Thanks to Gila Courier for the original post.

Competitive tax structure leads to Intel expansion

February 11th, 2009

Intel Corporation has announced a major commitment to continuing their presence in Arizona. The company will be investing $3 billion to upgrade their Chandler facility.

Why the extra investment in the Arizona operation? In the words of Josh Walden, VP of the Technology and Manufacturing Group:

“What this does is allow us to maintain those high paying jobs into the future,” he said.

Walden credited state policies enacted prior to the launch of Fab 32, such as research and development and property tax credits, with bringing the investment to the state.

“We’d really like to see that continue to help other companies in Arizona,” he said.

New Mexico Fast Becoming The Land of Taxpayer Disenchantment

(Washington, D.C.) - Today in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Rio Grande Foundation and Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) released the 2008 New Mexico Piglet Book, focusing on government waste, fraud, and abuse in the New Mexico state budget.

New Mexico state spending rose from $3.9 billion to $6.0 billion between 2003 and 2008, an increase of approximately 54 percent.  Pork-barrel spending itself amounted to $341 million in FY 2008 and accounts for 5.6 percent of New Mexico’s $6 billion General Fund budget.  Though state spending between 1995 and 2003 was relatively steady, it exploded under Governor Bill Richardson, rising from $3.9 billion to $6.0 billion.  The Legislative Finance Committee projects that over the next six years revenues will rise by only 10.8 percent so the state is facing challenging economic times and policymakers should heed the calls for spending restraint.  The 2008 New Mexico Piglet Book should serve as a template for reducing spending.  The Piglet details some specific boondoggles, including:

The Economic Development Department (EDD) program, which received $9.3 million in 2008 in order to “build a diverse economy with high-wage, high-impact jobs that provide opportunity and prosperity for the city’s residents, businesses and entrepreneurs.”  EDD features tax credits like the High-Wage Jobs Tax Credit, the Manufacturer’s Investment Tax Credit, New Markets Tax Credit, the Rural Jobs Tax Credit, the Technology Jobs Tax Credit, and the Angel Investment Tax Credit.  It has also lavished subsidies on the film industry, Eclipse Aviation (which recently declared bankruptcy), and Tesla Motors (which vacated New Mexico for greener pastures in California.)  Other examples include:

• $9 million to fund the X-Prize Cup, an annual air and space expo which brings together all sectors of the aerospace industry to demonstrate their capabilities;
• $1.67 million to expand and renovate the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, which will include a rural life center, a special events arena, and a gallery;
• $500,000 to plan and construct a rail spur and platform at Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque. 
• $280,000 to put on a peace conference in Santa Fe in May, 2007; and
• $250,000 to purchase maintenance equipment for the Riverview golf course in the Central Consolidated School District in San Juan County.  

The roots go back decades and we are reaping today what leaders sowed many years ago. Home building and real estate activities deliver shy of $3b per year to our economy.   Unless and until we diversify away from growth related industries thousands of Tucson residents will be dependent on growth for their livelihood. Is that bad?

 Roger Yohem VP of SAHBA summed it up pretty well. Read the full article HERE:

Anti-business genesis

From a development perspective, a complex maze of reluctant leaders, ingrained employees and citizen resistance are the roots of the anti-business policies coming out of Tucson City Hall.

City leaders “have to direct staff to develop standards and the process for encouraging development,” said a builder. Instead, the “entrenched bureaucracy” won’t allow progress to happen.

“Staffers have their own personal agenda, which I believe, is no growth,” he added. “The result is anarchy.”

A former member of the City Council spoke of the process. If an assignment conflicted with a staff member’s agenda, it was stonewalled. The official confronted employees and a typical response was: “I’ve been here almost 20 years, you’ll be gone in four and I’ll still be here.”
There is no pressure to perform. And many employees are protected by a union.
“They can’t be fired, so many feel bullet-proof. They don’t have to answer to anybody,” said a director of SAHBA.

The city’s anti-business movement “got legs” during the terms of Democratic mayors Tom Volgy (1987-91) and George Miller (1991-99). Both had won council seats in 1977.

“As no-growthers, they started to empower extremists and staff to follow their lead,” the SAHBA director said. “The people they hired decades ago are killing today’s redevelopment efforts. Many have moved up into policy-making positions with their negative attitudes toward progress.”

Regarding the conflicts of business versus neighborhoods, Volgy once said, “It’s hard for business groups to understand what the neighborhoods want, and vice versa. It’s very hard to put themselves in each other’s shoes.”

Yet Volgy’s “Kumbaya” thesis never developed into a serious collaboration. The narrow-minded NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard), BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything), and NOTE (Not Over There Either) protesters trumped progress.

As the city’s finance director told the council this spring, income from sales taxes will be flat in 2008 for the first time in 30 years because, “There’s no growth.”

No political cover

City leaders lack the political grit to confront the no-growth crusaders. Proposed projects fade away despite the widespread benefits.

“A radical minority dictates city policy,” says a SAHBA director. “There’s a handful of people who claim to represent neighborhoods but they really don’t. It’s always the same two or three people, who have become the city’s de facto planning department.”

One way to restore balance is to give politicians political cover. Development dissenters should get 60 days to prove their claims about traffic, property values, and other concerns.

“Make neighborhoods do what developers are required to do. Pass a mandate that they prepare and pay for their own study,” he said.

Forward Thinking -Southern Arizona is trying to set the stage for a post-recession surge

By Janet Perez

Like the rest of the state, Southern Arizona has been in a recession since 2007, and at least one prominent economist says the situation won’t be getting better anytime soon.

“My forecast is that it’s going to take a while to get (credit markets) straightened out again and functioning as they should,” says Marshall Vest, director of the Economic and Business Research Center at the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management. “I think that takes up most of 2009. Then we have all the excess housing that needs to be absorbed. That’s going to take some time and we’re not really absorbing the housing right now because credit markets have been essentially frozen. So, I think it’s the end of 2009 before the economy really regains its footing. I think we’ll start to move up in 2010. By move up, I mean the economy will once again begin to expand and enter a recovery phase.”

Joe Snell, president and CEO of Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities (TREO), says that despite the already deteriorating economic conditions, Tucson still managed to draw new companies and expansions in 2008.

“We’re definitely seeing a slow down in a lot of ways, both in the recruitment of companies and the expansion of companies, but not a massive downtick,” he says. “Our pipeline is as full as it’s ever been. But what we are seeing are companies that may have been ready to announce a $100 million expansion in November saying, ‘We’re going to wait on that until January, we’re cautious, we want to see what’s going to happen in the next three months.’ ”

Last year, the region still saw growth in the health care, bioscience, alternative energy and aerospace industries. Of particular note was the purchase of Ventana Medical Systems in Oro Valley by Swiss drug maker Roche for $3.4 billion. Roche also announced plans for a $100 million expansion at Ventana that would increase employment from 750 to about 1,000. In addition, Roche purchased more than 17 acres of land around the Ventana site to expand the location.

“Possibly the most significant thing we can point to though, is that 57 percent of the successful projects were in our targeted industries, and that’s important because those targeted industries represent quality rather than quantity, meaning, closing the wage gap,” Snell says. “Historically, Tucson has ranked somewhat below both the state and the national average in wages. So we’re rapidly moving in the right direction to close that gap. To me, that’s a big takeaway.”

Southern Arizona has not been immune to the effects of the housing market collapse and its devastating impact on the construction industry. For example, one of the first companies TREO recruited, window and doormaker Pella Corp., announced in November 2008 that it was idling its  Tucson plant, affecting 65 workers. When Pella first located to Tucson in 2005, company officials said it had plans to employ more than 400 people at its facility.

Still, as Vest points out, since the construction boom was not as great in Southern Arizona as it was in the Phoenix area, the drop has been less precipitous. For example, year-over-year job losses in the construction industry in October 2008 stood at 4,000 in the Tucson metro area, according to figures from the Arizona Department of Commerce. In the Phoenix-Scottsdale-Mesa area, 30,000 construction industry jobs were lost during the same period.

“Commercial (construction) is still in relatively good shape. Vacancy rates are moving up, but they are still fairly low. Tucson didn’t see the construction boom in commercial that you saw in Phoenix, so, commercial construction here in Tucson doesn’t have as far to fall,” Vest says. “For residential, the indicators that I see are pretty comparable to Phoenix, except for the housing price data. I don’t think the declines have been quite as large (in Southern Arizona).”

Snell says that so far, Southern Arizona has managed to hold its own on employment.

“We have losses in construction, but we’re gaining it on biotech, we’re gaining it on solar, we’re gaining it in logistics companies. I think right now we’re sort of a wash,” he says.

Vest, however, expects more job losses across the state as the recession drags on through 2009. In fact, comparisons of unemployment rates from 2007 and 2008 already are startlingly eye opening.

In October 2008, the unemployment rate for the state, the Phoenix metro and the Tucson metro stood at 6.1 percent, 5.5 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively. In October 2007, the state’s unemployment rate was 3.9 percent, Phoenix’s was at 3.4 percent, and Tucson came in at 3.9 percent.

“I think the unemployment rate will likely reach 8 percent before we’re through,” Vest says.

Vest adds that rate is in line with the jobless figures of the last major recession of the early 1980s. Back then, unemployment peaked at 13 percent in the state, 8.9 percent in Phoenix and 10.5 percent in Tucson.

Fortunately for Southern Arizona, Vest says, the region’s economy is considerably more diverse than it was in the early ’80s. But with credit still tight and the housing market stuck in freefall, Vest cautions about being too optimistic on the strength of a recovery.

“I really think this recovery is probably going to be muted. I don’t see us rebounding very strongly. The process is going to take awhile,” he says. “This recession is going to be longer than the recessions of the early ’80s or mid ’70s. If it stretches through 2009 and the recession began in the fourth quarter of 2007, we’re talking about a two-year-long recession. Nationwide, the longest recession has been 16 months.

“It’s been a very long time in this country since we have encountered a very severe recession. The recessions of 2001 and 1991 were both very short and shallow. They barely qualified as recessions, rather than a growth slowdown. It’s only the gray hairs that remember what a severe recession is like,” Vest adds. “This is scary. This is messy. But we’ve been through this before. If you are a business and you can hang on and remain solvent and get through this, there will be plenty of opportunities on the other side. I would also say that it’s during times like this that the seeds are sown for fortunes to be made. Savvy investors will take positions in markets where assets are cheap and will benefit handsomely as the economy recovers —as surely it will. And the deep pockets know that and there is a lot of money on the sidelines waiting for the right opportunity.”

Snell agrees, adding that now is the time for Southern Arizona to stake a claim in future growth and prosperity.

“We’re not going to ride out the recession. I’m a big believer that now is the time to get aggressive,” he says. “I think we have a good head of steam. At this point, I would say Tucson is as competitive as any major city in the country, including Phoenix. That’s a first for us. Are we going to get cooled off by the national economy? Yes, absolutely. But I think we’re in as good a position as anyone coming out of this recession to capitalize, and maybe within this recession to capitalize.” 

www.arizona.edu
www.treoaz.org
www.azcommerce.com

A State, just like a City or County can take steps today that will change the course of their future for generations to come.  Six years ago the legislators in Texas set the state on a new course of action. A number of factors  made a difference, not the least of which were tort reform and a favorable tax environment. Texas is touted as one of the most pro-business climates in the US.  Both  Arizona and Texas have similarities like a strong university system, major quality of life and climate benefits and a diverse workforce. Texas isn’t saddled by our State Land Trust issues which as you look around Arizona is a big hurdle we have to figure out.  With the right leadership in Arizona state government maybe, just maybe we can look back in a few years and see Arizona on top of some of these pro business lists.From Expansion Management

State Continues to Draw Projects

Texas remains at the forefront in attracting expansion and relocation projects primarily because of its pro-business attitude. Another factor is two dozen major universities providing research and development capabilities, as well as training partnerships.

When the high-tech industry took off in Austin, Texas’ capital city, Austin Community College developed a program to train high-tech workers so companies could find a skilled and educated work force, said Patrick Shaughnessy, communications manager for the Texas Department of Economic Development.

That’s why Oracle, the world’s largest provider of database software, recently selected Austin for its high-availability data center.

Oracle looked at all viable options within the United States and short-listed 15 facilities, including ones in Missouri, Colorado, Massachusetts and Arizona, said Oracle spokeswoman Letty Ledbetter.

Oracle’s strategic partnership with Dell Computer, headquartered in Austin, was another major factor in the decision.

Also taking advantage of Austin’s high-tech expertise is PerformanceRetail, which moved its headquarters from Houston in July.

“Austin has a solid record in creating some of the world’s largest and most successful technology companies,” said Gregg Burt, president and CEO of Performance Retail. “This move gives us ready access to the talent we need to continue our leadership position in the development of retail technologies and expand our efforts to better serve our growing client roster of global corporations.”

California’s Bay Area was considered, said Dean Cruse, vice president of marketing.

Location Makes a Difference

The state’s 1,248-mile border with Mexico translates into a large bilingual work force, a contributing factor in Clarke American Checks’ decision to open a second contact center in San Antonio in August.

The new $12 million facility will provide customer service and sales via telephone, e-mail and Web chat for its partners and their customers, which includes more than 4,000 banks, credit unions and other financial institutions nationwide.

With 350 people working at its first facility, Clarke American plans to add another 350 at the new 42,000 square foot facility.

Kaari Swope, Clarke American’svice president and general manager of customer service, said the company considered alternative sites in Kansas, Iowa, Utah and other locations in the Midwest.

“We chose to add a second facility in San Antonio because of the existing infrastructure, the high quality work force available and because of the advantages of being able to hire a bilingual work force,” Swope said.

The state’s other major metropolitan area, Dallas/Fort Worth, recently welcomed two new arrivals.

Safety-Kleen Corp., which helps more than 400,000 companies regulate hazardous and non-hazardous waste, will add 250 employees at its new 120,000 square foot corporate headquarters. In a memo to company employees, company CEO Ronald A. Rittenmeyer said Dallas’ central geographic location, its availability of affordable real estate, and a comparable cost of living were important factors.

Those were the same reasons Washington Mutual, one of the nation’s largest financial services companies, announced in May plans to open a national commercial loan servicing and operations center in the region, bringing 300 new jobs.

“We selected the Dallas area – and Coppell, specifically -because it offers quality real estate options, an abundance of highly skilled workers, and high quality-of-life measures, such as affordability, great schools and access to arts and culture,” said Stuart Miles, senior vice president for Washington Mutual.

Company spokesman Joe Arbona said the company considered Kansas City, Houston and Indianapolis, but felt Dallas offered the best pool of talent to fill the positions.

 

Dan Perkins is a freelance writer based in St. Louis, Mo.

Texas Job Creation Data HERE. and rankings HERE.

Some highlights of how Texas ranks;

Texas: The Business Advantage

Texas has established a worldwide reputation for its open, positive attitude toward the business community. With a low tax burden, low living costs, a Texas-friendly lifestyle and government programs designed to help rather than hinder business, the Lone Star State is the perfect location to build your company.

• If Texas were its own country, its economy would rank 12th in the world, just below Brazil and Russia and higher than India, South Korea and Australia.
• The Tax Foundation ranks Texas 43rd among states for its combined 2007 state and local tax burden. That’s a contest in which first place is no prize!
• According to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, Texas had the third-lowest cost of living among all U.S. states in the fourth quarter of 2007, and by far the lowest cost of living among the 10 largest states.
• The Texas Enterprise Fund, created in 2003, gives Texas leaders unique leverage in using incentives to attract jobs and business to the state. The Texas Governor’s Office reports that the fund has brought 51,800 new jobs to the state and generated $15.6 billion in capital investments.
• Since 2005, Texas’ Emerging Technology Fund has been helping early-stage technology companies bring innovative products and services to market.
• Texas has made a substantial and ongoing commitment to upgrading the skills of its workers. The Texas Skills Development Fund, which provides state funding for employee training, awarded $25 million in grants in 2007 that generated nearly 7,100 new jobs and provided training to 13,758 workers in existing jobs.
• Texas emerged as the clear winner in Fortune magazine’s 2007 ranking of the nation’s 100 fastest-growing companies, with 32. California was a distant second, with 11 companies.
• In Chief Executive magazine’s annual nationwide poll of chief executive officers, Texas has been chosen as the best state in which to do business for four consecutive years (2005-2008).

The CNBC financial news network ranked Texas as America’s Top State for Business in 2008 and best all-around economy in the United States.

Craddick: Texas’ pro-business moves will help weather economic turmoil

By Mella McEwen
Oil Editor

Published: Thursday, October 16, 2008 6:11 PM CDT

Amid the economic turmoil roiling the country and spreading across the globe, the state of Texas is an island of economic calm, according to Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick….

The state also is an island “created six years ago when we consolidated agencies and cut spending and made the government work like every other business,”Craddick added. “We had people who made the hard decisions and did what needed to be done.”

The Midlander told his audience that “We have $12 billion in our rainy day fund and $5 billion to $6 billion surplus funds in our general revenue” as the Texas Legislature prepares to meet in January.

“If you’ve been following what’s going on, California is facing a $19 billion budget deficit and has asked the federal government for a loan,” he said. “When I was elected speaker, we were facing a $5 billion deficit. When

I was sworn in, it was a $10 billion deficit. We didn’t ask the federal government for a loan, we formed a new appropriations committee and cut spending.” He cited as an example the Health and Human Services, where 13 agencies were combined into three, saving approximately $1.5 billion a year.

Tort reform passing at the same time also helped, he said, stressing that legislation was not passed just to benefit doctors, though it has attracted 11,000 new doctors to the state in the last four years.

“Everyone across the board has benefited from tort reform,” he said. “We got rid of most frivolous lawsuits” and companies looking to move to Texas have told him one reason is tort reform…

He predicted education funding will be a major focus of the session, telling the audience that “In my opinion, we’ve got to find another way to fund education and move away from property taxes.”

He also wants to update the school formula he said dates back to the 1960s and make sure good teachers are rewarded for their efforts.

 

Transportation will be another focus, Craddick said, noting that the Transportation Commission recently announced it cannot locate $1 billion in funds.

“We’re sending in an audit committee and we will find that $1 billion,” he said. “You won’t recognize TxDOTwhen we get through. Here, about 1 percent of you are concerned about transportation. In Dallas, 99 percent are concerned about transportation. The gasoline tax is not raising enough to keep up with our infrastructure. We need to look at options on funding transportation.”

Health care will be another issue, he said, saying he wants to find ways to let small companies band together in larger groups so they can find healthcare insurance that offers better coverage at better rates.

Mella McEwen can be reached at casell@mrt.com.

“Austin offered a lower cost of living, a great lifestyle, inexpensive services and access to a large, talented pool of technology professionals,” Cruse said.

By Patrick Finley

Arizona Daily Star

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.22.2007

When he served as the UA’s athletic director, Cedric Dempsey had a nickname for Tucson.

“We used to call it the biggest college town in America,” he said.

Some would say he’s still correct.

Pima County has passed 1 million residents — more than enough to support a minor-league sports team — yet the area is littered with gravestones of franchises that have failed to turn a profit, or survive, in Tucson.

For many reasons — our demographics, our transient nature and the business market, to name a few — minor-league sports franchises have failed to find a foothold here.

The unsuccessful past impacts the future of pro sports in Tucson.

“It’s a proven statistic that it’s not working,” Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll said.

Does the area need a pro sports franchise? Some say it improves the quality of life and instills community pride, while others believe the University of Arizona serves as the town’s main point of interest.

At least 18 franchises or sporting events have folded or left Tucson in the last three decades.

That number will grow in the next two years. The Triple-A Sidewinders are being sold to a group that will likely move them to Reno, Nev., for the 2009 season. The Chicago White Sox want to move their spring training operations to Glendale in 2009, but first need to find a replacement team to move to Tucson Electric Park or pay a buyout.

With the Sidewinders’ departure, Tucson will become the second-largest city in America without a big-league team in one of the four major sports or a Triple-A baseball team. On that list, only El Paso is bigger.

According to 2006 U.S. Census figures, Tucson is the 32nd-largest city and the sixth-largest without a major pro sports team. Louisville, Ky., Las Vegas, Oklahoma City and the Austin area all have Triple-A baseball.

On paper, Pima County seems ripe for a minor-league team.

It is home to world-class events during temperate months in the fall, winter and spring — the WGC-Accenture World Match Play Championships, spring training, UA football and basketball and La Fiesta de los Vaqueros, to name a few.

AZ Star ran a story on this year’s Gem Show being off due to economic challenges nationally and internationally.  Decent story read it – HERE.  A couple local hotels were asked about bookings this year compared to last and the consensus is we are down 25%. No doubt challenges this year are beyond our immediate control. The main thing we can do from an economic development point of view is DIVERSIFY our tourism and industrial base.

Once again the online comments are where the real stories develop. Here’s a great set of comments that are worth a second look;

Tucson’s government has never cared to develop an economy based on industry. I remember when the City Council ran Firestone out of town. So, we go through this every time there is a downturn in the economy.

Companies don’t want to come here – there isn’t a skilled workforce. Those same companies can’t get their managers to move here because the schools are mediocre – at best.

But, you can’t tell the City Council, Board of Supervisors, City Manager anything. They don’t care – they have their own vision of what they want to accomplish and never mind the city.

Instead, we hear that the Tourism Board is busy advertising in Mexico. Wonderful, they can spend some of their drug money at our hotels and restaurants.

We’ve never had a leader to organize the citizens to put a stop to the mismanagement of the city.

A response to the above comment;

15 years ago my employer announced they were moving our jobs to Albuquerque because they were getting tax incentives to do so. We knew it would be only a matter of time before they moved other jobs to other cities for the same reasons.

Stupid us, we figured that the Tucson Ecomonic council might want to know and DO SOMETHING like offer the same tax incentives to keep those well paying jobs here. So we called them up and filled them in. The reply: “Well it’s their company, they can do whatever they want” and hung up on us.

So after 15 years I’ve only managed to make 50% of the wages I used to make thanks to the low paying jobs the Tucson Economic Council has brought in. And sure enough my old employer moved almost all other jobs out of Tucson. They only have a small workforce here now.

Another short and to the point comment;

Less tax revenue from tourism=higher property taxes for residents. Fewer jobs means more people on welfare. Fewer people=lower real estate values.

A story came out today about a major $200 million investment in the port of San Luis – HERE. You’ve read in this blog that perhaps the one bright spot in our regions economic development future is  creating an inland port. Long beach is over run, deep sea ports are being planned in Guaymas Mexico and Tucson is smack dab in the middle of what is being called the Cana-Mex logistics pipeline.

Other communities are jocking for their share. The pipeline could through mid Texas, New Mexico or head out of Yuma and bypass Tucson all together. If we can pull together a plan, roll out the welcome mat and let the world know we are serious we could enjoy warehouse jobs, light manufacturing facilities and thousands of mid level paying jobs that are much needed in our region.

For this opportunity to materialize we’ll need to court the railroads, relieve traffic on the I-10 (which may include an I-10 bypass through environmentally sensitive areas). We’ll need to fast track the building process for companies looking to set up light manufacturing. In short we’ll have to show the world that we are ready for the chance to change our future. I for one don’t want to be looking back in 10 years and see the opportunity passing us by….literally.

About San Luis HERE

From the Yuma Sun;

With more than $200 million being invested in infrastructure improvements to the area, San Luis is beginning to shine with its potential as a logistical hub for the region, said Andrea Bereznak, border area project manager for the Greater Yuma Economic Development Corp.

Those investments include construction of the new commercial San Luis 2 port of entry and area service highway, both of which are expected to be completed by next fall. Other projects include an Arizona Department of Transportation facility at the new port; the Gary Magrino Industrial Park, to be developed next to the new port; planned improvements to the existing San Luis 1 port of entry; and expansion of the city’s existing industrial park.

“Congestion at the ports is such a huge issue,” Bereznak said. “But there are only two new ports being built in the U.S. One is in Donna, Texas, and the other is San Luis 2, so there is a lot of excitement from companies doing international business.”

That includes U.S. companies that have been having goods assembled in Asia because of cheaper labor there, she said. With the rising cost of shipping the goods back to the United States, “it’s making more sense to do the assembly work in Mexico,” where the savings in transportation more than make up for the higher cost of labor there than in Asia.

That will bring more jobs to both sides of the border, Bereznak said — jobs that are badly needed in San Luis, with its high unemployment rate. Yuma County had a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 19.8 percent in November 2008, the Arizona Department of Commerce reported, compared with 13.4 percent in November 2007.

Another project with the potential to affect the San Luis area is the planned development of a port at Punta Colonet, Sonora, and a railroad to carry goods from the Mexican seaport to the United States, Bereznak said.

“That project could have an impact on the area, but it’s unknown how much,” she said. “It will depend on what route the rail takes.”

Bereznak also had praise for the “pro-business, pro-community attitude” of the San Luis City Council, calling it positive for the city’s future.

“It’s exciting to work there, with the confluence of elements that support growth and development.”

A new direction for Oregon

Eric Wilson

Issue date: 5/8/06 Section: Forum

It should be obvious to anyone living in the State of Oregon that we have traveled down a bumpy and often turbulent path recently in both state and local government. With high taxes, an often unfriendly business environment and a fledgling school/higher education system, it quickly becomes apparent to most people that the old way just isn’t working anymore.

So let’s go ahead and start at the beginning. One often hears the cries of legislators claiming we need more money for Oregon public schools in an attempt to build momentum for a tax increase. What these same legislators don’t tell you is that per capita, we are near the top of the 50 states in education spending. Monetarily, this means that state spending for education has almost doubled in approximately the last 50 years. Oregon teachers still earn more than the national average even while, according to the Cascade Policy Institute, other Oregonians earn less. Furthermore, we have one of the most lavish Public Employee Retirement Systems (PERS) in the country. While teachers often deserve a higher rate of pay, higher than the national average, in this case we simply can’t afford it.

And what has this done for the State of Oregon? In terms of national averages, not a whole lot. High school juniors and seniors only rank around average in comparison with their peers throughout the country.

And our problems don’t end here. Oregon, most notably Multnomah County, has often been seen as an anti-business and unfriendly place for companies to locate. Much of this is a direct result of our high taxes, especially Multnomah County’s Business Income Tax, which often creates incentives for business to locate in surrounding areas such as Clackamas or Washington County. According to a study done in 2003 by the Small Business Survival Index, Oregon ranked near the bottom while our neighbor to the north was ranked near the top.

The problem with this should be obvious. Where is the incentive for a small business to come to Portland when they can locate in Washington?

Oregon doesn’t have a monetary problem. On the contrary, what they have can be described as none other than a spending problem. Consequently, if Oregon continues on this path, it may not have much left. Businesses will have an incentive to relocate elsewhere around the country, and the economy will continue to decline as we have seen in recent years.

I think it’s time for not only a change but a big change in this state. We have had the leadership of Democratic governors for almost two decades. While some of our current woes may not be entirely their fault, like anything else, success or failure resides in the person in charge.

Likewise, it’s not just the Republicans who are becoming increasingly frustrated. In a poll recently published in the Oregonian, 48 percent of Democrats feel that Oregon is on the wrong track, compared with 41 percent who feel we are moving in the right direction. The margin for the Republicans was naturally higher, with 66 percent expressing their dissatisfaction versus 22 percent who feel we are moving in the right direction.

The democratic leadership in this state has failed to control spending and put caps on the PERS system. If we continue on this same path we may in fact be setting ourselves up for failure.

With a majority of both Democrats and Republicans in agreement with the direction our state is headed, it should seem obvious to anyone that we need a new voice in government. I think the best person for this job is Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron Saxton.

Apart from his fiscally conservative policies, Saxton has chosen to take on the tough issues that are currently affecting Oregonians head on. He pledges to reform the PERS and education system, lower taxes to encourage business and strengthen the economy as well as eliminating government waste.

With the current challenges that currently lie ahead of us, we have a choice to either continue with the status quo, which so far, has given dismal results, or enact a fresh change in leadership. Unless we make change now we are left with a system that is not only inefficient but ineffective.

Eric Wilson is a junior in political science. The opinions expressed in his columns, which appear every Monday, do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Barometer staff. Wilson can be reached at forum@dailybarometer.com.

ADOT is looking at volume on I-10 through Tucson and projecting that we are going to be in trouble.  Read the study HERE. Data shows that by 2030 between 150-200k cars per day will be using the freeway. Options to expand or build a second deck are too expensive and an equally expensive light rail option would alleviate enough volume.

From Fox News – HERE.

What ADOT is proposing is a bypass from Casa Grande west of Avra Valley then past I-19 then connecting back to i-10 past Vail. The bypass would separate local traffic from travelers and truckers passing through.

Of course the NIMBY factions and the environmental groups are lining up in opposition. Supervisor Bronson who’s district encompasses much of the area came out in The Explorer this past week quoted her as;

“Everybody is opposing,” said Pima County Supervisor Sharon Bronson. “I don’t know what ADOT is proposing.”

For more than a year, county officials have made known their staunch opposition to the proposed western bypass.

The county, and some federal officials, worry that the roadway would infringe on a 4.25-square-mile mitigation corridor that the Bureau of Reclamation purchased to help preserve mule deer. The animals use the area when crossing between the Tucson and Roskruge mountains.

In its study, ADOT has acknowledged the conflict there and suggested that a land swap would be needed to build the bypass.

“It goes through critical habitat,” Bronson said.

The supervisor said that on Friday and in the coming weeks, state officials should expect to get an “earful” from her on the plan.

Where it gets interesting is that the one shiny spot in our regions economic development future is around transportation logistics and handling freight by rail and truck coming from new deep sea ports in Guymas and from crowded Long Beach. 

The recent ULI Town Hall presentation on the coming Arizona Megaopolis pointed out that a number of the western states will enjoy NAFTA trucking transportation booms for years to come. The transportation corridors can originate in central Texas, El Paso, through Tucson or from the Yuma valley. The winner of the economic boom will be the community that plans ahead and gets their act together quickest.  The freeway bypass would be a huge step forward on getting us ready. Read more HERE.

Read about the Canamex corridor – HERE.