Ronald Reagan Remembered, GE Moves To Boston

Ronald Reagan Spokesman For GE

1-8-07
The GE Years: What Made Reagan Reagan
by Thomas W. Evans
The Education of Ronald Reagan: The General Electric Years and the Untold Story of his Conversion to Conservatism,

Ronald Reagan :"served as host of the General Electric Theater on television. His contract also called for him to spend a quarter of his eight years (1954-1962) with the company touring the forty states and 139 plants of GE’s far-flung decentralized corporate domain, addressing 250,000 employees and their neighbors.

[From article]
General Electric Co. announced on Wednesday that it will be moving its headquarters from Fairfield, Conn., to Boston, starting this summer.
[. . .]
GE has been based on a 68-acre suburban campus in Fairfield since 1974. Its new home will be built in Boston's Seaport District, with the full move to be completed by 2018.
The $130 billion global industrial giant said it has been weighing a headquarters move for more than three years. That search may have become more urgent after a 2015 state budget raised taxes on corporations.
[. . .]
Although the tax breaks are generous, they were not the key reasons for GE's choice of Boston.
GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said the company was looking for "an ecosystem that shares our aspirations. Greater Boston is home to 55 colleges and universities. Massachusetts spends more on research & development than any other region in the world, and Boston attracts a diverse, technologically fluent workforce."
GE also said Boston offered "connections with the world." That can be read as: Logan International Airport. Unlike Fairfield, Boston offers nonstop flights to London, Frankfurt, Paris, Zurich, Hong Kong, Dubai, Tokyo, Santiago and many other global destinations.
New York officials had hoped to attract GE, but the company said it not only is pulling out of Connecticut but will be selling its offices at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan.
[. . .]
Boston's advantages showed up in another way on Wednesday. The Federal Reserve gave it a pat on the back in its Beige Book, an eight-times-a-year report on growth.
The Beige Book described Boston's economic activity as "upbeat."
Fed researchers concluded that while the New York and Kansas City regions were essentially flat, other parts of the country were reporting growth and Boston was particularly healthy.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/13/462960233/ge-brings-things-to-life-in-boston-lights-out-in-connecticut

GE Brings Things To Life In Boston; Lights Out In Connecticut
Updated January 13, 20167:00 PM ET
Published January 13, 20165:34 PM ET






MARILYN GEEWAX