Home Page > Editorial and Op-Ed
To Invest in Our Future and New York's Economy, Green-Light Green Tech
Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:29:00
By every major indicator, New York State government is heading for tough times, really tough times. The double hit of the housing crisis and Wall Street woes mean less tax revenues for Albany. At the same time, the slowing economy means more demand for social services. Throughout New York State, the numbers of people qualifying for government-funded programs will increase just as the government's ability to pay for them will decline. The budget shortfall is of historic proportions.
Some are advocating for Albany to raise taxes to cover the projected deficits. Others call for massive cuts in state spending. Even if Albany could agree to a combination of tax increases and spending cuts, even those would not likely be enough to plug the budget gap. There is only one lasting solution to this crisis: New York must grow its way of the problem, by reinventing itself as a leader of the next industrial revolution in green energy technology.
Energy demand will rise exponentially in the years ahead, here and around the world. As we can see from the hazy, polluted air at the Beijing Olympics, we need to do a better job of making sure these energies need to be clean. And as we are reminded every time we fill up the gas tank, these energies need to be cheap, renewable and under American control.
The engine of growth for in the '80s and '90s was information technology-computers, telecommunications, and internet-related business. Look inside the backpack of any well-heeled teenager: he has a cell phone, a laptop computer, digital camera and an iPod. These products didn't exist 20, or even 10 years ago. The companies that invented, manufactured or sold them are today wealthy beyond belief. Their employees are well paid and their jobs secure. Their home states are flush with tax revenues. The info tech revolution was one of the most rapid expansions of wealth in the history of the world.
Unfortunately, New York State missed most of it. California, Washington State, Texas and even our neighbor Massachusetts, were much luckier...or wiser.
But New York could be a leader in the next great industrial boom, green energy technology. First, the state should begin offering massive tax inducements to any company that wants to come here and set up green energy technology jobs. Second, by creating the same kind of islands of interdisciplinary collaboration between different companies that California, Texas, Washington and Massachusetts did to create information technology. These energy-tech parks, like the info-parks of the 1980s, wouldn't require massive up-front expenditures, which New York could ill afford. But they would require streamlined, user-friendly government, which doesn't tie their companies up in regulatory red tape. And those companies should not be forced to bear the added employee costs that all too often have resulted in products which are invented in New York being manufactured in other states.
Some of these energy tech companies haven't even been formed yet. Many of them are still fledgling small businesses. A few of them are well along, but may not ultimately be successful. That's why government shouldn't try to rig the market or be in the business of deciding which companies or technologies will prevail. What Albany can do is mandate what should be done-like establishing stringent standards for mileage, appliances, and power generation-and then get out of the way so the private sector can figure out how to do it.
Some states have already jumped in to the energy-tech revolution. California's Gov. Schwarzenegger has led the way by establishing a comprehensive, long-term energy plan. It includes mandates for public utilities to get more of their energy from renewable sources; low-carbon fuel standards for transportation fuels; and tax rebates and incentives for manufacturers and consumers of green energy products, such as solar panels and geothermal systems. At the same time, Schwarzenegger has streamlined California's regulatory system and bureaucracy to encourage green tech business.
New York must do the same. We have all the ingredients we need, especially in upstate New York, where there is an old industrial base desperate to be revived, and a well-educated but under-employed population. We have one of the finest state college systems in the country, but graduates are forced to leave the state to find good jobs. We have the investment capital of Wall Street, which is eager to fund energy tech projects, but so far has been forced to turn to opportunities in other states.
In 10 years, all of us could wake up in a geothermally heated house, shower in hot water generated by the solar panels on our roofs, drive to work in our hybrid cars, and turn on computers powered by wind energy. Wouldn't it be great if all of them are stamped "Made in New York"?
Some are advocating for Albany to raise taxes to cover the projected deficits. Others call for massive cuts in state spending. Even if Albany could agree to a combination of tax increases and spending cuts, even those would not likely be enough to plug the budget gap. There is only one lasting solution to this crisis: New York must grow its way of the problem, by reinventing itself as a leader of the next industrial revolution in green energy technology.
Energy demand will rise exponentially in the years ahead, here and around the world. As we can see from the hazy, polluted air at the Beijing Olympics, we need to do a better job of making sure these energies need to be clean. And as we are reminded every time we fill up the gas tank, these energies need to be cheap, renewable and under American control.
The engine of growth for in the '80s and '90s was information technology-computers, telecommunications, and internet-related business. Look inside the backpack of any well-heeled teenager: he has a cell phone, a laptop computer, digital camera and an iPod. These products didn't exist 20, or even 10 years ago. The companies that invented, manufactured or sold them are today wealthy beyond belief. Their employees are well paid and their jobs secure. Their home states are flush with tax revenues. The info tech revolution was one of the most rapid expansions of wealth in the history of the world.
Unfortunately, New York State missed most of it. California, Washington State, Texas and even our neighbor Massachusetts, were much luckier...or wiser.
But New York could be a leader in the next great industrial boom, green energy technology. First, the state should begin offering massive tax inducements to any company that wants to come here and set up green energy technology jobs. Second, by creating the same kind of islands of interdisciplinary collaboration between different companies that California, Texas, Washington and Massachusetts did to create information technology. These energy-tech parks, like the info-parks of the 1980s, wouldn't require massive up-front expenditures, which New York could ill afford. But they would require streamlined, user-friendly government, which doesn't tie their companies up in regulatory red tape. And those companies should not be forced to bear the added employee costs that all too often have resulted in products which are invented in New York being manufactured in other states.
Some of these energy tech companies haven't even been formed yet. Many of them are still fledgling small businesses. A few of them are well along, but may not ultimately be successful. That's why government shouldn't try to rig the market or be in the business of deciding which companies or technologies will prevail. What Albany can do is mandate what should be done-like establishing stringent standards for mileage, appliances, and power generation-and then get out of the way so the private sector can figure out how to do it.
Some states have already jumped in to the energy-tech revolution. California's Gov. Schwarzenegger has led the way by establishing a comprehensive, long-term energy plan. It includes mandates for public utilities to get more of their energy from renewable sources; low-carbon fuel standards for transportation fuels; and tax rebates and incentives for manufacturers and consumers of green energy products, such as solar panels and geothermal systems. At the same time, Schwarzenegger has streamlined California's regulatory system and bureaucracy to encourage green tech business.
New York must do the same. We have all the ingredients we need, especially in upstate New York, where there is an old industrial base desperate to be revived, and a well-educated but under-employed population. We have one of the finest state college systems in the country, but graduates are forced to leave the state to find good jobs. We have the investment capital of Wall Street, which is eager to fund energy tech projects, but so far has been forced to turn to opportunities in other states.
In 10 years, all of us could wake up in a geothermally heated house, shower in hot water generated by the solar panels on our roofs, drive to work in our hybrid cars, and turn on computers powered by wind energy. Wouldn't it be great if all of them are stamped "Made in New York"?
