Rhode Island’s economy has always been at its best when our natural innovative spirit was combined with the natural geographic advantage of a small state with fine harbors. Our heritage of innovative industry is legendary; whether it was the sea traders of Newport who during the 1700s and 1800s opened up the world for trade with America, or Samuel Slater who began the American Industrial Revolution by harnessing our ample water power for textile manufacture, or large scale industrialization of the metal plating, boat building, and machine tool industries to capitalize upon or relatively high skilled work force during the 20th Century. Now in this 21st Century of globalization, Rhode Island companies and their workers must ‘work smarter’ compete globally and again capitalize on our geographic and human resource advantages.
We have considerable natural advantages in a knowledge based global economy that must not be overlooked. In an era of global trade our capabilities in intermodal transport (air, rail and sea) have been largely under utilized since the Navy left the base 35 years ago. New technologies such as the maglev train can possibly link the ports and airport at Quonset to the main freight rail line at Worcester very quietly and pollution-free (assuming alternative generation of the electricity to run them). The type of high tech construction and transportation services jobs generated by such a project would be substantial and relatively high paying.
We also have natural advantages in alternative energy generation, whether it is solar during the summer months when Rhode Island’s electricity consumption is traditionally highest for building cooling, or ample wind resources offshore or near the coasts during the spring and fall months, the development of off-grid or decentralized systems feeding into the grid can greatly build start-up entrepreneurial companies of the type that Rhode Island has historically made famous. I firmly believe that state policies that promote “green entrepreneurism” of this type are good for Rhode Island because they best capitalizes on our local human, educational and geographic resources, and serve as a pathway for boosting the economic lives of all Rhode Islanders by creating many skilled and high paying jobs.