By Fred Morgan
Guest Columnist
Posted: Monday, April 19, 2010

Most of America is facing challenges we haven’t seen for a generation. Most states in America are trying to figure out how to balance their budgets. While Oklahoma faces those same challenges, we need to lift our heads and begin looking at what we want our state to be in five or 10 years.

The State Chamber believes every economic downturn presents an opportunity. These downturns don’t last forever, and Oklahoma needs to be ready to move full speed ahead when employment opportunities improve. 

Oklahoma’s business and political leaders must begin work right now to ensure we have the elements of growth in place for a successful future. We need a blueprint for economic success…and we need it this year.

Here are a few items we need to focus on:

• Restructuring our tax system – Especially reducing Oklahoma’s personal income tax to encourage dynamic growth.
• Streamlining state and local government – Reducing costs allows us to reduce our taxes and make government more taxpayer friendly.
• Bringing more manufacturing jobs to Oklahoma – They provide the highest wages and the best benefits.
• Expanding our technology sector – Assist Oklahoma’s core industries of energy and agriculture. The state that feeds the nation and provides its energy will succeed.
• Ensuring a healthy and highly-educated workforce – We must ensure that when our employers need them, we have skilled workers in the pipeline.
• Growing the value of our urban and rural profile – Oklahoma’s “hub city” system recognizes the anchor companies and institutions that keep most of our citizens employed.
• Building on our infrastructure – Not only do we need to upgrade and maintain what we’ve got, we need to expand our infrastructure to make us more attractive to the global marketplace.
• Encouraging innovation, productivity and creativity – These are areas where successful economies can excel against foreign, low-cost labor.

The plan will involve the Legislature and the governor. We want each elected official to have this thought in their mind: Does this proposed law encourage high-paying jobs? Will it allow entrepreneurs to grow and employ Oklahomans? Will the bill invest in communities across our state?

When I was transitioning to my new job as president and CEO of The State Chamber, a little green and white book captured my attention. The publication, “2010 ACE Book – Accountability for a Competitive Economy,” ranks Oklahoma on business issues from taxes, to cost of doing business to exports and everything in between. In some areas, such as unemployment and housing costs, we rank well. But we are near the bottom in others, including road conditions, education and how costly our workers’ compensation system is.

Recognizing the reality of our current economic situation presents tremendous opportunities. While things aren’t great, Oklahoma is uniquely positioned to emerge from these economic challenges as a national leader.  Recent revenue numbers give reason to believe this economic downturn may be ending in Oklahoma. We need to be prepared for our future, and we need to begin working on that future today.

Fred Morgan is president and CEO of The State Chamber of Oklahoma.