THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 1, 1996 TAG: 9608290007
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 48 lines
Federal expenditures - mainly in the form of pay and benefits to military personnel - accounted for about 45 percent of the gross domestic product of Hampton Roads about 15 years ago. Of the region's current $33 billion GDP, federal spending accounts for 23 percent.
The diminishing percentage of GDP attributable to federal dollars is spurring the quest by business, financial, higher-education and civic leaders for greater regional cooperation. Hampton Roads' economy is still growing but more slowly than it would if the region's cities and counties worked together to promote development, especially development that creates well-paying jobs. The pace of job creation and average worker pay increases in Hampton Roads trail state and national norms.
Staff writer Christopher Dinsmore reported last Sunday in the Business section that federal contracts worth more than $5.4 billion were won by Hampton Roads defense contractors in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 1995.
That's the best kind of news for the region. Most of the good news is attributable to Navy procurement generally but for one multiyear Navy purchase in particular: the carrier Ronald Reagan, which Newport News Shipbuilding, the only shipyard anywhere that could do the job, is building.
The news would be better if all the billions of federal dollars were spent in Hampton Roads. But most of what goes into a sophisticated warship - steel, weapons systems, light bulbs and so on - is manufactured outside the region. So billions of dollars will flow to subcontractors and providers of materials based elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the Navy is concentrating more and more of its forces and activities in Hampton Roads, which shields the region from the harsh-est effects from the downsizing of the U.S. military in the post-Cold War years experienced by many localities. That, too, is good news for Southeastern Virginia. But how long Hampton Roads will continue to be among the biggest beneficiaries of the federal treasury is anyone's guess.
This fast-changing world and the competition in the global marketplace put a premium on brains, energy and innovation. If Hampton Roads is to progress swiftly instead of sluggishly, leaders of local governments, no less than nongovernmental leaders, must create a region that is admired far and wide for its vitality, handles increasing volumes of container cargo each year and becomes a hub of sophisticated research, development and manufacturing and a travel destination rivaling Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Orlando, Fla., in popularity - all possible. by CNB