PA Chamber President and CEO Luke Bernstein was interviewed last week by abc27 News about the Keystone Initiative, the PA Chamber Foundation’s long-term economic strategy to make Pennsylvania the best state in the nation to live, work, raise a family, and grow a business.

Bernstein highlighted the approximately 100 recommendations and seven key priority areas listed in the report. He described several public policy solutions that business leaders who led the initiative, and those surveyed, indicated will help Pennsylvania better compete on a global scale. The blueprint for economic success includes tax reforms for companies of all sizes,; making Pennsylvania’s judicial system more equitable; permitting reforms; developing a statewide energy plan; workforce solutions including addressing the state’s childcare crisis;  and more. You can read the full report here; and more about the Keystone Initiative here.

Bernstein added that Pennsylvania has only 62 workers for every 100 available jobs, while the Commonwealth continues to lose Congressional seats and working-age adults to more competitive states. The Keystone Initiative’s pro-business measures are necessary to reverse these trends and put Pennsylvania back on the path to prosperity.  He noted that the Keystone Initiative’s recommendations are not an exhaustive list, but an effective starting point for the PA Chamber to lead with elected officials, business leaders, and other stakeholders who are united around these common goals.

Stories about the Keystone Initiative have also been published recently in the Pennsylvania Business Report, the Bradford Era, and the Pittsburgh Business Times.