CERC Sitefinder Event

I had the opportunity to attend the Connecticut Economic Resource Center’s Showcase event yesterday. It was held at the Northeast Utilities Berlin CT headquarters. A nice event attended by approximately 100 people in the real estate industry. The panelists for the event were Daniel Esty, Commissioner of DEEP, Catherine Smith, Commissioner of DECD and Jim Redeker, Commissioner of DOT. All three Commissioners gave a well thought, detailed account of what they are doing and the progress being made here in CT. And yes, there is progress being made here in CT! The question is…is it enough?

While it is clear that all three Commissioners are hard at work and indeed making progress, it is also clear that their efforts need to show increasing results in the coming years. No, the coming months. CT is getting impatient. Yes we’re growing…but very, very slowly. A recent report shows that CT not only lags behind the rest of the country in job creation, unemployment and economic growth, but it also lags behind its own New England states (see attached report below)…not a good thing.

So, while a lot of ground work has been done through the efforts of our Commissioners and their staffs, the fact remains (paraphrasing James Carville) “it’s the economy stupid”. And if we don’t start seeing more results on the street, I am afraid the efforts might be for naught.

Hartford Business Journal: CT Lags, but not the worst

Keep smiling!

Mark