Houston's Economy, The good news!

On May 7th I moderated and produced a special on Houston's Economy along with other producers and the Center for Houston's Future. My production assistant took notes and shares some highlights that you may want to read on Houston's problems and Solutions. The good news is that we are better off than everyone else. The lesser good news, it will take a bit longer to get back to normal. To watch the show go to www.houstonpbs.org/haveyoursay


Evening highlights Houston’s problems and solutions

By Elias Jabbe

HOUSTON- Houston PBS hosted a special program focused on Houston’s economy for the latest version of ‘Houston Have Your Say’ on May 7th, 2009. Hosted and moderated by Patricia Gras, the one-hour program aired live from Houston PBS’s studio and featured an audience that reflected the cultural and professional diversity of the city: representatives from sectors such as education, energy, real estate, and aviation all were present and contributed their opinions on Houston’s economic development.

The program involved the guests answering questions posed by Gras, yet the questions weren’t solely presented by the host. Houstonians blogged on PBS’s website and had the opportunity to call in and voice their concerns to the expert audience, and they took advantage of the opportunity by calling in several times. The audience also was able to listen to the opinion of the public while watching the short interviews with Houstonians discussing the local and global job market that were shown intermittently.

Though the sentiment concerning the job market for most people has been one of doom, the audience stated that the negativity was overstated in the media, and that the city of Houston actually is much better off than many cities in the United States.

The current economic recession has helped teach the world a lesson about being more efficient and less wasteful, according to some of the experts in the audience. “This recession reminds me of the one that took place between 1984 and 1990 in Houston as a result of ‘overbuilding’ by real estate companies,” said Giorgio Borlenghi, president of real estate company Interfin. Despite the hard times that many are experiencing now, Borlenghi has faith that the future will be bright. “Houston is a city of growth: millions of people are arriving here. Real estate is a great service to the community, and the sector needs to stop using methods like prospecting and instead needs to create demand first before building new property,” said Borlenghi.
Patrick Neal Jankowski, vice president of the research department of Opportunity Houston had a notably optimistic attitude regarding the future of Houston. “The Greater Houston Partnerships predicts that Houston will lose between 40,000 and 45,000 jobs in 2009. We have a lot to be thankful for: Phoenix has lost 137,000 jobs in one year, and it is two-thirds the size of Houston, “said Jankowski. Houston’s growth as a world-class city will be the key to its success. “Houston is a global city: 3,000 companies here do international business, and the future for Houston has to include more global trade. Houston is the best place to ride out the recession at. Oil and gas will continue to be important resources because so many key derivatives come from them,” said Jankowski.

Representing Houston’s education sector was Dr. Adolfo Santos, Chair of the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Houston. Dr. Santos noted that Houston has the potential to produce people who can make an impact worldwide. “Many young people in Houston of Mexican descent have the advantage of knowing both Spanish and English, which means that jobs in foreign Spanish-speaking countries in regions such as Latin America are there for the taking,” said Santos.