Information Week

"Access to affordable, high-speed broadband is just as important in today's economy as access to a paved road, to a telephone line, or to reliable electricity," the governor said.

New York's new governor Eliot Spitzer, during his first State of the State speech Wednesday afternoon, held out promise that investments in science and technology will help the state achieve more innovation and economic growth.

Spitzer said his top priorities are reforming government and revitalizing New York's economy. He pointed to broadband access and an innovation fund as two of many components in his sweeping plan to turn the Empire State's fortunes around.

Spitzer, taking office after 12 years of Republican rule in New York, said upstate cities suffer from decaying housing stock and violence related to drugs and gangs, while government has failed to halt a long tradition of high business costs and layers of government bureaucracy.

The Pacific Research Institute's Economic Freedom Index, which weighs fiscal burdens, regulatory practices, and other factors, declared New York's economy the least free of all 50 states in 2004. The Beacon Hill Institute's State Competitiveness Index, which assesses technology, government fiscal policy, and labor force, ranks New York 40th in the nation for its business climate.

The research arm of the New York State Business Council reported that New York has the second-highest business costs in the nation. New York employers responding to a Business Council survey in November and December 2006 said that their top concerns regarding business costs are health care, workers' compensation, energy, and taxes.

Spitzer addressed each of those problems.

He outlined plans to appoint an economic development leader to focus on upstate needs, overhaul the worker's compensation program, and seek solutions for lower-cost and renewable energy. He said he would appoint a Commission on Local Government Efficiency to examine consolidation of local governments to eliminate some of New York's 4,200 taxing jurisdictions and duplicate services. Spitzer promised to reduce Medicaid fraud and make the health care system more effective, affordable, and widely available.

He specifically mentioned science and technology as key ingredients in his recipe for making New York more competitive. Government reform and investments in education will position the state to take advantage of the innovation economy, while a stem cell and innovation fund and a universal broadband initiative will help the state compete, he said.

"Access to affordable, high-speed broadband is just as important in today's economy as access to a paved road, to a telephone line, or to reliable electricity," he said. "But here in New York, we face a digital divide. If you're a child growing up in South Korea, your Internet is 10 times faster at half the price than if you're a child growing up in the Southern Tier or the South Bronx. New Yorkers on the wrong side of the divide simply cannot compete in today's economy. To close the divide, we must implement a Universal Broadband Initiative to ensure that every New Yorker has access to affordable, high-speed broadband."

Lt. Gov. David Paterson will lead the state's efforts to create a stem cell and innovation fund "to provide long-term investment, overseen by industry experts for stem cell innovations and other types of applied research that will lead to direct commercial application," Spitzer said.

"This investment will repay itself many times over in increased jobs, economic activity and improved health," he said.