
Last Thursday hundreds of business, government, academic, labor and nonprofit leaders gathered in Seattle for their annual confab to measure progress and unveil next year’s action agenda.
But this year no one talked much about those things. The Prosperity Partnership simply printed the information in a booklet and a handout but focused the gathering on nostalgic, happier times.
The highlight came when long-retired University of Washington President William Gerberding told old stories in honor of state Rep. Helen Sommers, feted as she retires from the Legislature after more than 30 years.
Bob Drewel, leader of the partnership, sounded like Norman Vincent Peale – author of “The Power of Positive Thinking” – addressing an Eeyore convention, proclaiming his untarnished optimism in the face of a withering economy.
Scott Carson, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes and a co-chair of the partnership, fondly recalled the glory days when his dad worked for Boeing, J.P. Patches ruled the television airwaves and our economy was Boeing.
While Carson talked, his company’s stock staggered toward a one-day drop of nearly 8 percent.
I guess I wouldn’t want to think about the present either.
So let’s look ahead at a few of the 21 things the Prosperity Partnership hopes to accomplish next year – even though the economists I’ve heard talk about 2009 haven’t mentioned the word “prosperity.”
• Identify a clear priority for foreign direct investment recruitment and collaborate with the economic development councils in Snohomish, King, Pierce and Kitsap counties.
• Survey international visitors to determine their priorities for improving the “international friendliness” of our region.
• Conduct a competitive analysis of how to grow the clean technology industry in Washington.
• Adopt a financing plan for Highway 520.
• Support passage of the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children.
• Authorize regions throughout Washington to establish Cultural Access Funds to increase access to our state’s scientific and cultural institutions for all residents.
• Begin work to enlarge the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle to a size competitive with the convention facilities in our peer regions.
• Pass legislation to increase state investment in infrastructure that supports affordable residential development and build support for legislation to waive sales tax on low-income housing construction.
• Sustain commitment begun in the 2007 state biennial budget to increase access for all Washington students to higher-education opportunities – particularly in math and science degrees – at Washington state colleges and universities.
• Host a meeting of local governments and other key stakeholders to identify ways to improve taxi service in our region.
• Form a permanent military working group statewide to ensure increased coordination, communication and action that supports the Washington state military industry cluster.
• Begin planning for a new regional event in 2012 that would draw new visitors to our region and celebrate our region’s unique qualities.
• Create a searchable database of minority-owned businesses that meet high levels of capacity, skill and readiness.
Does that list make you feel hopeful prosperity-wise? I didn’t think so. But for a year when we would feel good just to tread water, those actions, if accomplished, would keep us from drowning.
I wouldn’t count on all of them, however. Any initiative that relies on new state spending or launching new regional government programs probably won’t happen.
The state faces a $3.2 billion budget deficit in the 2009-2010 cycle. That doesn’t leave much room for expanded higher-education slots and waiving sales taxes on anything.
When it comes to the economy, I’d guess I sound more like Eeyore than Norman Vincent Peale, too.
Dan Voelpel: 253-597-8785
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