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Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Think tank sees industrial policy as key to Pittsburgh's renewal

As the site of the next Group of 20 economic summit in September, Pittsburgh is getting a lot of attention.

But is the western Pennsylvania city a national model of how to shake off the rust and embrace the “new economy,” whatever that is? Or is it still struggling with economic forces beyond its control?

The answer is both. For the last four decades, Pittsburgh has been making the painful adjustment to an economy less reliant on manufacturing.

It is home to a cluster of what we now call “green companies,” in large part thanks to the long-gone success of the steel industry that still defines the city. Pollution from steel manufacturing had grown so bad that during the ’50s political and civic leaders acted to clean up the air and water. Got lemons? Make lemonade.

On Tuesday, the liberal think tank Institute for America’s Future issued a report that attributes the economic diversification of the seven-county Pittsburgh area to “industrial planning” by government and private industry.

By industrial planning, the Washington, D.C., group means Pittsburgh’s Regional Economic Revitalization Initiative of the early ’90s, overseen by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. Its goals read a lot like those pursued by other regions, including our own.

But the process of crafting Pittsburgh’s “critical elements for success” spawned coordination among all sorts of constituencies, coordination that eludes many regions, including our own.

“Pittsburgh has much to teach us,” the Institute for America’s Future says. But the group thinks the little-told story is the evolution of manufacturing in western Pennsylvania.

I’ll take United Steelworkers president Leo Gerard at his word when he describes Allegheny Technologies Inc.’s steel mill there as “high-tech, almost space-like.” But like Philadelphia, “eds and meds” have been the real growth engine with 230,700 jobs, not manufacturing, which employs 89,200 people.

So while the G-20 summit goes on, some attendees may tour the region’s steel mills or Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute. Others may wander over to the latest example of industrial planning: The $780 million Rivers Casino that opened on Saturday, creating 1,080 jobs.
Posted by Mike Armstrong @ 2:05 AM  Permalink | File Under: Economic Development | 3 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:35 AM, 08/12/2009
    The Rivers Casino is definitely not an example of industrial planning. First, it is not industrial, it is predatory and will cause a net loss in jobs and will bust a hole in the municipal budget. Second, there wasn't any planning involved. The think tank report, which focuses on ways to help Pittsburgh's economy, didn't even mention the casino: http://www.ourfuture.org/files/pittsburgh-rest-of-the-story.pdf
    — NotADoneDeal
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:58 AM, 08/12/2009
    Industrial policy???? Where? If you look around the region, there is nothing but slowly dying induastries. Western Pa has steadily lost population and jobs for years. Pittsburch has had a slight uptick in jobs, but very little. The real truth is the State has an anit-business policy especially the tax policies that penilize compnies that buy capital equipment. The best jobs for those who do not have a college dreww are still manufacturing, but where are they? No in PA. The total number of "green" manufacturing jobs, so beloved by Rendell and Obama, is under 2500. By counting the staffs handling environment paper work or clean ups, they inflate the totals to look better, but the real truth is there is nothing there. Rendell, the Democrats and their "bankers" (aka casino and lawyer #$@$) think "industrial " policy is a parisite entity that strips money out of the community without creating anything. With the threat of Obama care and the sever restriction on pay and services to follow, you do not want to base your economy on the healthcare industry.
    — oldduchman
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:38 PM, 08/13/2009
    Hah hah! Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. I am the great and powerful casino "industry" that will save your town! So bring me the best you have and when youse suckers finally wake up it'll be too late and then you'll see the pathetic balloon full of hot air and empty promises. Ha ha ha. Suckers!! Enjoy!
    — mobbed up casino owner


3 comments
About Mike Armstrong
Mike Armstrong, a business editor and writer for nearly two decades, is the Inquirer's business columnist and PhillyInc blog editor. Contact Mike via e-mail or at 215-854-2980
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