Gov. Dannel P. Malloy talked tech in in Charlotte, N.C. in a Sept. 4 panel discussion hosted by Bloomberg TV and Google.
Malloy was joined by Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, and Austan Goolsbee, a former chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers and now a business professor at the University of Chicago.
Malloy opened his remarks by rebutting moderator Trish Regan’s reference to Connecticut as a “New York suburb.”
“New York is a wonderful Connecticut suburb,” he said drawing, guffaws from the crowd. Malloy pointed to the consolidation of NBC Sports from its Philadelphia and New York locations to Stamford as an example of the state’s success. He also spoke of developments in the insurance industry, where he mentioned Connecticut companies like the Aetna and Cigna acquiring technology startups to help make their businesses more effective.
Malloy also commented on national technology challenges, including shortfalls in physicians, scientists, and engineers that are becoming increasingly in demand as technology advances accelerate. Further, Malloy spoke of plans for a joint advertising campaign with United Technologies Corporation to attract engineers to the state.
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Malloy say there are changes to be made that can help reduce those shortfalls, including changes to immigration.
“If you get your doctorate, if you get an advanced degree in the United States, if you haven’t gotten in trouble while you’ve been here and you’ve been here three years or more you get a green card. Period. This is an economic imperative,” he said.
But he also acknowledged Washington may not be able to solve every problem given how quickly technology is outpacing policy makers. He pointed to recent changes in the bio science industry where large companies are effectively outsourcing research and development to smaller firms. Later, they either acquire the research or purchase the firm.
“The nature of research and who is doing it and where it’s being done . . . is changing far more rapidly than Washington can even comprehend. That’s the problem,” Malloy said.
Despite the concerns about upcoming challenges, Goolsbee was bullish on the United States’ ability to compete in a global economy especially given its higher education infrastructure and tax system that encourages investment.
“We have a pretty forward orientation to help the tech sector. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the tech sector is doing very well in this country,” he said.
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