Chamber expands ‘Bringing PA Back’ initiative
HARRISBURG >> The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry on Thursday outlined the next phase of its economic resurgence initiative for Pennsylvania: “Bringing PA Back.”
The initiative was launched in May 2020, when the chamber unveiled its “Bringing PA Back” website. The first phase of the initiative was focused on the short-term needs of employers operating during the pandemic.
PA Chamber of Business and Industry President and CEO Gene Barr and PA Chamber Board of Directors Chairman and the GIANT Company President Nicholas Bertram outlined the next phase of the initiative — “Rise to the Challenge” during a call with reporters Thursday morning.
The next phase of the initiative focuses on creating a framework for Pennsylvania that will promote long-term economic growth and opportunity.
Barr said during the chamber’s work over the past year to aid Pennsylvania’s economic recovery, “we came to the realization that no one was happy with what Pennsylvania looked like in February 2020.”
“So bringing Pennsylvania back to February 2020 was simply not sufficient. There was a recognition that we couldn’t continue to do things the same way. And we should be better,” he said.
He added that Pennsylvania brings “assets to the table” — natural resources, educational, proximity to markets, and quality of life.
“All of these things say Pennsylvania should be doing better. Why are we not? They are tough questions to ask, and we’re going to be asking those questions,” Barr said, adding that it’s time for “bold and decisive action” to move Pennsylvania forward.
He pointed to the recent loss of a Congressional seat in Pennsylvania as a result of the latest census.
“Our view is we need to focus on the reason why we lost it, which is — Pennsylvania has largely stagnated in terms of population, because truthfully, we are not attracting the kind of investment that will grow jobs and grow our population,” he said.
The “Rise to the Challenge” phase will create a guide post for policymakers and elected officials — identifying benchmarks to chart how Pennsylvania ranks compared to other states and where there is opportunity for improvement.
The first step, Barr said, is finding out what Pennsylvanians think about the current situation. To find out, the chamber will soon be launching a poll of residents — asking residents how they feel about the Commonwealth and how they want to move forward.
“For young people — are they tired of having to leave Pennsylvania to go find suitable opportunities in other states. Are parents in this Commonwealth tired of having to get on a plane to fly to Charlotte or Tampa or Austin to see their kids and grandkids. These are questions we have to ask ourselves and find out how we change that,” he said.
In addition, Barr said the chamber will look at what other states are doing better than Pennsylvania — taking what he called a “deep dive” into the policies those states have adopted that have moved them forward.
The information and data will be compiled into a dashboard Barr said “will show metrics, to show how well we’re doing or not doing.” Some of the metrics that will be tracked include: average household income, GDP, job creation and educational achievements.
Over the past year, the Pennsylvania chamber has engaged in discussions with industry stakeholders, business leaders and local chambers to determine what is needed to drive Pennsylvania’s post-pandemic economic recovery. That ongoing dialog, Barr said Thursday, has resulted in three core focus areas — improving the state’s competitiveness, infrastructure and workforce.
Bertram said the pandemic was not part of the plan when the chamber crafted its vision three years ago to “create a Pennsylvania where employers are attracted to grow, where families thrive and young people receive an education that prepares them to be productive and physically engaged members of the commonwealth.”
He said the vision has not been achieved, but added that the the impact is reversible.
“I believe the Commonwealth can go from surviving to thriving. And I do believe we can build a more prosperous and equitable Pennsylvania for all.
“I believe we need to act with intent and with passion. We need to be forward thinking, we have to be innovative and we must be active advocates when it comes to our future,” Bertram said.
For more information on the Bringing PA Back initiative can be found at www. BringingPABack.com.