Greater Cleveland still ranks as a world-class economic engine

 

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Elizabeth Auster

Plain Dealer Bureau

 

Washington -- Cleveland might rank as one of the nation's poorest big cities. It might be bleeding people as well as jobs. But don't despair.

 

The big picture isn't quite so dreary.

 

Greater Cleveland still plays an outsized role in the economy of Ohio, the nation and the world, says a report being released today by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

 

 

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1194341794241540.xml&coll=2

 

http://www.brookings.edu/projects/blueprint.aspx

Don't you love how an article that would be viewed as positive starts off on a negative rant on the city?  Thanks, PD.

Here is the link to the Brookings report:

http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2007/1106_metronation_berube/MetroNationbp.pdf

i don't understand why the editors continue to place negative information as the lead in.

"Washington -- Cleveland might rank as one of the nation's poorest big cities. It might be bleeding people as well as jobs. But don't despair.

The big picture isn't quite so dreary."

The article clearly could have started with the next paragraph (and maybe the author wrote it this way and an editor inserted the boilerplate language?)

Greater Cleveland still plays an outsized role in the economy of Ohio, the nation and the world, says a report being released today by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

 

it is almost as if the PD (writers or editors) think that all of the readers believe the first 2 sentences.    i'm not in despair, and i live in cleveland.  but thanks for telling me what to feel PD.

 

i'd like to see someone do a study of PD leads on articles about Cleveland and compare it to other newspapers.  this would be a good senior/graduate thesis project for someone with some lexis access.

The editor of the PD was on Cle Public Radio Monday morning (11/5).  She said that the number one comment she gets is that "they are too negative".  Then she said that comment is typical for newspapers to get.

 

This article is encouraging.  Cleveland has a lot to build on with existing financial institutions and industries.

It says that "Cleveland's inner core lost 30,000 jobs from 1998-2004," is that taking into account the jobs added, or is it a net loss of 30,000 jobs?

Good question, I'm guessing it is not the net but total jobs. What about the jobs that have moved out of the 3 mile radius but are still in the region?

 

I tried to download the pdf to see if I could find the methodology used but I give up.

i'd like to see someone do a study of PD leads on articles about Cleveland and compare it to other newspapers.  this would be a good senior/graduate thesis project for someone with some lexis access.

 

I think that's a terrific idea.

 

I tried to download the pdf to see if I could find the methodology used but I give up.

 

Check your temp folder. It about 8.2 mb and 68 pages.

If that does not work, IM me and I will send it to you.

Thanks Musky, the only problem was my lack of patience.

Cincinnati really gets the shaft in this study as a half million of its own metropolitan residents live "out-of-state."  But who cares.  Go Columbus!!!  WAHOO!!!

Cincinnati really gets the shaft in this study as a half million of its own metropolitan residents live "out-of-state."

 

If the study is looking at jobs and residents as a percentage of Ohio's total, why would it include jobs and residents in KY and IN?  Cincinnati isn't getting the shaft; it would just be meaningless to include the whole metro in an intrastate comparison.

I realize that it deals with Ohio.  I'm talking about metropolitan GDP, period.  Thus, I said Cincinnati gets the shaft for the STATE of Ohio since it's focus is in three states instead of one, unlike Columbus or Cleveland.

I understand what you said, and I'm telling you that the rest of the metropolitan area is not relevant here.  All the study says is that the Ohio portion of Cincinnati's metro is the third largest contributor to Ohio's population and GDP, which is true.  Cincinnati's not being shafted, it's just a fact of life that part of its metro is outside of the state, and therefore does not contribute to Ohio's GDP or population.  Obviously the Ohio breakdown doesn't give the full picture of Greater Cincinnati, but it doesn't claim to.  If you look at the rest of the report, you'll see similar situations for St. Louis, Kansas City, New York City, and all the other interstate metros.

 

If you really think that this study treats Cincinnati unfairly, do realize that it also gives Cincinnati's national GDP rank (24,) which takes into account the rest of the metro.  It just isn't relevant to the Ohio breakdown, so it's not shown on the PD graphic. 

I didn't need a report to know that, lol, But its Great Cleveland was recognized. Raise your hand if you didn't already know that!

I understand what you said, and I'm telling you that the rest of the metropolitan area is not relevant here.  All the study says is that the Ohio portion of Cincinnati's metro is the third largest contributor to Ohio's population and GDP, which is true.

 

Never denied that, never argued it wasn't.  I simply said that METROPOLITAN (meaning, Tri-State) Cincinnati gets screwed obviously since it is in three states.  That simple.

 

If you really think that this study treats Cincinnati unfairly, do realize that it also gives Cincinnati's national GDP rank (24,) which takes into account the rest of the metro.  It just isn't relevant to the Ohio breakdown, so it's not shown on the PD graphic. 

 

Again, I don't care if it's unfair or not.  I was just pointing out the obvious.

Never denied that, never argued it wasn't.  I simply said that METROPOLITAN (meaning, Tri-State) Cincinnati gets screwed obviously since it is in three states.  That simple.

 

I never said that you did deny or argue it, I was just stating the obvious.  And no, there is NO "screwing" of Cincinnati's metro at all.  The parts that aren't in Ohio are simply irrelevant for the purposes of this graphic- there's no belittling or shafting going on, just the presentation of data for the state of Ohio and not Kentucky or Indiana.

 

Again, I don't care if it's unfair or not.  I was just pointing out the obvious.

 

By saying "shafted" and "screwed" you implied there was something unfair about it, so it seemed like whining.  Stating the obvious would be saying, "Cincinnati's metro also includes parts of two other states," rather than "Why oh why is Cincinnati being shafted by not using data from other states in statistics about Ohio?"  (That's an exaggeration, but it's how I took your post.)

 

However, I think we've hijacked this thread for long enough, so I'll save MayDay the trouble and say BACK ON TOPIC, both of us!  :whip:

Never denied that, never argued it wasn't.  I simply said that METROPOLITAN (meaning, Tri-State) Cincinnati gets screwed obviously since it is in three states.  That simple.

 

I never said that you did deny or argue it, I was just stating the obvious.  And no, there is NO "screwing" of Cincinnati's metro at all.  The parts that aren't in Ohio are simply irrelevant for the purposes of this graphic- there's no belittling or shafting going on, just the presentation of data for the state of Ohio and not Kentucky or Indiana.

 

Again, I don't care if it's unfair or not.  I was just pointing out the obvious.

 

well Cincy def. gets 'screwed' a bit b/c people look at that graphic and probably dont think, 'well oh, Cincy is 3rd here, but it would be bigger if KY and IN were apart of that.'  They simply accept it for what the graphic is and thus think Cincy is ohio's 3rd largest economy when in fact it is Ohio's 2nd.  But in all reality, its not that big a screw, hardly adulterous.

 

By saying "shafted" and "screwed" you implied there was something unfair about it, so it seemed like whining.  Stating the obvious would be saying, "Cincinnati's metro also includes parts of two other states," rather than "Why oh why is Cincinnati being shafted by not using data from other states in statistics about Ohio?"  (That's an exaggeration, but it's how I took your post.)

 

However, I think we've hijacked this thread for long enough, so I'll save MayDay the trouble and say BACK ON TOPIC, both of us!   :whip:

damnit, heres what I said:

well Cincy def. gets 'screwed' a bit b/c people look at that graphic and probably dont think, 'well oh, Cincy is 3rd here, but it would be bigger if KY and IN were apart of that.'  They simply accept it for what the graphic is and thus think Cincy is ohio's 3rd largest economy when in fact it is Ohio's 2nd.  But in all reality, its not that big a screw, hardly adulterous.

They simply accept it for what the graphic is and thus think Cincy is ohio's 3rd largest economy when in fact it is Ohio's 2nd.

 

That's not strictly true.  Greater Cincinnati is the second largest economy based in Ohio, but because part of the metro is outside of the state, it's the third largest contributor to Ohio's economy (according to the study, and the whole point of the graphic.)  It's a subtle difference, and I understand that people might miss it, but strictly speaking, the graphic is correct and does explicitly say "share of Ohio's gross domestic product" and "share of Ohio population." 

I never said that you did deny or argue it, I was just stating the obvious.  And no, there is NO "screwing" of Cincinnati's metro at all.  The parts that aren't in Ohio are simply irrelevant for the purposes of this graphic- there's no belittling or shafting going on, just the presentation of data for the state of Ohio and not Kentucky or Indiana.

 

It is quite clear that a metropolitan area that extends into three states is getting the shaft due to half-a-million people becoming "irrelevant."  For Ohio's purpose, Cincinnati isn't getting the shaft; as a metropolitan purpose, Cincinnati is getting the shaft.  That simple.

 

By saying "shafted" and "screwed" you implied there was something unfair about it, so it seemed like whining.  Stating the obvious would be saying, "Cincinnati's metro also includes parts of two other states," rather than "Why oh why is Cincinnati being shafted by not using data from other states in statistics about Ohio?"  (That's an exaggeration, but it's how I took your post.)

 

Simply saying a city is "shafted" does NOT imply I am whining.  I am simply stating the obvious, as the metro extends into three states.  I even stated in my initial response that I didn't care "woot Columbus."  It's really not that relavant to even be discussing this anymore.

 

Back to topic!

I have a hard time believing Cleveland's GDP is just under Paris.

 

^Hmm i don't see it now. I must have read it in one of the links.

Per capita

One really sees's a first tier/second tier urban hierarchy here.  So not much that we don't known, or could have a good hunch on.

 

Cleveland used to have a rep as having one of the largest clusters of corporate HQs outside of NYC and Chicago, so I can believe there is still a solid economy there, in the metropolitan sense.

 

 

 

 

 

They simply accept it for what the graphic is and thus think Cincy is ohio's 3rd largest economy when in fact it is Ohio's 2nd.

 

That's not strictly true.  Greater Cincinnati is the second largest economy based in Ohio, but because part of the metro is outside of the state, it's the third largest contributor to Ohio's economy (according to the study, and the whole point of the graphic.)  It's a subtle difference, and I understand that people might miss it, but strictly speaking, the graphic is correct and does explicitly say "share of Ohio's gross domestic product" and "share of Ohio population." 

 

And thats why Cincy is getting 'screwed' when simple graphics like these are put up.  Again, I could really care less but its got quite annoying that you cant even see what were saying.  Because Cincy's numbers for Ohio do not reflect the true economic force that is Cincinnati USA, Cincy's numbers look smaller than they actually are when only looking at the state of Ohio.  Thus, Cincy gets the shaft.  Ppl will look at that graph and assume without thought that Cincy is Ohio's 3rd largest metro and 3rd largest economic force, when in fact it is the states 2nd largest economic center.  bah!

:roll:

oh btw, way to go cleveland.  as a city, you moved up a peg in my book :)

 

As for you cland forumers, you moved down a peg or two  :wink: 

If were talking about getting shafts, doesn't Cleveland get screwed out of Portage and Summit Counties. 13% of summit county residents work in Cuyahoga county. Many residents live in those two counties, but travel (in some cases just across the street) into the Cleveland MSA. As a result Cleveland is looked at as smaller than it really is because of a technicality. But with regards to this report, none of this matters.

agreed, cland gets the shaft on that one. 

If were talking about getting shafts, doesn't Cleveland get screwed out of Portage and Summit Counties. 13% of summit county residents work in Cuyahoga county. Many residents live in those two counties, but travel (in some cases just across the street) into the Cleveland MSA. As a result Cleveland is looked at as smaller than it really is because of a technicality. But with regards to this report, none of this matters.

 

Cleveland-Akron, certainly.  Cleveland itself, no.

Let's not forget the Toledo area's MI residents and Youngstown's PA residents.  These metros are also getting the shaft.  8^)

Darn that Monroe and Sharon!

Toledo very much so.  Most of the housing sprawl is in the Lambertville, Erie and whatever city that is just north of Sylvania in Mich. 

Actually, I would have to say that the stretch from Northern Toledo suburbs to Southern Detroit suburbs isn't much different than Cincy and Dayton.

Actually, I would have to say that the stretch from Northern Toledo suburbs to Southern Detroit suburbs isn't much different than Cincy and Dayton.

 

it seems so. for perspective the difference between them is 9 miles.

tol ---> det = 53 miles

day ---> cin = 44 miles

 

that doesn't take into account the suburbanization patterns of course.

 

 

graphics aside, i didnt like that article at all because the overall tone appeared to fully support suburbanization.

 

oh its all going to be ok folks, our "metro" area is still strong. bah.

 

 

 

I couldn't find a more appropriate thread, but if Mods you do, please move my post & I apologize...

 

Does anyone know where to find information on MSA's GDP?  At bea.gove, I found it going back five years, but what about longer than that?  Any suggestions?

Funny the PD didn't mention a blip about this... The following is the transcript of Ted Strickland's speech at the City Club last week.  It's a good read:

 

Sometimes people ask me what I like to do in my spare time. And I’ll tell you, one of the things I like to do is read newspapers. Lately I’ve been seeing some interesting descriptions of Ohio’s economy.

 

 

A Philadelphia Inquirer reporter thinks we’re “battered and depressed” with a “deepening sense of despair.”

 

 

The Wall Street Journal has already printed Ohio’s obituary. Two weeks ago they ran a column with the headline: “The Self-Inflicted Economic Death of Ohio.”

 

 

A newspaper in England, The Observer, sent a writer here all the way from London. Listen to what he came up with when he wrote about northern Ohio:

 

 

“Fierce Arctic winds blow across the great lakes from Canada and make for hard living most of the year. Only the prospect of full employment , a home, good schools and everything else the American dream promises made life tolerable in this harsh country. But now the fires of industry are cold and this vast region of the Midwest faces a long and bleak economic winter.”

 

 

Now, before I pass out some tissues so that we can all have a good cry, let me say something to those who have a distorted view of the great state of Ohio and the great city of Cleveland: You’re wrong.

 

 

Ohio has too many strengths, too many successes, too much talent, too noble a history to reach such erroneous conclusions based on superficial observations.

 

 

And I’ll tell you, we’re building on our strengths. Brick by brick, we’re bolstering our infrastructure and supporting development in our local communities. Student by student, we’re assembling a skilled workforce with limitless potential. Company by company, we’re building on a foundation of traditional industries and emerging cutting-edge technologies. Through targeted investments, we’re renewing and advancing Ohio.

 

 

Look, I’m not saying we don’t have real challenges. There’s no question we face serious, structural economic challenges in Ohio today. And frankly, everything we’re trying to accomplish must be done in the midst of a national economy that has hit Ohioans squarely in the pocketbook.

 

 

Last year the nation endured the sharpest rise in i nflation in 17 years.

 

 

Across the country, foreclosures were up 75 percent in 2007 above the already high levels of the year before. Take a walk down the average street, anywhere in America today – by the time you’ve gone halfway down the block, odds are you’ve passed multiple houses with past-due mortgages.

 

 

When 2007 began, a barrel of oil was 50 dollars. Before the year was out, it was 100. And now it’s 140.

The struggle to make ends meet intensifies for every one of us. Wages are losing the race against inflation – with “real” wages having declined for American workers every month since October.

 

 

Of course the burden falls hardest on those who have lost jobs – and this national economic downturn has spared few families.

This isn’t just a state problem or a regional problem. The nation as whole actually lost jobs in January. Then lost more jobs in February, and in March, and in April, and in May, and in June.

 

 

May’s jump in unemployment was the largest in 22 years.

 

 

I’ve often said that if you want to understand this country just come to Ohio. The people, the places, the life of Ohio offer a bit of almost everything you’ll find in America. And I think that’s one of the greatest things about living here.

 

 

But a big, diverse Ame rican state like Ohio must face the challenges of the American economy.

 

 

In a time of shifting consumer demand, we’ve seen the doors shuttered on Ohio plants that for generations built products of the highest quality. In a time of corporate consolidations, we’ve seen Ohio jobs shipped away and chipped away.

It’s tempting to look for a quick fix to help the Ohio economy out of this national slump. But this isn’t the time to stick some chewing gum in the crack and hope it holds.

 

 

We have an opportunity here to make a long term commitment, a commitment to strengthening Ohio and reclaiming the Ohio prosperity that has defined this state since its earliest days.

 

 

That’s why we passed a jobs stimulus package that will dedicate $1.57 billion dollars to creating jobs and laying the foundation for future economic growth.

 

 

That’s why we’ve made a historic commitment to education – from pre-schools to graduate schools to workforce training, we’ve increased funding and access and made it easier for Ohioans to gain skills to fill positions in high demand career fields.

That’s why we passed an energy bill that will protect jobs by ensuring the availability of reliable electric service while preventing the kind of devastating overnight increases in electricity prices – increases of more than 70 percent – that some states have endured.

 

 

And the new law requires expanded use of advanced energy technology – giving us a greener source of power and the potential to see dramatic job gains making the tools necessary to harvest the next generation of energy. What’s more, we’ll create a major new market for Ohio agricultural products – a source of economic vitality for Ohio for two centuries now.

 

 

But as we take action, we must also answer this charge against us. This charge that we’re battered, depressed, and in decline. Have we really fallen so far behind that we can never catch-up?

 

 

Now there are a lot of folks who love to talk up the fast growing South. They’re the Sun Belt, where everything is new, warm and vibrant. We’re cast as the Rust Belt, old, cold, corroded, and headed for the scrap pile.

It’s interesting to see what the experts have to say.

 

 

The Federal Reserve Bank here in Cleveland has put out a number of reports in the last few years with heady titles like “The Long-Run Determinants of State Income Growth.”

 

 

Their economists found that the South has outpaced the rate of growth in the rest of the country, and they wondered how the rest of the country could produce similar results.

 

 

But here’s something in their research that I found really interesting. If you look back over the20last 70 years, you’ll see that Mississippi has grown at an amazingly fast rate. Using constant dollars, their per capita income actually grew more than 1100 percent over 70 years.

 

 

By any measure, that is an impressive rate of growth. For comparison, over the same period Midwest states like Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois saw their per capita income rise by about 500 percent.

 

 

But here’s something that kind of gets overlooked in the celebration of the Sunbelt’s growth.

When you look at where Mississippi started, before all that income growth, you see that their per capita income was dead last among the states during the 1930s.

 

 

And today, after more than 1100 percent growth, Mississippi’s per capita income ranks…dead last.

So even as Federal Reserve research celebrates growth in the South, the bottom line is that those states grew the fastest because they were the farthest behind to begin with.

 

 

We’re not going to match the growth rate of states that have far fewer assets. That’s a fact. But we can be – and we are – bigger and stronger and more prosperous.

 

 

You know, foxtail weeds grow pretty fast. Those weeds can double in size in just a few days. A mighty oak tree can’t match that. But which would you rather be?

 

 

The power of perception is at work here. If self20pity did any good, I would be all for it. But a negative self image undercuts a community’s morale, and it undercuts a community’s prospects. It’s a self fulfilling prophesy – why should investors go where people have given up on themselves?

 

 

You know the old line, “A lie will go round the world while the truth is pulling on its boots.” Well it seems to me just about every bad thing folks feel about Ohio gets shouted through a bullhorn while every good thing is whispered. And this matters in everything we do.

 

 

So let’s take a lesson from a model city, a model metropolitan area. A place we should emulate and aspire to replicate.

This is a place with a lower cost of living than cities like Phoenix or Orlando or Seattle or even Mexico City, it’s cost of living that is even lower than towns like Danville, Virginia.

 

 

It a place with a higher household income than Tampa or Albuquerque or Pittsburgh.

 

 

It has a higher percentage of people in the “creative class” than Portland or Indianapolis or Honolulu, and more people employed in the arts than Houston or Milwaukee or Miami.

 

 

It’s rated a more sustainable city than Atlanta or Charlotte or Jacksonville.

 

 

It’s rated more literate than – get this – New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, or Los Angeles.

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The quality of life is rated higher than Minneapolis or St. Louis or Rome or Hong Kong or Rio de Janeiro.

 

 

The place I just described…is Cleveland, Ohio.

 

 

Cleveland is an incredible place to live. How lucky you all are to be from Cleveland. I know you don’t hear that everyday, but you should.

 

 

Some of you may have heard of the chef Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain has written best-selling cookbooks and hosts a television show. In each episode he travels to a new city to profile the place and its food.

A friend suggested he bring his show to Cleveland. Bourdain was reluctant because he didn’t think Cleveland was interesting enough for him.

 

 

And then he came here.

 

 

These are the words Bourdain now uses to describe Cleveland: “Incredibly beautiful,” “gorgeous,” “very, very exciting.” This is a person who has traveled all across the country and all across the world. In Cleveland he found an “exhilarating” city – and the restaurants are good too.

 

 

Still, Bourdain was a little thrown by what he heard about Cleveland while he was here.

He said, “In the first ten minutes people tend to tell you everything they don’t like about the city, but then they tell you how much they love it.”

 

 

The writer and=2 0Cleveland native Charles Michener has made a very similar observation. There was an interesting story in The Plain Dealer last weekend on Michener and the book he’s writing about Cleveland called The Hidden City.

 

 

Michener has worked as an editor at Newsweek and The New Yorker, he’s lived in New York, Japan, Germany, and England, and yet he marvels at Cleveland – at the Cleveland Orchestra that ranks among the world’s finest, at the Cleveland Museum of Art, at the new life springing up in the Euclid Corridor.

 

 

For all its wonders though, Michener says people here have an “ingrained modesty” about Cleveland “that can easily trip into self-denigration.”

 

 

I think we’re all justified in spreading the good word about Cleveland – and doing that without 10 minutes of qualifiers or an abundance of modesty.

 

 

And the same is true when we talk about Ohio.

 

 

Because we need to remember that the words we’ve been called – battered and bleak, depressed and despairing – those are powerful words, but they’re not true.

 

 

Let me tell you some things that are true.

 

 

If your products are sought-after across the world, then you will thrive in the long run.

 

 

Now there is one state – only one state – in the country whose exports have grown every year for the last 10 years. That’s Ohio.

A low cost of living means a more economically sustainable life for people. It means being able to provide for yourself and your family. It means lower costs for businesses trying to attract a talented workforce.

 

 

The cost of living in our state is the second lowest in the Midwest, and the second lowest among large states. That’s Ohio.

If there’s anything the modern economy has shown us, it’s that everyday it gets easier and easier for any company to locate anywhere. We are in competition with states and nations for almost all new development we are seeking.

 

 

So, we have to make Ohio attractive to businesses. And when the tax reforms in place now are fully implemented, Ohio will be one of only two states in the nation without a general tax on corporate profits and without a general tax on tangible personal property. That’s Ohio.

 

 

Site Selection magazine looks at business expansion and relocation plans across the country. They count every single major investment in new facilities in every state, and when they do that they award their “Governor’s Cup” to the state that has attracted the most. For the last two years, the same state has won the award. That’s Ohio.

 

 

We have a wonderful opportunity now in Ohio to build from these strengths, and we will. Let me say ju st a few words about four sectors of the economy that really illustrate Ohio’s incredible potential.

 

 

These are the four sectors we’ve targeted for a state investment in our jobs stimulus plan because these are all areas in which Ohio is a national leader, and where there is a window of opportunity for us to advance development and lay claim to being an international leader.

 

 

With our incomparable universities, hospitals, and health science companies, Ohioans have developed the Kidney dialysis machine, the MRI, the first antihistamine and countless other great medical advances. Ohio leads the nation in the growth of venture capital investments in the biosciences and is host to one in every five clinical trials in the U.S.

You’ve all seen firsthand the impact of Rainbow Children’s Hospital and The Cleveland Clinic, both ranked among the nation’s finest.

 

 

The quality of our medical facilities in Cleveland and in Ohio is simply incomparable.

 

 

In the U.S. News and World Report rankings, Ohio leads the nation with four of the country’s top 15 children’s hospitals. Rainbow’s Neo-Natal Care unit is the second ranked facility of its kind in the U.S.

The Cleveland Clinic meanwhile has spun off two dozen startup companies in the last decade and averages 200 inventions each year.

 

 

Last year we made the largest grant in the history of Ohio’s Third Frontier program to assist the Cleveland Clinic in launching the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center. The center is a research incubator that will create hundreds of jobs as it conducts life-saving research.

 

 

Experts have concluded that with our manufacturing base, our location, and our university research teams, Ohio is among the top two states for potential new jobs in renewable energy.

 

 

Demand for advanced energy worldwide is soaring. Wind turbine installations have doubled in the last three years and solar installations were up 62 percent last year.

 

 

One study has estimated that more than 2,000 Ohio companies make component parts that could be utilized in advanced energy.

And, we’re already seeing new energy companies come to Ohio.

IBC Solar, one of the leading solar manufacturers in Germany, has committed to establishing its U.S. headquarters here in Cleveland.

 

 

In logistics, the Ohio advantage is enormous. Within 600 miles of Ohio is the majority of the U.S. population, the majority of U.S. manufacturing facilities, and the vast majority of U.S. corporate headquarters. Because of our central location, there is no state better suited than Ohio for logistics and distribution centers and the jobs they bring.

And the fourth area we’re investing in is bio-based products. Ohio is first in the country in the advanced polymer industry. By accelera ting the shift from petroleum-based plastic to corn and other bio-based plastics, we will create jobs and strengthen the market for Ohio’s agricultural products.

 

 

I think Ohio is ‘the state of perfect balance,’ and I see that everyday as I travel across our great state. There is a quality of life here that cannot be matched, there is opportunity here to pursue your dreams.

Let’s not shy away from making that known. In fact, today I’m calling upon you to lift us up – tell the world what Cleveland has to offer, tell the world what Ohio has to offer. It’s time to celebrate our strengths and tell our story.

 

 

There’s an old movie some of you may remember called “The Misfits,” starring Clark Gable – a native of Harrison County, by the way.

 

 

In the final scene, the characters played by Marilyn Monroe and Gable are in despair, not sure what will come next for them.

Monroe turns to Gable and asks: “How do you find your way back home?”

 

 

And he responds: “Just head for that big star, straight on…It’ll take us right home.”

 

 

These four industries – biomedicine, advanced energy, logistics, and bio-based products – are all stars in our sky, and they will take us to a more prosperous home.

 

 

In fact, Ohio’s const ellation is far, far larger than that – but we have to look up to see it.

 

 

We have an economy the size of a major country’s – an economy that has always provided for its people.

But we can give our economy a boost by recognizing more than our difficulties; we can give our economy a boost by seeing what we have and remembering what we’re capable of.

 

 

Because it’s time to look up again.

Denial's not just a river in Egypt, as they say.

 

I didn't know Ted Strickland had it in him. It's amazing how the PD conveniently ignores stories like this. Governor Strickland made some excellent points. I think it is time Clevelanders start selling the the city.

In logistics, the Ohio advantage is enormous. Within 600 miles of Ohio is the majority of the U.S. population, the majority of U.S. manufacturing facilities, and the vast majority of U.S. corporate headquarters. Because of our central location, there is no state better suited than Ohio for logistics and distribution centers and the jobs they bring.

In all fairness, we must acknowledge that Ohio's complete highway system gives us this advantage of reaching the US marketplace economically.  Traffic jams or poorly constructed alignments are hardly a problem here in "the automobile state".

It's nice to see that Strickland understands the necessity of advertising our strong points to outsiders and to ourselves.  Too many people who have never been to or never spent any significant amount of time in Cleveland, or who glean statistics out of newspaper headlines without considering the context (and I've met many such individuals) buy into the conventional wisdom that Cleveland is a "dying city."  We need to leverage our strengths to gain the human and economic capital needed to address the problems facing our city and state- and we need to start by combating the negative perceptions of the natives.

i wish he'd turn that understanding into some pr action and advertize ohio. i'm sick of constantly seeing ads and even tv commercials for places like mississippi, nebraska and pennsylvania and others. never a peep anywhere about ohio.

i wish he'd turn that understanding into some pr action and advertize ohio. i'm sick of constantly seeing ads and even tv commercials for places like mississippi, nebraska and pennsylvania and others. never a peep anywhere about ohio.

 

I've seen ads for Ohio, granted I have multiple TV's on getting feed from different cities all day.  They are few and far between. 

 

We need to take into account, Ohio does more print advertising than TV commercial buying.  I wonder what the budget is?

Ohio used to boast on NPR underwriting promos that "we lead the nation in new business startups".  That was in the 1990s.  At the beginning of the long period of Voinovich Republicanism.

 

What did we get?  Prisons, horrible energy policy, underfunded higher education.  No wonder that it has been years since Ohio could boast of economic prowess.

 

I like to make speeches.

SECESSION!!! 

Was his speech broadcast on TV at all?

Was his speech broadcast on TV at all?

 

Yeah, I watched it this past Sunday on PBS I believe.

That really stinks, if that was the only outlet that broadcast his speech to the masses.

 

Now, I'm not sure about the facts behind his statements (I hope they're thorough), but .. a message like this needs to be heard more! I'm so sick and tired of the negativity, man. When will this change?? What will cause it to change?? There needs to be more of this public pride to spur change, and how can it spur change if people won't hear it?

That really stinks, if that was the only outlet that broadcast his speech to the masses.

 

Now, I'm not sure about the facts behind his statements (I hope they're thorough), but .. a message like this needs to be heard more! I'm so sick and tired of the negativity, man. When will this change?? What will cause it to change?? There needs to be more of this public pride to spur change, and how can it spur change if people won't hear it?

 

You're right.  These speaches should be held during primetime in the State of Ohio similar to a state of the union.  I think that would be best also.

Let's distill down the message of that speech in executive summary form.

 

"While Ohio is struggling because of structural problems, most of what's hurting us comes from macroeconomic factors beyond our control, so obviously no one in Ohio can be held responsible for that.  The way we will deal with this is through additional government spending and more regulations, combined with some educational investment.  Because Mississippi is poor, pay no attention to the high growth rates in much of the South.  Ohio's cities like Cleveland don't really have serious problems. Rather, the biggest challenge is perception, so if we just say how great things are and put together a better marketing campaign, we're on our way.  We'll build a great economic future based on the exact same industries everyone else is trying to attract because we must have a competitive advantage over all the other Midwest states, to say nothing of the rest of the country and the world."

 

I'm not in favor of doom and gloom.  And let's face it, we expect our leaders to exude optimism.  But real leadership is about taking on hard challenges.  The Midwest has to make serious, painful change to adapt to the future.  I don't see anything in there about the hard, painful choices and changes that Ohio needs to make to change its trajectory.  This is Exhibit A in how Richard Longworth noted the state of denial in Ohio (and Indiana), and how Cleveland seemed oblivious to what was happening to it.

 

There are actually a number of advantages that Ohio has for the global economy.  For example, it has a polycentric urban structure.  While this probably hurts each individual metro versus other states with a primate city system, it can make the state stronger as a whole.  Because the new economy is based in cities, and much of Ohio is conceivably within the economic zone of a metro area with the scale to compete.  This is unlike say Iowa or Illinois.  The geography of Ohio is favorable.

 

But I don't think this spin cycle approach is the right one. Imagine if Strickland had come out and, for example, issued a strong call for better regional cooperation and shared municipal services.  Or said, gosh, maybe splitting our investment resources across four separate childrens hospitals isn't the most efficient say.  He didn't ask for them to do anything except feel better about themselves.  More complacency is not the answer.