Trend Talk: Five Minutes on Economic Growth Opportunity

I'll be speaking to an audience of Licking County Chamber of Commerce members this morning.

I have five minutes.

It's hard to be that concise, but this column gives me a chance to practice.

1. If we are being pragmatic, President Trump may be riding a trend more than setting one with a focus on the Midwest and growing our manufacturing base.

2. The U.S. is poised to grow the manufacturing sector against GDP competitors that are facing declining working age populations.

GDP in 2016 vs. population projects for 2017

3. The Midwest is poised to outpace the rest of the U.S. in GDP growth due to a host of factors, including energy, logistics, cost of living, and human capital.  

Joel Kotkin's slide from Trustbelt presentation in 2015

 4. Ohio is poised to grow manufacturing in the suburbs and places like Licking County.

An excerpt from RickPlatt.com column on Site Selection magazine report.

5. Licking County has been, can be, and, I predict, will be a microcosm of these trends with a continued focus on manufacturing and other "economic-base" jobs.

CELab explains value of jobs where goods and services are exported out of an economy.

There.  Five minutes is short.

Hopefully a few folks tune in for future trend messages.