Nancy L. Zimpher, chancellor of the State University of New York writes in an letter to the editor of the Syracuse Post Standard.

“With the state’s finances at a crisis point, it is time for bold ideas that will not only get us through these difficult times, but return New York to greatness.

The Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act is an idea of that magnitude.
This landmark legislation shields our students and our campuses from the worst effects of the fiscal crisis while maximizing our potential as a driver of economic recovery.

The legislation removes tuition from the state budget, allowing SUNY to expand enrollment and increase access to excellent educational opportunities. It enables SUNY to engage in partnerships with the private sector, which means new revenue to support SUNY and the ability to create 2,000 faculty positions and a total of 10,000 jobs across the system — along with 65,000 construction jobs for capital projects. The principles of collective bargaining and union worker rights are specifically protected.

Finally, the legislation cuts the red tape that costs SUNY time and money and stifles economic activity.
Unfortunately, some critics continue to defend an indefensible status quo, providing no alternative solutions — only criticisms. In contrast, we understand the need to be proactive and strategic about the future. If current projections are accurate, there will be even less money to go around next year. Business as usual will be nothing short of disastrous.

Read more »

A Word From the Wise

Thomas Friedman in a recent op-ed in the New York Times writes about the need for business to increase investment in the US - “I was traveling via Los Angeles International Airport — LAX — last week. Walking through its faded, cramped domestic terminal, I got the feeling of a place that once thought of itself as modern but has had one too many face-lifts and simply can’t hide the wrinkles anymore. In some ways, LAX is us. We are the United States of Deferred Maintenance. China is the People’s Republic of Deferred Gratification. They save, invest and build. We spend, borrow and patch.

And this contrast is playing out in the worst way — just slowly enough so the crisis never seems acute enough to take urgent action. But, eventually, infrastructure, education and innovation policies matter. Businesses prefer to invest with the Jetsons more than the Flintstones, which brings me to the subject of this column.”

To read the rest of the Column click here.

Elizabeth Cooper of the Utica Observer -Dispatch writes - “We knew salaries for nanotechnology jobs were high.

Just not how high.

Alain Kaloyeros, who is one of the prime movers in the effort to bring a Computer Chip Commercialization Center to Marcy, makes a salary of $734,353 in his position as senior vice president and chief executive officer at the University of Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering.

That makes him the second-highest-paid state employee, according to figures provided by the state Comptroller’s Office and to an analysis by Gannett News Service, which reported earlier this week on Kaloyeros’s pay.

Nine others at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering make more than $170,000 per year, the Comptroller’s Office figures show.

Such pay levels speak to the new opportunities for well-paying jobs in the Mohawk Valley as the nanotech initiative moves forward at SUNYIT in Marcy.

College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering spokesman Steve Janack said people working at the planned nanotech facility could make anywhere from $40,000 to about $200,000, depending on what their job was.”

To read more click here.

Raymond J. Keating a Long Island-based economist and columnist with Long Island Business News provides the following op-ed in the New York Post.

“New York City is a lousy place to start up, run or invest in a small business, but city officials don’t seem to have a clue as to what to do about it.

Economic growth, innovation and job creation are overwhelmingly about entrepreneurs, along with the investors willing to supply capital to entrepreneurial ventures. According to the US Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, small businesses created about two-thirds of net new jobs over the last decade and a half. But Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council have done little to lower the cost of innovating, building businesses — small or otherwise — and creating jobs.

Quinn: Proposing a way-too-timid fix.

In her Feb. 18 State of the City Address, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn talked up the high-tech economy. She said: “Now what does it mean to create an economy of innovation? It means attracting and investing in the kinds of high-tech companies that will grow into the major employers of tomorrow. Unfortunately, when it comes to new technology startups, New York City lags behind other parts of the country.”

To read more click here.

The Business Council of New York State supports this bill, which would establish an information access infrastructure to support and promote teaching, scholarship, research, innovation and economic growth. This legislation builds on recommendations found within the New York State Commission on Higher Education 2008 Final Report which identified academic libraries as key to maintaining global competitiveness in a knowledge and innovation-based economy.

To read the bill memo in support of the bill click here.

Larry Rulison of the Times Union writes - “A Little Falls man who built up a successful human resources business in Silicon Valley is trying to unlock the economic potential of upstate New York.

Martin Babinec, who founded TriNet HR Corp. in San Leandro, Calif. in 1988, has started what’s known as Upstate Venture Connect, a nonprofit based in Syracuse.
Babinec is trying to bring together universities, economic development and business leaders across the state to work together to make upstate as fertile for start-up companies as places like San Jose, Calif., Austin, Texas and Boston.

And he has already started making connections in the Capital Region, placing one local economic development official, Peter Pritchard of the Center for Economic Growth in Albany, on his advisory board.”

To read more click here.

Ian Swanson of TheHill.com writes - “United States business groups are increasingly worried about Chinese policies designed to prop up “national champions” in China.

New rules issues by the Chinese government are supposed to foster “indigenous innovation” businesses in China that would become national champions of business in China. But U.S. firms fear they will hurt the U.S. economy by excluding foreign companies.

The Chinese policies could have a devastating impact on innovative U.S. industries, including computers, software, telecommunications and green technology, the business groups said in a letter to five cabinet members. They are urging the Obama administration to take action.

The pressure from the business community comes amid growing tensions between the U.S. and China on a range of issues.”

To read the rest of the story click here.

Robert Gavin of the Boston Globe writes - “Massachusetts and New England are thriving centers of advanced manufacturing, which, if supported with the right policies, could generate thousands of high-paying jobs a year, a new study concludes.

While often dismissed as dirty, dangerous, and declining, manufacturing in New England has evolved into a cutting-edge industry of sophisticated products and highly skilled workers, according to the study by the New England Council, a nonprofit regional advocacy group. Few places in the world can match the concentration of skills, innovation, and capital that drives advanced manufacturing in New England and provides a competitive advantage that could generate up to 8,000 new jobs a year.

“This is a sector with underrealized potential,’’ said New England Council president James T. Brett. “If we do the right thing, we can create jobs.’’

To read the rest of the story click here.

Craig Wolf writes in today’s Poughkeepsie Journal - “IBM Corp. said Tuesday that it had received 4,914 U.S. patents in 2009, which makes it the 17th consecutive year it has topped the list.

New York IBMers contributed heavily to the total. Four IBM sites in New York — East Fishkill, Endicott, Poughkeepsie and Yorktown — got 1,715 patents in 2009, spokesman Chris Andrews said.

“This made them the leading patentee in the state with 75 percent more patents than number two, General Electric, and more than five times the number of patents received by third-ranked Eastman Kodak,” he said”

To read the rest of the story click here.

We point out two interesting articles in today’s New York Times Business Section about New York State – a new electric car company going to Syracuse and two significant bio-tech companies expanding in Westchester. Both articles signal some hope for high-tech economic development in New York State.

Westchester Slowly Lures Biotech Companies by Elsa Brenner

Electric Car Plant May Open in Syracuse by Kate Galbraith