WSJ Editorial: World Isn’t Flat
April 29, 2008
The Southern Compass email newsletter from the Southern Growth Policies Board highlights a recently editorial from the Wall Street Journal proclaiming that the world may not be as “flat” in terms of easy globalization.
In an April 28 op-ed piece, the Wall Street Journal’s Bob Davis says that Tom Friedman’s fifteen minutes of fame for The World is Flat may be over. Says Davis, “The global economy appears to be entering an epoch in which governments are reasserting their role in the lives of individuals and businesses. Once again, barriers are rising. Call it the new nationalism.” Even Pulitzer Prize winner Daniel Yergin, a confirmed globalist, says, “The era of easy globalization is certainly over.” Sovereign wealth funds, collapsing trade talks, state-owned oil and gas firms, and a new Balkanization of the global Internet are cited as key trends. On the latter, Columbia professor Tim Wu says, “It’s becoming a series of national networks.”
For the full column, see http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120934738145948747.html? mod=googlenews_wsj.
Summit Expands Regional Economic Momentum
April 3, 2008
The Regional Innovation Grant, branded as Quad-States Regional Transformation, gained valuable momentum recently thanks to the energies of thirteen Chambers of Commerce from across the region.
This visioning session was the first of its kind and brought together more than 100 business and community leaders, education representatives and chamber executives to discuss the future of the tri-state region. Author and Fortune 500 business consultant Erick Burton facilitated the April 2nd summit at the Holiday Inn in Joplin.Participants reached an important consensus that the region is truly borderless and all entities in the region have similar concerns, desires and wishes for the success of the region. Stakeholders wholeheartedly agreed that the future success of the region will be determined, in large part, by people’s willingness to work together for mutual success.
One outcome of the summit was the formation of a steering committee to develop a regional council to foster good communication and coordinated efforts region wide. This steering committee provides the necessary linkage as the core leadership function of the QSRT grant.
Summit attendees prioritized several issues important to the region’s future. Those issues translated into action with the formation of eight sub-committees. Dozens of participants even volunteered for specific committees before leaving the summit event to ensure action and responsibility to carry the issues forward. The sub committees are: Education, Asset Mapping/Benchmarking, Marketing/Branding, Regional Economic Development, Region Appearance, Infrastructure, Tourism and Healthcare/Social Services.
The sub committees will meet individually and report back to the full group at the next summit event June with a plan to meet with State and Federal Legislators in August to show the united support that the region has towards initiatives without borders. In addition to the energies of the Chambers and their business leaders volunteering for committee work, the regional initiative has the $250,000 QSRT grant through the Workforce Investment Board as seed capital to launch specific projects.
Chambers participating in the Summit included: Anderson, Barton County, Carl Junction, Carthage, Columbus, Grove, Joplin, Miami, Neosho, Pineville-Jane, Pittsburg, Sarcoxie, and Webb City. The tri-state scope of the initial summit will now be expanded to include additional key groups in Northwest Arkansas and Southwest Missouri that are economically inter-dependent with the regional market.
Internet links for sampling of local news coverage of the regional summit:
- KOAM/Fox 14 TV
- Joplin Globe
- Joplin Chamber
- Joplin Business Journal (subscription log-in required)
