Add One More Name to the Invite List of that Forum, Gov

Jack Welch, former Chairman and CEO of General Electric was a guest this morning on ABC's This Week. He describes his company's first hand experience with Rhode Island's anti-business climate and how it is the "Don't" model for dealing with a financial crisis.

[Commenter Mike points us to this item.]

The New York Times this morning ran the greatest ad John McCain could ever have. It was the lead column on the right hand side. It talked about the crisis that is coming, the unemployment that is coming.

But then it featured the State of Rhode Island. And it talked about Rhode Island, they had a two page article in the paper, of all places, the Times.

Rhode Island is the most highly taxed state in the nation. It talked about the fact that Rhode Island, 80% of RI's industries are small businesses employing less than twenty people.

RI has an enormous corporate tax rate of 9%. It has the hightest unemployment tax. Small business is being murdered [George Stephanopoulos begins to overspeak him] and big business like GE pulled out.

* * *

We pulled out of Rhode Island fifteen years ago because of the crazy tax burden there. And that is something you cannot do in these times.

Video of the segment "Welch: Light at End of Tunnel" available here. The New York Times article he references is here. This is the announcement of the November 6 Economic Forum called by Governor Carcieri.