Letter to the Editor: RI Business Climate

To the Editor,

Recently, RI candidates have been arguing about the business climate and whether or not it is improving and who will do more to improve it. The problem with this game is that there is absolutely no correlation between a state’s business climate rankings and its economic growth rate. I have repeatedly challenged RI leaders, media and politicians to show me one statistically valid analysis that demonstrates that a good business climate ranking produces a state with a faster-growing economy. If such a correlation existed, the think tanks that develop business climate rankings would be shouting it to the heavens, but I have never seen such an analysis, and I bet you have not either. It is time for the politicians to quit the phony games and start to tell the truth about the economy and how ecological health and social justice actually help the economy.

Greg Gerritt, Director of Research for ProsperityForRI.com