Phil Hardwick

On June 9, President Obama signed an Executive Order establishing a White House Rural Council, the first entity of its kind established to focus on policy initiatives for Rural Americans. The announcement states that t he White House Rural Council will focus on actions to better coordinate and streamline federal program efforts in rural America, and to better leverage federal investments. The collaboration will result in better programs and services in rural communities and maximize the benefits of those programs, according to the announcement.

Those words are from a presentation by Harvard Business School Professor Michael E. Porter at the Mackinac Policy Conference on June 2, 2011 in Michigan. The title of his presentation was “Michigan Competitiveness: Creating an Economic Strategy in a Time of Austerity.” It is a good message for all states. Some of his key points: Competitiveness is the productivity with which a state utilizes its human, capital, and natural endowments to create value; Productivity determines wages, jobs, and the standard of living; It is not what fields a state competes in that determines its prosperity, but how productively it competes; and Businesses and government play different but interrelated roles in creating a productive economy. Only businesses can create jobs and wealth. States and regions compete to offer the most productive environment for business.