A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats

Creating a strong business climate in the Commonwealth directly shapes our quality of life. Micron Technology Inc. is just one example of a prosperous company making a significant impact on higher education, job creation and economic expansion in Virginia.

This week, Micron opened a $750,000 semiconductor processing laboratory at Virginia Tech's College of Engineering- improving faculty research on semiconductor technology and expanding educational opportunities. Tech is now offering a new microelectonic engineering minor and Micron give college scholarships to encourage more students to pursue engineering degrees. As the world flattens before our eyes, it is imperative that we provide the opportunities for young people to study science, technology and engineering at state-of-the-art facilities.

Micron's contributions to Virginia extend beyond the halls of academia. An article in the Washington Post reports on Micron's multiplying effect on our economy:

An examination of Micron's $3.5 billion plant expansion in Manassas shows how the decisions of one company have helped fuel Washington's economic boom and drive the creation of 242,000 new jobs in the past five years. While not always visible, the collective impact is far-reaching, having buoyed the housing market and reshaped the economy as it stretches further into the suburbs.

"Micron is a foundation industry that has a multiplying effect on the economy," said Martin J. Briley, executive director of Prince William County's Department of Economic Development. "It's been a magnet," he explained, for people, other businesses and development.

Each dollar spent by Micron means an additional 55 to 58 cents for professionals, retailers and contractors in Prince William County, the [George Mason] study estimated, and a full dollar for the state of Virginia.

Read more about the Micron/ Virginia Tech chip lab and Micron's multiplying effect.

The Virginia Research and Technology Commission (VRTAC) stated in its 2005 report, "Innovation through science and engineering is increasingly the main driver of economic growth." This is exactly what we see happening with the Micron example. Currently, the U.S. graduates 50,000 engineers annually. Meanwhile, India and China graduate 180,000 and 200,000 respectively. We must increase the number of engineers in order to remain competitive in a global economy - and the Micron/ Virginia Tech partnership will help in this cause. With some of the best engineering schools in the country - we must continue to expand these partnerships to help fuel economic growth.

Important Supreme Court Case

As of Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court is back in session. On the Free Enterprise Watch list is Davenport v. Washington Education Association scheduled for argument in December.

The outcome of case will determine if states can force unions to obtain permission from nonmember workers before spending their money for political purposes. The Washington state Supreme Court struck down a state law that banned the use of union association fees for political purposes without the consent of its workers.

The burden to ensure that the worker's wishes are complied with should lie on the unions, not the worker. To find out more about this case, visit GoUpState.com and here.

Regulating the Regulators

Yesterday, Governor Kaine signed an executive order granting the governor authority to disapprove regulations and establishing the attorney general's participation in the regulatory review process. Free Enterprise Watch sees this as a good step forward. However, the executive order requires that regulations only have to be examined once in the governor's term. Successful businesses reflect on their operations more than once every four years- why shouldn’t the government?

This executive order builds on the success of former Attorney General Jerry Kilgore's Regulatory Reform Task Force. One recommendation of the Task Force was for the General Assembly to approve legislation to help streamline regulation for small business- called the Small Business Regulatory Reform and Flexibility Act. This law, which passed in 2005, requires state agencies, prior to promulgating new regulations, to assess the impact of compliance on small businesses, calculate administrative costs associated with the regulations and determine if a less intrusive alternative exists.

Why was this important? Since 97.7% of businesses in the Commonwealth are small businesses, their growth and retention is vital to Virginia's economy. Accordingly, it is important to ensure that small businesses are not overly burdened with regulations that do not recognize business realities.

Governor George Allen set the bar high when it comes to reforming Virginia's regulatory climate. After conducting a comprehensive review of all existing regulations to make sure they were needed and were the least burdensome way to accomplish their intended purpose, 70% of all of Virginia's regulations were either substantially amended or repealed. A more detailed analysis of his achievements can be found here.

To read more about Free Enterprise Watch's commitment to lessening the burden of state regulation on Virginia businesses, click
here.

Taking Notice

Virginians are taking note of the influence that Big Labor has in the Kaine administration. When Governor Kaine presented his economic development plan in Roanoke, Free Enterprise Watch was there to speak for business leaders who are concerned about labor on the march here in the Commonwealth. We will make sure that Virginia remains "open for business."

The Roanoke Times had this to say about us:

[Kaine's] presentation in Roanoke also attracted a protest.

A newly formed group called Free Enterprise Watch, headed by Michael Reynold in Richmond, posted a mockup of a Trojan horse near the Hotel Roanoke, where Kaine spoke.

The group said Kaine favors organized labor because he received 10 times more campaign contributions from labor groups that did his predecessor, Gov. Mark Warner.

Free Enterprise Watch also noted Kaine appointed two people from labor groups to his administration: former AFL-CIO president Daniel LeBlanc to be his senior work force adviser; and Jean Bankos, former president of the Virginia Education Association teachers' group, as his senior adviser for education projects.

Read the full article.

For more coverage of Friday's event, check out Free Enterprise Watch's website or visit here, here and here.