NewHavenBIZ

n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m O c t o b e r 2 0 1 8 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 43 worst, to private enterprise? A lot of it comes down to com- municating to our legislators the issues that matter most to business- es, or how an issue being consid- ered may impact businesses. In just my brief time here, during this past legislative session I made it a point to have conversations with legislators to let them know what's important to the business commu- nity, and when we think something will negatively impact it. But at least half the lawmakers in Hartford don't care what business owners want. But just because we may be up against the odds in terms of anti-business legislation, we can't just throw our hands up in the air and say, 'Okay, we give up.' We have to continue, even until we're blue in the face — speaking about the issues, talking about how they impact jobs and how we want to have [economic] growth in the region. I do feel that sometimes in Connecticut we tend to say, 'Oh — we're just a high-cost state.' I don't believe we can accept that as a business community. We have to continue to talk. Talk is fine. But how do you effect change when the odds are stacked against you? There have been concrete events that are changing the con- versation in Connecticut. We've had so many companies [General Electric, Aetna] decide to relo- cate to other places, move jobs…I think the facts themselves are starting to resonate — and that's when you start to see the things that we're talking about [about improving the climate for busi- nesses] start to come to fruition. ON THE RECORD: SHEEHAN Continued from page 7 One drum the chamber beats loudly is Tweed-New Haven Airport. In reality, it takes less time on average to travel from downtown New Haven to Bradley Airport than it does to drive from I-495 to Logan Airport in East Boston. But you don't hear anybody screaming to build an international airport in Framingham [Mass.]. at would be a great argument if we didn't already have an airport here. But we do have the asset. It's right here, and it can benefit the city and give us a competitive advantage over other cities that don't have an airport close to the downtown. It's there, and it doesn't take that much more to improve it and create better opportunities for the business community. But the airport neighbors have political juice, and they've made it plain over 20 years that they're going to stand and die to oppose expansion of the runways [to accommodate larger jets]. We're not talking about creating a large metro airport here. A great solution would be a few more flights to a few more destinations — not a huge increase in [traffic] volume for the people who live nearby. And most of those flights would be during [daylight hours]. So I'm hopeful. When I talk to legislators, many of them think [Tweed expan- sion] would be a great opportunity. When I talk to businesses, they see all positives in having that airport be more functional. But we still have more work to do. Socialism used to be a dirty word in America. Now many on the left unapologetically embrace socialism. As a chamber of commerce president, tell us why capitalism is superior to socialism as an organizing principle for society. [Laughs] I believe in free markets. Capitalism helps drive innovation. When we allow market forces [to operate] and give businesses the freedom and flexibility to grow, we get better outcomes. n

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