By Joe Ragusa
NORMAL – The McLean County Chamber of Commerce hosted an economist from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Thursday for its annual Economic Vision luncheon.
J.D. Foster shared his thoughts on where the economy is at and where it’s going. He mostly focused on the federal government and its policies, but he said the state of Illinois doesn’t have many business-friendly policies.
“You’re driving businesses away,” Foster said. “It’s almost an expression of your tax policy and I suspect regulatory policies are consistent with that as well.”
Foster said wages have stagnated and the country’s manufacturing industry is shrinking. Illinois has lost about 10,000 overall manufacturing jobs in the last 12 months, a two-percent drop, but that doesn’t include the recent Mitsubishi Motors plant closure.
There is some good news, though, as Foster points out: The country’s economy as a whole has grown in six consecutive years.
Foster has been with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for two years. Prior to joining the chamber, he worked as an economist with the Tax Foundation, the Heritage Foundation and the U.S. Treasury department under President George W. Bush.
Joe Ragusa can be reached at joe.ragusa@cumulus.com.
