The Oklahoma economy
needs people and capital to grow. It's time to turn on the magnet.
One hundred years ago, when my grandparents moved to Claremore
, Oklahoma in a horse-drawn wagon, the state attracted people like
a powerful magnet. Oklahoma offered people the freedom to work,
and it offered access to capital-affordable land. They came by
the thousands and the economy boomed.
In recent years, however, Oklahoma has been losing people--100,000
in the 1990's, including many of the best and brightest university
graduates. People are leaving the state to find work and economic
opportunity elsewhere, and businesses are closing their doors.
It is imperative to reverse this brain and energy drain by doing
whatever it takes to attract the people and capital you need to
build businesses.
Last month, I had the opportunity to talk with Oklahoma business
leaders and state officials about policies to restore growth to
the Oklahoma economy. During meetings with The State Chamber I
learned about the Chamber's aggressive legislative agenda to make
Oklahoma "the state of choice for business." I learned that a lot
of good things are happening, including right-to-work legislation,
the EDGE Commission, the MAPS project to revitalize downtown Oklahoma
City , and the new terminal at OKC.
But I also spoke with enough owners and managers of struggling
companies to know that Oklahoma has a long way to go to become
a destination resort for business. They report a rising burden
of groundless lawsuits, crippling workers comp and health insurance
expenses, an unfair and inefficient tax system, limited access
to capital, and difficulty attracting key people.
The good news is, because most of these problems are home-grown,
you can fix them yourselves. I have seen it work elsewhere. Here
is what you need to do.
1. Don't re-invent the wheel. Study the Ireland story. I had the
pleasure of advising the Irish government when they were struggling
with similar problems ten years ago. Like Oklahoma , Ireland has
just 3.4 million people. Like Oklahoma , Ireland is a long way
from major financial centers. And, like Oklahoma , in spite of
loyal people and an exceptional quality of life, Ireland had been
a major exporter of people. They simply could not offer the economic
opportunities to compete with other places.
Ireland changed all that and became the fastest growing country
in the Western hemisphere during the past decade. They did it by
realizing that in the information age geography is irrelevant.
Access to capital-technology, machines, and money--and to the people
that Peter Drucker calls knowledge workers, are the keys to growth.
Step by step, they made Ireland a destination resort for capital
and smart people. They reduced taxes and government spending. They
decreased the burden of regulations on business. They improved
education.
They realized that today a country's communications network is
its central nervous system, and that Irish businesses needed access
to high-speed communications to compete for global customers. They
created a tax and regulatory environment that encouraged investment,
bringing high-speed fiber to every home and business.
By doing these things, Ireland attracted massive amounts of capital
from both domestic and foreign investors, including Intel, Dell,
Microsoft, Oracle, Apple, Gateway, and EMC. The Irish economy grew
by 81% from 1995-2002. Irish per capital income is now among the
highest in Europe, 15% higher than England .
Oklahoma can do these things too. Ten years from now I hope to
be writing the same story about Oklahoma .
2. Understand the game. Oklahoma is not competing for jobs. Oklahoma
is competing for capital, the dollars, machines, advanced communications
network, and experienced, educated people you need to start and
grow businesses. If you do the things to attract capital, the jobs
will come.
Oklahoma 's future is energy. Not just the energy under the ground,
but also the energy between the ears of the young people it needs
to build the businesses that will employ its people, and the energy
embodied in the technology and equipment that will make these people
productive.
The competition for capital and people is not only Texas , or
Mexico ; it includes China , Korea , and India . How do you compete
for capital in today's global economy? The same way Ireland did,
by passing business-friendly legislation, and adopting a sensible
regulatory climate, to turn Oklahoma into a giant magnet for capital
and people.
3. Just do it. Talking about change doesn't make it happen. You
have to change the rules. Make every law and regulation pass a
simple litmus test-will it bring people and capital into Oklahoma
, or drive them out. This issue is not about Republicans or Democrats,
it is about growth.
The State Chamber has already drawn up the roadmap. Now you need
to press state legislators to turn these ideas into law.
Oklahoma can become the next big success story. You have the right
ideas. You have a population that is not afraid to work and is
not afraid to learn. All you have to do is turn on the magnet,
not next year, but now. |
