Ohio Third Frontier cited as creating over 40,000 jobs
This came in via e-mail referencing two Ohio House members that do not live in our general area, but the information shared is relevant to several discussions on the blog, which is why it’s included, if other similar releases follow, I’ll update:
Ohio House Pushes for Renewal, Expansion of Third Frontier
Program has created over 40K jobs and provided a 10 to 1 return for taxpayers
COLUMBUS – Citing an impressive job-creation performance and a strong return on investment for taxpayers, State Reps. Sandra Williams and Jay Goyal joined business leaders in growing high-tech industries from across the state to announce their efforts to renew and expand the Ohio Third Frontier Program.
“This bipartisan program has not only created thousands of Ohio jobs, it has developed a foundation for Ohio’s economic recovery by jumpstarting high-growth industries such as the biomedical, advanced materials and alternative energy sectors,” said Rep. Williams. “Ohio cannot afford to relent or we risk slowing the positive economic growth that this successful program has generated.”
The Ohio Third Frontier Program began in 2002 with bipartisan support and voter approval. It is a 10 year, $1.6 billion bond program that allows for targeted support of technology companies that diversify and accelerate Ohio’s knowledge-based economy.
“Ohio’s future economic prosperity depends on our ability to shift from traditional manufacturing industries to the high-growth, technology-intensive industries of tomorrow,” said Rep. Goyal. “Third Frontier not only accelerates our economic transition, it also creates good-paying jobs for Ohioans.”
According to an independent evaluation conducted by Stanford Research Institute (SRI) International, the Ohio Third Frontier program has already created 41,300 jobs over the past seven years with over $2.4 billion in employee wages and benefits. The report also showed that taxpayers were seeing more than a 10 to one return on investment. It states that from 2003 to 2008, an investment of $681 million of state expenditures resulted in over $6.6 billion of statewide economic impact.
“The Third Frontier and the initiatives it has supported have been essential to the formation and growth of our company,” said Sam Finkelstein, CEO of CleveX, a medical device company in Columbus with ties to Cleveland and Canton. “The program has fostered a spirit of statewide collaboration and created an entrepreneurial infrastructure that enables companies such as ours to develop and flourish.”
Williams and Goyal will co-sponsor a joint resolution to place a renewal and expansion of the Ohio Third Frontier Program on the May 4, 2010, Primary Election ballot. The amendment put before voters will seek approval for the issuance of $1 billion in additional general obligation bonds over five years to fund further job creation through the Ohio Third Frontier Program.
“Colleagues from both parties, both chambers and the administration have been meeting diligently since the summer to discuss approaches and options for continuing this important initiative,” said Goyal. “We want to continue to move this successful program forward with bipartisan support and cooperation.”
For additional information on the Ohio Third Frontier program, please visit www.thirdfrontier.com.
To view the PowerPoint presentation made at today’s news conference, please
These job creation reports depress me as odd as that sounds. How can they congratulate themselves on a job well done when according to this site (link) we lost over 243k jobs overall?
“Over the year, 46 states experienced statistically significant changes in em-
ployment, all of which were decreases. The largest statistically significant
job losses occurred in California (-687,700), Florida (-339,600), Texas (-307,200),
Illinois (-286,300), Michigan (-262,700), Ohio (-243,200), New York (-242,500),
and Georgia (-228,000). The smallest statistically significant decreases in em-
ployment occurred in South Dakota (-7,800) and Vermont (-10,700). (See table E.)”
This reminds me of the times I tried dieting. I would say “This month I lost 10 pounds!!”. Guess what, I also gained 15 for a net gain of 5 pounds. It is the big picture that counts.
I don’t want to hear any more congratulations from anyone unless they say that today we have more jobs than yesterday, this month is more than last month, and this year there are more jobs than last.
November 30th, 2009 at 3:22 pmAmen Doug!
November 30th, 2009 at 3:43 pmWhen you look at the historical employment numbers, link they haven’t included 2009 but it gives you a look at the total employment picture. Relying on the unemployment data numbers has been a topic of debate for some and with it being felt there is no real accurate system in place that is agreed upon to show how many people have given up seeking as well as jobs gained versus jobs loss.
November 30th, 2009 at 3:48 pmHow many of those 40,000 were given to
November 30th, 2009 at 3:50 pmpeople who already lived and had been resident of Ohio before given the job and how many were given the jobs and lived in other states before given the jobs??
Most of the Third Frontier jobs I’ve followed have been here in Ohio and have hired Ohio residents.
November 30th, 2009 at 3:55 pmHow many of these jobs are sustainable? What I mean is, how long would they exist after the government gravy dries up?
Seems like we’re just shifting money from one pocket to the other and not actually creating any new wealth.
December 1st, 2009 at 11:33 am