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A New Means: Get Better, Not Cheaper A new goal requires new means. In the old economy, places sought to get big by "getting cheap." In the New Economy, the key to success is to "get better." Policy makers used to believe that a low-cost environment was the key to success and that making investments to create a high-quality physical environment just raised costs and drove away business. That's why communities focused on physical infrastructure, below market-rate financing and tax holidays for big industrial and commercial projects, and marketing and incentives to attract industry. The result was often low-wage jobs and companies that were just as likely to leave after a decade for even cheaper pastures. In the New Economy, the path to raising wages and quality of life is in ensuring a technologically advanced infrastructure, boosting the skills of the region's workforce, creating fast and responsive government, ensuring a high quality of life - including a high-quality physical environment that is attractive to knowledge workers - and developing a responsive, efficient government. This is not to say that fiscal discipline should not be a cornerstone of government in the New Economy. But a low-cost environment with a poor quality of life is not the ticket to success. In the New Economy, communities need to shift their focus from providing tax breaks and other subsidies to investing in the skills of the workforce, a vibrant infrastructure for technological innovation, and a superb quality of life. Rather than simply trying to cut costs or react to each new economic gyration, communities should instead invest in the foundation areas for growth in the New Economy. A progressive, innovation-oriented metropolitan area policy framework for the New Economy should rest on five cornerstones: Strategic Plan for Economic Development Page 8 of 23 P g Draft—Subject to Approval and Adoption