Survey of business leaders reveals concerns for 2025

NH Business: Survey of NH Business Leaders Reveals Top Concerns for 2025; the main concern may surprise you

WELCOME TO NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS I’M FRED KOCHER. A NEW SURVEY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS LEADERS REVEALS IT SHOWS THEIR TOP CONCERNS ACROSS PREPARING FOR 2025 SECURITY WITH POLITICAL AND SOCIAL INSTABILITY. NOW THERE ARE SOME ADDITIONAL CONCERNS. SURVEY OF HEALTHCARE, WAGE AND WORKFORCE COST INCREASE FOR SKILLED WORKERS. In particular, AI TECHNOLOGY. JUST USED. HOUSING SUPPLY AND AFFORDABILITY AND THAT IS NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS LEADERS’ NUMBER ONE PUBLIC POLICY ISSUE. WIDE CONCERN AFFORDABLE CITIZENSHIP. NO SURPRISE. SHE SAYS THE STATE SHOULD SET REASONABLE BOUNDARIES FOR RESTRICTIVE LOCAL ZONING REGULATIONS, AS WELL AS TIME REQUIRED FOR APPROVAL OF NEW DEVELOPMENTS. AND NOTE THE LONG BLUE BARS, INDICATING BUSINESS LEADERS AGREE WITH THAT STATEMENT. WITH ME ARE TWO INDIVIDUALS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SURVEY, MICHAEL SKELETON, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE SOCIETY OF BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, WHO IS SPONSORING THE SURVEY, AND DR. MAX LATONA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR ETHICS AND SOCIETY AT SAINT ANSELM’S COLLEGE. WELCOME YOU TWO. THANK YOU, FRED. MAX, FAST. HOW MANY BUSINESSES HAVE THEY INTERVIEWED AND WERE THEY BIG AND SMALL? YES, WE HAD 126 OF THE STATE’S TOP BUSINESS LEADERS. ANSWER. AND THEY ARE FROM BIG AND SMALL BUSINESSES, BIG BUSINESSES, OVER 100 MILLION IN REVENUE, OVER 500 EMPLOYEES, SMALL BUSINESSES UNDER ONE MILLION IN REVENUE, LESS THAN 11 EMPLOYEES. OK, MICHAEL? BUSINESS LEADERS. THEIR OVERALL MAIN CONCERN IS CYBER SECURITY. WITH SOCIAL AND POLITICAL INSTABILITY. THIS IS REGULARLY NOTED. YES, THIS SHOULD BE MORE WORRIING NOW THAN IT HAS BEEN. VERY INTERESTING ACTIVITIES. I THINK THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL INSTABILITY WAS RELATED TO THAT TIME OF THE SURVEY. THE ELECTIONS HAD COME. PEOPLE WERE SPECULATING WHAT THE RESULT OF THIS COULD BE. BUT CYBER SECURITY, I THINK IS THE TRACE OF HOW TECHNOLOGY IS CROSSED WITH DAILY, DAILY BUSINESS NOW. AND THERE IS JUST MORE EXPOSURE, MORE BAD PLAYERS THAT CAN AFFECT BUSINESSES USING TECHNOLOGY. MAIN PUBLIC POLICY, MAIN PUBLIC POLICY CONCERN, NOT SUPREME. AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT IN SPECIAL LOCAL ZONING THAT RESTRICTS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THAT WORKFORCE HOUSING. THE QUESTION IS, ARE NEW HAMPSHIRE COMMUNITIES OPEN TO ZONING CHANGES TO ALLOW THAT HOUSING? MAX? I WANT TO SAY ALL AND MORE ARE. THIS IS TRUE. IN THE LAST YEAR WE HAVE SEEN MORE AND MORE COMMUNITIES MAKE SMALL ADJUSTMENTS TO THEIR ZONING TO MAKE HOUSING MORE AFFORDABLE IN THEIR COMMUNITY. BUT WE NEED MORE, FRED. WE JUST NEED MORE, NOT JUST IN THOSE COMMUNITIES, BUT FOR THE COUNTRY. ANOTHER SURVEY QUESTION WAS ABOUT INCREASING HEALTHCARE COSTS, INCREASED WAGES AND ENERGY AS TOP CONCERNS, WHICH ARE ALSO INDIVIDUAL CITIZENS. AS SAK PARAM IN THE CHOICE. So the question is, DID ANYONE HAVE ANY COMMENTS ON WHAT TO DO ABOUT THIS? YES, WE DID NOT ASK SURVEY RESPONDENTS ABOUT POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS, BUT ACTUALLY FOR THE BIA AND MANY OTHER BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS, WE WILL USE THIS INFORMATION TO FORM POLICY OTHER THINGS. THERE ARE SOME ISSUES LIKE HEALTH CARE AND ENERGY THAT HAVE MACRO FACTORS OUTSIDE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE THAT WE CAN’T CONTROL, BUT THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, LEGITIMATE POLICY SOLUTIONS HERE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES. AND I THINK THE NEXT LEGISLATURE WILL WANT TO DO THAT. DID YOU GET ANY COMMENTS, MAX, WHEN YOU DID THE SURVEY? NO, BUT WE THINK THE BUSINESS LEADERS WERE EXCITED AND GLAD TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADD THEIR VOICES TO SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS. YES, YES, THE ELECTIONS WILL CHANGE THE SITUATION. CHOICES CHANGE SITUATIONS. WE KNOW THE CONCERN ABOUT POLITICAL AND SOCIAL INSTABILITY STILL EXISTS TO SOME, BUT WE HOPE TO SEE POLITICIANS MAKE SOME CHANGES. Same REAL QUICK QUESTION. WELL, I THINK IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, I SHOULD, THE OUTCOME IN THE STATE IS GOING TO HAVE A MAJORITY ELECTED GOVERNOR-ELECT, KELLY AYOTTE, BOTH IN THE HOUSE AND IN THE SENATE WORKING, RESULTS IN TERMS OF AN AGENDA PRO- BUSINESS. BUT WE ARE ENCOURAGED TO BE ABLE TO WORK WITH ALL ELECTED LEGISLATORS. THANK YOU BOTH. THANKS TO DOCTOR MAX LATONA AND THE CENTER FOR ETHICS IN SOCIETY AT SAINT ANSELM COLLEGE. AND FOR MIKE SKELETON, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE ASSOCIATION OF BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FRED. IF YOU MISSED ANY PART OF THIS BRIEFING, YOU CAN

NH Business: Survey of NH Business Leaders Reveals Top Concerns for 2025; the main concern may surprise you

Dr. Max Latona, executive director of the Center for Ethics in Society at Saint Anselm College, and Michael Skelton, President and CEO of the New Hampshire Business and Industry Association, sit down with Fred Kocher to discuss a new survey that reveals top concerns for executives of New Hampshire business in 2025.

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