Blog
Censorship, the Cancel-Culture & Economic Development
In 2019 Amazon wanted to build a headquarters in New York. They would have received an estimated $3 billion in incentives in return for creating at least 25,000 jobs, an Amazon-sponsored employment center and workforce development program focused on technology training and local recruitment, including for those living in the Queensbridge public housing project, and neighborhood improvements such as a 3.5-acre park and waterfront esplanade.
Businesses Leaving Riot-Torn Cities Is a Man-Made Disaster
A company that has been in Minneapolis for 80 years is leaving that city. Businesses in Seattle are moving to Idaho and Arizona or at least out of the area to other parts of Washington State. For many years now, people and businesses have been leaving California in droves. This has been in large part due to government policies, such as onerous tax burdens.
Will Coronavirus Impact a Company’s Future Relocation?
Amid the furor of Elon Musk threatening to sue Alameda County, CA and move his headquarters to Texas or Nevada, I wonder if companies will look at how states handled the Coronavirus pandemic when making relocation decisions in the future. The Tesla founder said the “lockdown” rules instituted by the Governor of California and implemented by local officials were against his Constitutional rights and common sense when officials wouldn’t let him reopen his company.
American Independence from China
Last month I wrote about our dependence on China for 80 percent of our antibiotics. I made the case the United States should have health and medical independence. We can’t remain in such a vulnerable position. We now have energy independence. We were totally dependent on OPEC countries and Russia. Both energy and health are national security issues, economic issues and should be economic development priorities.
Declaration of Independence
American Independence Should Be Economic Development Priority Similar to how the 911 attacks showed us the inadequacies of screening for terrorists, especially on airplanes, the Coronavirus Pandemic shows weaknesses in our preparedness to combat other threats. I’m not talking about blame, panic and unreasonable, hysterical political attacks. I refer to our dependence on foreign countries for our basic needs.
Marketing and Customer Service are Also Economic Development
Visit Florida has been in the news again because there are legislators wanting to eliminate it or cut funding - again. Last year the budget was cut from $76 million to $50 million and again, some ranking members of the Legislature are questioning the value of marketing Florida as a place to visit and do business. All too familiar, we have been down this road before with both VISIT Florida and Enterprise Florida.