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Letter to the Editor by Hugh Keogh10.19.2009
The following Letter to the Editor by Virginia Chamber President and CEO Hugh Keogh was published in the Monday, October 19, 2009 issue of the Times Dispatch.
October 7, 2009
Letters to the Editor
Richmond Times-Dispatch
300 E. Franklin Street
Richmond, Va. 23219
Dear Editor:
Regarding Jeff Schapiro’s October 4 column, “Business Gives Va. the Business”:
Since time out of mind, Virginia has spawned a climate which has resulted in a unique business-government relationship, which in turn has over many years resulted in superior economic performance. Specifically , Virginia enjoys the highest per capita income in the Southeast, nearly 10% higher than the national average. Its unemployment rate even in these difficult times runs as much as 40% below the national average.
Well-regarded companies such as Dominion, Rolls-Royce and Northrop Grumman choose to do business not for “handouts” and other cynical reasons that the columnist suggests but because, as Forbes.com notes, for the fourth consecutive year Virginia is the best state for business.
Dominion, Rolls-Royce, and Northrop Grumman – and Altria, MeadWestvaco and Genworth, among others – do business in Virginia for the simplest of reasons: i.e. the Commonwealth possesses a highly skilled and highly educated work force, an enviable quality of life and a regulatory environment that is balanced and sensitive to the citizenry as well as to the corporate community. Not surprisingly, we are the envy of the vast majority of other states in terms of economic performance.
Policymakers in Virginia understand that our future relies on available jobs and an economic climate that is conducive to job creation and retention. And our governors and legislators have toiled for years to benefit the state’s most important resource: its people.
Mr. Schapiro’s implication that Virginia’s business climate does harm to the Commonwealth does not stand up. Virginians in every corner of the state benefit from this singularly positive business-government relationship. It would be folly to reverse this course, especially in view of the intensely competitive economic environment in which we operate.
Sincerely,
Hugh Keogh
President & CEO
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