Report: Valley among least likely to recover
Local officials tout area’s business prospectsBy LARRY RINGLER / Tribune Chronicle
WARREN - A prominent financial magazine is listing the Mahoning Valley among the nation's 10 areas least poised to climb out of the recession, but local economic development officials would love to prove it wrong.
''We'll try to fool them. We keep putting our best foot forward and keep on working to expand existing businesses and get new businesses,'' Trumbull County Planning Commission Bill Miller said Wednesday in reaction to Forbes.com's report released the same day.
Miller said the commission is working with six potential industrial businesses about locating in or near Trumbull County. A couple could produce 50 to 100 jobs, while others might be in the 10- to 12-job range, he said.
''A couple of them are looking pretty good,'' he said, but wouldn't identify them due to confidentiality. ''At least one of the others may not be in Trumbull County but will be in the region if they can pull off their expansion.''
Forbes.com used data from Moody's Economy.com in compiling its list of the best and worst positioned metropolitan statistical areas to recover from the recession.
The analysis projected the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman area's gross domestic product would fall from $16.3 billion at the start of the recession to $15.4 billion at the end of 2010, a 6 percent decline.
The story, which erroneously put the area in western Ohio, said Moody's estimates the area's GDP won't recover its pre-recession level until early 2013 due to a long-shrinking manufacturing base that has been hit hard by the recession.
While acknowledging the area's economic trouble - its metropolitan jobless rate of 12.8 percent in April was the worst in the state - a Regional Chamber official echoed Miller's belief the Valley could surprise the experts, helped by a mix of manufacturing and technology, along with young political leaders.
Regional Chamber Vice President of Government Affairs Tony Paglia noted the area has more business projects - distribution, manufacturing and other companies - in the pipeline than in the last 10 to 15 years.
He pointed to a $350 million expansion at the General Motors Corp. Lordstown Complex to prepare the factories to build the brand-new Chevrolet Cruze upscale small car starting in April.
''When (General Motors Corp.) comes out of bankruptcy, Lordstown will be a center of production for them,'' he said.
Paglia noted Lordstown built more cars than any GM plant in the nation last year and is the company's largest U.S. assembly operation.
The area also is moving into the high-tech world with the success of the Youngstown Business Incubator and its prominent tenant, Turning Technologies, Paglia said.
In addition, the Valley has a group of ''dynamic young political leaders that we didn't have'' in prior recessions, he said, referring to U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Niles, state Senate Minority Leader Capri Cafaro and Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams.
''That's already paying dividends,'' he said. ''I can't guarantee anything, but at least we have some things going for us this time.''
Other metro areas projected to have a hard time recovering economically include auto-heavy Flint, Mich., and Detroit, along with California areas of Los Angeles-Long Beach, Fresno, Bakersfield and Modesto due to the housing market crash. The New York-New Jersey area also made the negative list due to the financial sector meltdown.
Texas cities Austin, San Antonio and Dallas were among those best positioned to recover with the help of education and health care industries, the study showed.
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Sassysue
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06-11-09 8:50 PM
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How does this work that anti-union also means anti-american?
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Knutson
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06-11-09 8:06 PM
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Face reality people! The unions and politicians have caused this. Our area has an ingrained union entitlement mentality. NO ONE is going to invest in this community. Everybody has an agenda and/or their hand out. The country knows this. Our politicians are corrupt, our union bosses are looking out for themselves. We will not recover if we allow this to continue. Stop lying to yourselves.
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turi57
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06-11-09 4:22 PM
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LouReel: Like I've stated before, bright minds like yours and others anti-unions...anti-Americans is the reason we're in such good shape as a country!
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JoeCool
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06-11-09 2:53 PM
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lol @ henryviii There will be more tee times available too!
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LouReel
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06-11-09 2:25 PM
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ah, Non union states in the south are poor. did you miss the fact that YOU are now part of Appalachia? U have to read ALL the news to be informed. & make sure u pay union wages to ANYONE you hire to help out around the house. Babysitter = $30.00/hr + SS, lawn/snow work $35.00/hr + SS. don't forget to pay the Social Security for your employees. & don't forget break times, where your kid is left unattended for 15min. ya know union rules. practice what you preach people. Grump is correct.
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CURLEY
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06-11-09 1:25 PM
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We were warned. Ross Perot warned us of the sucking sound if nafta was passed.
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insider
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06-11-09 1:09 PM
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The valley has a group of "dynamic young polictical leaders"? Is he kidding us? The current office holders all read from the same Democratic playbook. Raise taxes on the productive and give freebies to the idle. It might buy the latter's vote, but the producers aren't going to stand there and get pickpocketed. Is that why there aren't very many Republicans in the valley anymore? Remember, increasing benefits to those, not working, may better their living standard, but it's not going to give them any incentive to want to work.
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henryviii
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06-11-09 12:37 PM
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"All they have to do is get rid of all of incumbent office holders, political party bosses, organized crime, drug gangs, and drug users and YES! We CAN make it happen.....if there's anybody left living here by then... " If all of these folks leave, the hunting in the area will get alot better...
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XANADU440
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06-11-09 11:52 AM
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WillardFilby....VERY WELL SAID...!!!!!!!
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MYVIEW
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06-11-09 11:20 AM
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I agree with WILLARD!
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BigDreams
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06-11-09 11:14 AM
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Well said Willard.
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jmill46
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06-11-09 10:57 AM
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The Unions are also the one's who are trying to save American Jobs, "BUY AMERICAN",in so doing,causing everyone else including businesses to move out for cheaper labor cost. Just think in 10 yrs. the unions will represent, well no one because there will be no jobs and no people here. But if you go to Wal-Mart and see the GOOD UNION EMPLOYEE there to save a buck. Get OFF your Union Soap Box.
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pahootaman
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06-11-09 10:44 AM
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I'll come and get you union working commenters heads out of the sand when 1950 rolls back around. Man, talk about just not "getting it". WillardFilby, your entire rant can be squarely placed on the very corporation and union you work for (I'm assuming GM). You union commenters are the first to blame everyone but yourself. On Monday, it's NAFTA's fault, on Tuesday it's China's fault, Yesterday it was Obama's fault, and today it's Wall Street's fault. Maybe your union presidents aren't the white nights you think they are. They're out for No. 1 just like those greedy corporate execs you speak of so often. And the fact that you're so complacent in your own collective decision making just makes it all the more frustrating for the rest of us that have a outside-looking-in point of view. That's right, lock step and goose step to what your union bosses tell you, because they would never pull the blinders over your eyes.
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JoeCool
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06-11-09 10:12 AM
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The unions are important to America! Everyone should join a union! Unions provide good jobs to America! Long live unions! Down with scabs! What the writer at Forbs**** does not know is that we'll be building the Chevy Cruze soon, employing 4 shifts, 8 days a week, and opening up the van plant for overflow! They also don't know how we hold monthly rallys to show our pride!
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Thinker
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06-11-09 9:02 AM
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OMG, Of course you agree with the article! You spew hate towards pretty much anything in the news about the area. Go soak your head.
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WillardFilby
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06-11-09 9:01 AM
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The anit-union morons in this area just don't get it....this area, this state, this COUNTRY aren't failing because of UNIONS, they are failing because greedy corporate execs and Wall St. capitalists have always and will always put their bottom line ahead of the good of their own country. Manufacturing jobs are the key to a recovery, and manufacturing jobs continue to disappear all across the land, not just in this area, and not just because of unions. Gawd forbid a middle-class AMERICAN worker should want an extra couple bucks in his/her paycheck every month, or the ability to pay for skyrocketing health insurance. If you aren't earning a 6 figure salary and you slam the 'union mentality' in this area, and blame your fellow middle-class citizens for this mess, then you are pretty much an idiot.
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turi57
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06-11-09 8:46 AM
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ALL OF YOU ANTI-UNION...ANTI-AMERICAN WANT TO KNOW HOW WE GOT IN THIS MESS? LOOK IN YOUR MIRROR!
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turi57
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06-11-09 8:35 AM
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Oldman...get off the union rear end...if not for union wages this valley would not be in existence...You want to explain to me why most of the non union states down south that employ all the foreign transplants are at the top of the poverty list and the bottom of wage earners? It is people with your kind of mentality that's destroying the American way of life!
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TribuneReader
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06-11-09 8:22 AM
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The educated youth leave because there isn't any jobs for them here.
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escaped
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06-11-09 6:36 AM
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All they have to do is get rid of all of incumbent office holders, political party bosses, organized crime, drug gangs, and drug users and YES! We CAN make it happen.....if there's anybody left living here by then...
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OldManGrump2
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06-11-09 5:29 AM
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Gotta agree with this article. It's not looking good for the Mahoning Valley these days. The union mentality will keep most companies away. All you gotta do is look at GM Lordstown's UAW and know why no one will come with new jobs to a strong union location.
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HUSBAND1996
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06-11-09 5:03 AM
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look back over the valley history and you will know why companies dont come here and alot have moved.
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LouReel
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06-11-09 2:41 AM
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Wow 100 jobs. I can hardly contain my excitement. So many jobs coming to Warren. Not. Heard it a million times. Well at least 30 times in the last 30 years.
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Sassysue
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06-11-09 1:18 AM
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Mahoning Valley among the nation's 10 areas least poised to climb out of the recession, Ya think? The cruze will bring us out of the recession!!!!!!!!
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