Jobs: Yours, Mine & Ours

by Marilyn Mower

I’m old enough to remember a presidential election where the phrase of change was, “It’s the economy, stupid.” While it seems we may be slinking toward a bit of deja vu at the national level, at the local and state levels–especially in the marine industry– it’s about jobs.

In this issue you’ll see a piece about how North Carolina has made a concerted effort to boost its economy with good-paying jobs by luring boatbuilders by the dozens. Combining networking with tax and relocation incentives, it has grown the state’s marine industry workforce to about 30,000 producing more than $500 million in goods. The Marine Industries Association of South Florida recently convinced the suits in Tallahassee that Florida’s marine trades deserved the benefit of a statewide marine business impact/job study.

Surprise! Turns out the marine industry is an $18 billion business in Florida, far more important than citrus and second only to tourism. As Florida Rep. Jack Seiler noted, “this is a positive industry and it pays well. These are jobs [134,000 in South Florida alone] we want to keep.” Other states might want to make sure they have up-to-date economic impact figures as well.

Now, I have a job that might interest some of you. We are creating an editorial advisory board for MBJ. The board will suggest issues for editorial coverage, present opinions from their regions and trades and be called upon for comments in our Leader Forum articles. If you’d like to nominate someone or nominate yourself, please send a letter of interest and a short resume to me at the e-mail address below. There is no pay, but lots of glory!