welcome and thanank you for joining us this week for a look at business and finance issues here in the washingtonon region. it is good to be k king. around the parts, it is good to be in fairfrfax county especiallyly if you are involved with ecoconomic development. earlier r this month fairfax announced one of the world's largest engineering firms would relocacatets corporate headquarters to reston from mogomery county. jerry gordon is the ceo of the fairirfax county economic development authority. wewelcome to the "washingtoon business report."" i want to talk about a new book that you have written. for a boring title, it is a really goo read. i give youredit.

you interviewed several dozen mayors from around the country and found some of the best examples across ththe u.s. of ways that local micip that these can reinvent their economy. i highly recommend this book. i anced through it and found myself in gros. -- engrossed. we do not have time to go through alof the emples today, so i want to ke a look at the local success stories. when you talk about before you grow your economy, sometimes you have to reinvent yo economy. u give some e examples like the national hbor in baltimore. >> to many communities in this country have waited until they arare really in desperate situations and that is what happenened with the inner harbor in baltimore. >> people do not remember. thealtimore harbor -- pple called it the armpit of

maryland. now it i is amazing. itit took a lot of communitity involvement to make that happen. >> normally, the things start with local government. this started with thehe local government and at the community. >> and the church communitity. there were ministers s out ththere to try to get thisis commercial development -- >> exaxactly. looking forward it reallyly needed the harbour to be its focal point. it i is a teterrif location. >> is transformed the the whole downwntown baltimore regio >> the next blocks from the innener harbor became developed also. >> in section 3, you have several chapters about the basic foundations that any municipality needs to grow their businesses. we had some good local examples.

versification, fairfax couounty -- for decades, fairfax county was entirely dependent on the government. they try to change that but th was not easy. >> it nevert. there are communitieses like this. with a single dominant sector is the feral gogovernment. for pittsburgh, it was steel. you cannot survive well into the futuren one dominant industry or employer. >> fairfax county became the new sicon valley and then the bubble burst. was fairfax county in trole when that happened? " we were in trouble in the sesense that we were entirely susceptible to chchanges of federal procucurement. we noo longer are. recent yrs the countnty ha beeniversified. > let's get to that.

hundreds of jobs in rockville that thehey have now moved to reston. go o'malleyut up several millllion dollars to keep some of the jobs from leaving and staying in maryland, but va gave seveveral million dollalars' worth of incentives. there has been strong criticism in the press. those incentives were not necessary accordrding to some. the "washington business journal" saying it was a waste of taxpayers' money. our f friend doug fruehling saying there was not enough transparency. >> i think itt was i it couldmonewell spent. >> you have this multibiion dollar company, anand th taxpayers of irfax x county a

helping them buy new furniture for their headquarters. >> the taxpayers of fairfaxax county did not p up a dimime. the taxpxpayers are virgiginia help them out. >> this was a governor mcdonald incentive. arlington county and eryone elelse are saying w why are we helping a llion n dollar company buy office furniture? >> iyou look at the neighboring states, funds are considerably more -- well- financed n.c., a and tennessee have a huge funds to contribute. regina has a small fun do yoyou agree with some experts that say dollar incentives was not reason -- >> of course not. compans us these incentives to offset costs that are specifific.

theyey are not moving becauause they got some dollarars from the cocommonwealth o of virgiginia. it helps t to makeure ththat thehey do get into the community and get t starteted. >> wi so many great examples in the book ofof thingngs that you saw asas success sries in the country, any that you u want to replicate here in our region? >> think the rest of t the country is so differerent. there is a number of success stories like in seattl clearly a success story from coming back from the early 1970's when they went out of siness. >>diversification in the economy would be one less than. and aggressive brge between the private sector and the university to make things happen. >> jerry gordodon, business leads ofhe year, we thank you for sharingng your ideas today. we have much more ahead after the break. stepping out in style, are

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freight rail delivered caterpillar to pria more than 100 years ago. and they're still delivering cat machines today.

you can find us on every continent. and the journey starts here on freight rail america's freight rail companies. helping deliver jobs across this country and goods around the world. reinvesting billions of their own money every year to build a il network that powers our economy. nobody moves more dirt than caterpiar. and we rely on freight rail to move us. >> its time for the roundtable. we are going to call it occupy abc7. guess what?

fox news channel now has a senior occupation correspondent. peter morici professor of economicat the university of maryland, and kate andersen brow reporter for bloomberg ne, welcomde to both ofou. several weeks ago, i saidid they would not get a deal. you said they would. are they going to have a deal or not by wednesday? >> i talked to e democratic aide today on the hill who said it does not matr for democrats. ey think that letting the sequesteredd happen wilill lead to the end of the bush tax c cuts. >> politically it may not matter about the washingtonn post front page on friday said

economically it does not matter. the cuts will nonot come for another year. it is billions of dollars that we are talkingbout. >> it would b be if the cuts have been. these defense cuts will be scaleded back and the president will be in a strong position. he will get a w whopping taxx increase after ththe election to pay for all of this over- spending. and he will get a whwhopping tax increase and he will be a huge cuts idefense spending, then he will give some of that back to replicans ashe leader of compromise. he will be able to blame the republicans as an obstruction on the campgn trailil. he is winning on the road and at home by being so effectiv >> the impact on siness. telle if i am wrong. thbusiness community and the

defense industry says we need to kn what the spendining is going to byears from n. doesn't it matter if they a are still left in limbo if they do not know at congress is going too? >> of course it tters. >> but they cannot even project. >>expressing d lot t of concern abt additional cuts - > i testified in front of the house foreign servi committee the weeks a a and explained what it would mean. president obama will not be e able to pursue the asian sttegy he outlined this week if those cuts go through. he wl nohave the fleet to do it. e president is going to b be able to increase defense spenending with a whopping tax increase he is going to get with the expition of the bush tax cuts. >>e said he would absolely

not low the sequester t to happen. >> 150-page paper in college about e navy because there weetter ways to spend defense dollars.s. i thinkhe defense industry coululd handle the cuts and be justst as strong, but it is the whe olook for t themot knowing what ngress is going too. >> the navy has already been substantially curtailed. china just launched its first rrier. now it will be able to launch more of them. and will be difficult to continueur r responsibilities and to properly meet the time that challenge in ththe chi sea without is substantially larger navy then what weave now. >> i am going to put each o

you on align. i w will say thdeal will not happen but it will matter. >> i say t that it does not happen a and could have any negagative effects on members of congress. >> it will only hapappen if there arare a l of gimmicks and tricksks. that is the most l likely outcome. at t end o of the day the democrats will gain a lot if it all fallss apa. >> i hate being cynicical, but right now i i am cynica about congress.. now, t the preresidential candidates. we have all l had those moments and rick pernd herman cain have had some very embarrassing moments. noteing able to rememember the dertment of energy. hean cain discussing libya.

now herman cain is sang to do not need a reader but a leader. critics say herman cain is not smart enough,h, newt gingrich being accucused of beieing too wealthy. >>what is your take on any o of those three awkwarard moment? >> it was interesting and one of the debates when herman cain was asked if would be a good ceo given thhistory of sexual haharassmement. that really is what this is out. he i is applying to be the ceo of the bigiggestompany in thee world. it is pretty azing to look at all threree. who hahas not had b brain freeze is in tir life? >> for the debates, ey rehearse and they prepare. if you say you are going to get rid of three agencies, you t think it through.

apppareny, he e has not. he reminds me of some pretended th brotherers who w would crammed the night before. >> herman cain is starting to look too much like 2 2007 ss carolina. she s saidamericans do not own maps and maybe that is the problem. i agree wit you. there are some ings you d do nott have to know to be president and then tre are. you had d some fighting words for football programs across th country, and even the university of maryland needs to realize what is more important than football. >> i think m major programs are cost the coury need to take a look at the consequenceces of big- time football on their campuses. i think we have gone tohe poin where fooootball and basketba have become so

important, but theyy have become too important. at happened toto penn state is likely exceptional bause it horrific, however it needs to be dialedd back. >> let people speak out is good for the company. up next, the number of the week. 9.1. a sign of the times.

welcome back. 9.1 is ourur number of the week. it may be your car. that is the average age of cars making their way through the metropolitan washington region. blamed the increase on the recession. that is all for us this week on "washington business report." we hope you join us next week when we will have this special edition of the show. as always, you can check us out on facebook or on twitter.

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