What do you think should be the top priority for stimulus money in the region, and why? - Washington Business Journal:

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“The stimulus package includes over $100 milliobn in education funding that will go a long way towardf propping up state and local education budgets and preventinhg painful cutbacks toschool funding. Education is the best placs for us to invesft in order toensure long-terjm job growth and economic competitiveness. My favoritew part of the education-related stimulus funding by far isthe $5 billiob Race to the Top Fund, which the will use to primde the innovation pump and get school leadersw thinking about new and nontraditional ideazs for improving education.” — Michaelp Chasen, president and CEO, “The ‘stimulus’ money coming into D.C.
ought to be spentg on priorities thatwill ‘stimulate’ our local economy. One of the largestr sectors and one of the most vulnerable to economic downturjn is ourtourism sector. Our priorituy should be to get the convention center hotelbuilt — using stimulus dollare as inducement. The was supposed to be opened for business severalyears ago. Since 2006 theree have been 15 major conventionz that have that had been booked for the which changee their minds and spent theirdollars elsewhere. These 15 conventions alone represenyt 370,000 hotel room nights and a staggering $160 — Bob Sweeney, president, Greater Washington Sportsd Alliance “The D.C.
area is a major technologgy andtelecommunications hub, so a large, innovative federal prograk that targets these sectors in this regionm would provide a significant stimulant. I’vre heard of cities providingt freepublic Wi-Fi services, but with the resources and demancd currently available, why not make this the first free regional Wi-Fi center? A project such as this is a true ‘governmenf for the people’ initiative and will affore all individuals greater access to the portalas the government wants to make as its storefront.
The companiese benefit because they have new projects towork on, and the peoplse benefit through greater job — Ralph Lary III, partner, Arena Technical Resources LLC “Stimulud money is best served creating jobs and encouragin spending. Our economy is based on confidence and We need to restore so every stimulus dollar needws to goto companies, localities and programsd that will do just that. We need to creatd an environment where small businesses have access to the resources they need to get capitaland grow. This is a short-terkm problem, but we need to keep the long-terj impact in mind.
Specifically in this regionh we can use this opportunity to improvs our infrastructure and prepare for the next 20 to 30 yeardsof growth. We’re going to be payintg this money back for a long so it should beinvested wisely.” — Jonathan president and CEO, “Rather than prolonging the inevitable collapsse of industries that are bouns to go overseas, I’d like to see stimulus dollars used to promotee technology growth by funding innovation, transportation and education.
Usinf funds for small business loans, government versionw of programs likeLaunchBox Digital, hiring incentivese and angel investor matching would ensure that the Districft remains a hotbed of innovation. Next, I’d create physical jobs and improvew the efficiency of commuting by fixing the transportation issues in theMetrko area. Lastly, I’d fuel the area’s future innovators by increasingf the numberof top-notchy programs — like the magnet schools slated to lose theire funding.” — Haroon Mokhtarzada, CEO, Webs.
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