Tampa Bay Business Journal - August 31, 2012

TAMPA - In this week's Tampa Bay Business Journal report, editor Alexis Muellner discusses the impact of the Republican National Convention for local businesses and the economic decision the Largo City Commission reversed.

Each day of the RNC featured a different theme. Day two on Tuesday was "We Built That" a slogan that skewered President Obama's comment in July that entrepreneurs "didn't build that" without government-supported aid.

Much of the speech at the RNC that day explored the regulations and taxes the various levels of government have been putting up that hurts economic expansion by small businesses. Republicans hope putting the spotlight on the issue of government interference will propel Mitt Romney, who is centering his campaign on creating jobs, to victory in November.

There was talk before the RNC of downtown Tampa businesses cashing in on the convention. Unfortunately, it appears many delegates only went to the Tampa Bay Times Forum and then back to their hotels.

A number of businesses were nearly empty all week. City officials believe hosting the RNC will bring more money in the long run even if restaurants and shops were hurt in the short term.

The Largo City Commission reversed a decision to eliminate the city's Economic Development Manager position and shift two other employees to save about $84,000. Commissioners decided the change was not in the best interest of Largo's goal of encouraging economic expansion.

For more information on these stories, click on the video player on the left to watch this week's report.