There's Still Hope For Upstate New York

Urban research scholar William Fulton argues that the current economic development strategy proposed by Gov. Elliot Spitzer is short-sighted, and suggests several techniques for sparking a renaissance in the region.

"Reviving Upstate will necessarily involve more than just cutting taxes and reforming workers comp and providing more aid to Upstate cities, although those are important."

"Instead, revising Upstate has to be a long-term, consistent effort that is based on understanding Upstate's economic assets and retooling those assets to meet the economy of the 21st Century."

"For 125 years, from the opening of the Erie Canal to the advent of the jet age, Upstate New York stood at the center of the world's industrial economy. The assets created during that era are still extraordinary. Chief among them, as Spitzer has acknowledged, is the region's rich endowment of educational institutions - not just Syracuse and Cornell, but Rochester Institute of Technology, SUNY Buffalo and others."