Monthly Archives: July 2008

Should Government be in Charge of Cleaning Internet Pipes?

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Categories: Government, Technology

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Is your Internet running slowly due to all the video content and advanced applications straining your provider? Does it have you angrier than a surly fishgator? Well calm down, fella. The government might be here to help.

But is that a good thing? The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council says they’d rather let the private sector handle this one.

Robert McDowell:

"If we choose regulation over collaboration, we will be setting a precedent by thrusting politicians and bureaucrats into engineering decisions. Another concern is that as an institution, the FCC is incapable of deciding any issue in the nanoseconds that make up Internet time. And asking government to make these decisions could mean that every few years the ground rules would change based on election results. The Internet might grind to a halt in such a climate. It would certainly die of clogged arteries if network owners had to seek government permission before serving their customers by managing surges of information flow."

Business Sponsorships Not Just For Little Leaguers (and They’ll Get You Noticed)

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Categories: Business News, Chamber Conferences

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From a very early age, most of us were exposed to corporate sponsorships, usually in the form of sports. We proudly wore the name of a local business across our chest as we played tee ball or flocked after a soccer ball like ducklings following their mother.

Though we might not have considered the ramifications of what we wore, we served as tiny advertisers for the business community and owning an “Iggy’s Ice Shack” T-shirt undoubtedly reminded us where we had to go to get that snow cone for which we longed.

Off the baseball field and in the business world, sponsorships of conferences and seminars are a great way to hit your target audience. You sell safety products? Why not grab the attention of an entire conference of safety enthusiasts by sponsoring registration bags for the 2009 Indiana Safety and Health Conference and Expo?

You’ll be surprised how a room full of adults will clamor over a tote-bag with your company’s logo on it like children for a lump of sugary ice.

If you’re interested in sponsorship opportunities with the Indiana Chamber, contact Jim Wagner.

BP Whiting Project Accelerated Despite Lawsuits

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Categories: Business News, Environment, Government

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The Northwest Indiana Times reports the latest on the BP Whiting Refinery project.

From the article:

When completed in 2011, the project will increase Whiting gasoline production by 1.7 million gallons a day and equip the refinery to process increased amounts of secure Canadian crude oil, the company says.

And:

"We estimate that direct local spending during construction, including salaries and wages for field craft will be in excess of $2.5 billion," said Dan Sajkowski, BP Whiting Refinery business unit leader. "Far more significant is that the project will allow us to sustain the ongoing employment base that provides a livelihood to over 2000 families and delivers huge economic benefit to communities in northwest Indiana."

Coal Conversion: We’ve Got Coal

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Categories: Business News, Environment, Government, Technology

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West Virginia has some really nice state parks and a Greenbrier resort (and former famous congressional bunker hideaway) that is second to none. But the state certainly isn’t top of mind when it comes to economic development and innovation.

A headline that screams "W. Va. Takes Lead in Future of Fuel" will certainly draw attention. The plan: take advantage of the state’s greatest natural resource — coal — and turn it into gasoline and methanol in the first project of its kind in the United States. Incidentally, one of the partners (a Houston-based company) has already helped build a coal-to-liquids plant in China.

The $800 million project will provide security for West Virginia’s expansive coal industry, create additional jobs and potentially be part of the long-term solution to our country’s energy challenges. The president of Consol Energy, based in Pittsburgh, goes a little overboard when he terms West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin "one of the few governors in the 50 states who can spell coal."

Indiana has coal, maybe not as much as West Virginia, but ample supplies. It is crafting an entrepreneurial path of its own with Duke Energy’s coal gasification plant in Edwardsport. Can our state be a player in the coal-to-liquids game? We’re not sure.

The West Virginia project is intriguing. Read about it here.

Report: Cut the Jive on Energy Talk

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Categories: Business News, Environment, Government

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Disco. Gratuitous sideburns. The Houston Astros’ rainbow uniforms. These are mistakes of the 1970s.

According to a report from the Heritage Foundation, these pale in comparison to the mistakes made in the United States regarding energy policy at the time. The authors outline key concerns and caution us not to relive them by overreacting to today’s energy challenges.

What do you think? Should the government get so involved in these trying times or should we let the market run its course? Let us know in the comments section.

Letters to Our Leaders: Laboring for a Solution

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Categories: Government, Letters to Our Leaders

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Automotive production in the United States is moving south. Yes, Indiana has been successful recently in attracting Honda and incorporating a Toyota expansion into the existing Subaru facility in Lafayette, but those have been exceptions rather than the rule.

Since Nissan chose Smyrna, Tennessee for a plant location in 1983, the Volunteer state and neighbors in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina have become attractive locations for BMW, Kia, Honda and others. Good transportation and a strong workforce are two of the reasons. The biggest, according to some, is that these are right-to-work (RTW) states that allow the automakers (and other major employers) to avoid union concerns.

The 22 states with RTW laws have seen dramatic increases in economic development and personal incomes compared to those lacking the RTW measures. It’s not the lone reason, of course, but one that deserves full consideration.

One of the keys to progress for any state is standing out from the others. RTW would do that for Indiana in the Midwest and on a national level.

This week’s Letter to Our Leaders has the details.

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Breakfast Tour Headed to Fort Wayne

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Categories: Chamber News, Human Resources

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Our next stop on the Breakfast with Brinegar circuit is in Fort Wayne. We encourage our members and interested non-members to attend our August 7 program at the Hilton Garden Inn.  Kevin Brinegar, president of the Indiana Chamber, will discuss Chamber programs and services and you will have an opportunity to network with our northeast Indiana Chamber members.
 
Ryan Beck, the Allen County Territory Manager of the Indiana Chamber, thinks this is a great opportunity for businesses to learn about membership resources and to use them to generate new business and to save money during a tough economy.

"In just 60 minutes you have the chance to network with local businesses and to learn about our free customized sales leads and free HR HELPLINE," Beck explains. "Most businesses need a shot in the arm right now and we have a number of resources to help them."
 
The breakfast is free for Indiana Chamber members and $19 for non-members. The program begins at 8 a.m. and will last one hour.  Please contact Abby Hamilton at (317) 264-3793 or ahamilton@indianachamber.com to RSVP.

Ohio Task Force: State Should Mandate Health Coverage

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Categories: Business News, Government, Health Care

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From the "What Could Possibly Go Wrong?" File:

An Ohio task force has recommended that the state provide universal health insurance. The group, which doesn’t say how to pay for the proposal, wants mandates on all residents to buy insurance and insurers to accept all who apply. Employers, naturally, would also face certain requirements.

Perhaps our eastern neighbor is hoping to mimic the resounding success of San Francisco, Massachusetts and Canada.

The Intern Chronicles: A Fond Farewell to Learning and Free Food

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Categories: Chamber Conferences, Chamber News

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I’ve kept busy this week, which has made the days seem to really fly by. During a summer job, this is a good thing 99% of the time — the remaining 1% being when you have multiple projects to complete and a deadline fast approaching.

My deadline exists because it also happens to be the last day of my internship here at the Chamber. I’ll pause for a few minutes to allow for adequate weeping time, as you’re surely one of the millions of readers who have relied on the Intern Chronicles for your strength and comfort every week.

But have no fear, the circle of life will prevail and another intern will take my place. Staff members; please welcome my predecessor with open arms and maybe an updated phone list with their name on it instead of mine. My gift to them is an Indiana Chamber Intern Survival Guide, which is comprised of lessons I learned the hard way. It’s several hundred pages long. Here is an excerpt from the “Lunch Break” section.

Don’t bother bringing your lunch for the first half of summer. Tons of conferences mean tons of leftover catering for you. Bolt for the food as soon as the e-mail goes out (this is important) and you’ll be sitting pretty.

Do bother bringing your lunch for the second half of summer. Conference season tragically ends in early July, and although the occasional seminar will bring you happiness and seasoned chicken, it happens much less often and is difficult to predict. You still have to eat, and you can’t afford to get Subway and Qdoba regularly until you have interns of your own.

Although I didn’t have a survival guide to live by during my time here at the Chamber, the entire staff made it easy to feel immediately comfortable and welcome. My supervisors sacrificed time and effort to provide countless learning opportunities and I even had a hefty amount of fun. When I leave today it will mark the end of an invaluable experience that I am truly grateful for. Although I’ll probably miss the free lunches the most.

Study Says India the Leader in Workforce Development

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Categories: Business News, Chamber Publications, Education, Letters to Our Leaders

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A new study, titled How the Disciple Became the Guru, was recently released by the Kauffman Foundation. I’ll let the experts from Duke and Harvard, who authored the report, explain:

In the ’90s, India’s Information Technology (IT) industry learned to compensate for the country’s weak infrastructure and developed competencies that helped it become a top global player. Now several industries, including IT, have learned to overcome another major deficiency: India’s education system. They have adapted and perfected western practices in workforce training and development, and now take workers with poor education and weak technical skills and turn them into highly productive technical specialists and managers able to compete on the world stage.
 
Still not sure this applies to Indiana? Try this on for size from a project released earlier this year by the Indiana Chamber: Indiana’s Adult Education and Workforce Skills Performance Report. The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems did the research and offered the following:
 
Even if Indiana were to become the best-performing state on measures of high school completion, college participation and graduation of traditional-age students, it would still fall short of reaching the level of educational attainment needed to be globally competitive. It must also rely on improved success in raising the education levels of adults age 25 and older. Indiana currently ranks 34th in the U.S. in the percentage of non-traditional-age adults participating in postsecondary education.
 
Unless Indiana can do a better job preparing its workforce, its ability to attract and maintain knowledge-based jobs may well be in jeopardy. In addition, only a highly trained workforce will possess the necessary ingredients to grow a more vibrant economy from within the state – e.g., entrepreneurship, leadership and civic engagement.
  
The professionals have spoken. What they are saying requires the attention of — quite simply — everyone. The Chamber’s Letters to Our Leaders will offer a starting point for funding Indiana’s workforce development needs in an August 5 release.