Maragos: Nassau Needs A New Identity

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A Nassau resident who moved to Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Raleigh, or Austin, and kept their current job, would immediately realize a double-digit percentage increase in their disposable income, according to county Comptroller George Maragos (R-Great Neck).

To benefit from the lower cost of living, why aren’t more Long Islanders relocating to one of those four cities, and seeing a 15 percent spike in their cash flow in Utah, or pocketing 23 percent more of their earnings in Texas?  The county comptroller convincingly argues young adults will run the numbers and do just that. This trend, for which there is ample anecdotal evidence, has serious implications for Nassau, if it goes unaddressed, he adds.

“Long Island needs to develop a strong economic engine that can become its identity,” county Comptroller Maragos writes, in his 21-page An Economic Vision to Confront Nassau County’s Demographic Trends. “In the 1960s, it was known for its aerospace and defense industry. Today, it has no such distinction. Without one or more major economic engines, Long Island will not be able to compete, retain its youth, continue to provide exciting high paying career opportunities, and grow its population.”

Nassau County Comptroller George Margos' Vision for the Future of Long Island
Nassau County Comptroller George Margos’ Vision for the Future of Long Island

The comptroller’s report offered a few grim projections, and those generated the initial headlines when the report first came out. Nassau’s population will decline to 1.31 million in 2024 from 1.35 million in 2012, the report estimated, while the percentage of Nassau residents aged 60-plus could constitute 27 percent of Nassau’s total population in 2024, up from 22 percent in that age range as of 2012.

Northern California has become a magnet for information technology professionals, the report notes, while New Jersey houses many of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical companies. Closer to home, Manhattan remains the center of the U.S. financial services industry, but what about the city’s eastern suburbs?

Comptroller Maragos believes health care is where Nassau can build a national, and perhaps an international, reputation, having already established one in New York with institutions such as St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola, South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, and Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park.

“We need to harness all of these resources and talents to become world leaders in healthcare and medical research. Employment statistics show that over 20 percent of the jobs in Nassau County are already in Healthcare and Social Services,” the comptroller writes, citing U.S. Census Bureau data to illustrate the point.  Retail and food services ranked second and third, in that order, as the source of Nassau jobs, of which there were 523,000-plus in 2012, the analysis found.

The report points to the resiliency of Nassau’s healthcare sector, and how the number of hospital jobs in the county increased 12 percent between 2006 and 2009, the depths of the U.S. economic downturn. Ambulatory healthcare positions, such as those found in outpatient settings, have also grown, and often pay significantly higher wages than those available in retail, according to the comptroller’s study.
“Nassau’s health care industry is large and growing quickly. It will continue to produce a significant number of highly skilled jobs in medicine and related fields in the coming years,” Comptroller Maragos states. “It is not a world leader. It is not organized in collaboration with our universities and research centers to achieve global prominence.”

The comptroller makes a compelling case for building the county’s long-term identity around its greatest strength, and invites others in governmental and academic policymaking positions to join him in making this transformation happen.

Mike Barry, vice president of media relations for an insurance industry trade group, has worked in government and journalism.

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