I Deny That I Burried Jimmy Hoffa In My Backyard
This afternoon I’ll be a part of a business media panel at OCU. Ted Struli over the Journal Record is moderating and drafted the following questions:
- The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce contends the state has three major industries that provide primary jobs: Energy, aerospace and biotechnology. Do you agree that those are the three most important industries in
Oklahoma, and how much promise do you see in each for the future? - The state amended the Quality Jobs Act recently to extend tax rebates of an estimated $60 million to an NBA franchise. Will that be viewed as great foresight or great folly by 2020?
- Over the past year or two there has been significant investment in the production of alternative energy in our state. How, if at all, will the rise of that industry affect traditional energy producers and the energy industry landscape in
Oklahoma? - Boone Pickens last week predicted that oil is headed to $150 per barrel. Is he right, and if so, how will that affect
Oklahoma’s economy? Secondly, are we poised for another 1980s-like bust in the energy sector? - The fastest-growing industry in
Oklahoma is gaming. When will the casino boom level off? How likely is Texas to loosen its gaming statutes, and, if you believe that will eventually happen, how will
Oklahoma gaming be affected? - Riverfront development has been a high-profile issue in both Oklahoma City and
Tulsa, but voters have taken two entirely different tacks. Considering the different paths the cities have taken, how will each help or hurt economic development and in what ways? - The Quality Jobs Act was originally passed to lure manufacturing jobs to the state, which were then considered the best of primary jobs. Since then, the state has lost GM, Dayton Tire, and several others, and the promised MG plant in
Ardmore hasn’t materialized. Is it time to abandon manufacturing as an economic driver and look to other sectors? If not, how can the state revitalize its manufacturing industry? - Direct flights from both Will Rogers and
Tulsa have increased in the past two years. With the dramatic rise in jet fuel prices and looming industry consolidation (Delta/Northwest and Continental/United plus three carriers that recently stopped flying) cause a backslide in the progress those airports have made? Tulsa has the American Airlines maintenance hub and
Oklahoma City has the FAA, but commercial aviation for business requires easy access – and that means direct flights. How will the airline industry’s current woes affect
Oklahoma’s ability to attract large companies? - What is
Oklahoma’s greatest business asset and what could be done to exploit it more fully? - Bioscience has been touted as the industry of the future for
Oklahoma. Many other states – and even large cities such as
Houston – have laid claim to becoming a bioscience hub in the past five to eight years. Is it an area in which
Oklahoma can legitimately compete for a slice of the bioscience pie, and can the slice be big enough to justify the recruitment development expense?
Being a journalist, it’s fun to see how people craft their questions. I have an old Bloom County cartoon taped onto my desk in which the ever trepid reporter Milo Bloom asks a Senator to confirm or deny he burried Jimmy Hoffa’s body in his back yard. Ah yes, what a wonderful lede, no matter how the question gets asked.
NOTE: This blog is written by a man whose early childhood vocational training involved daily readings of New York tabloid newspapers with headlines like “Headless Body Found in Topless Bar.” Enough said.
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