Remember the abortion issue? Voters have said TWICE we are a pro-choice state. What does the legislature and governor do? Pass more laws to restrict abortion. Now we have incentives for businesses going down at the polls;
During the general election in November, South Dakotans voted down a measure that provided a large-project incentive for large businesses interested in coming to South Dakota.
So what does the governor think of the voter’s wishes?
Governor Daugaard says he would welcome new ideas from the legislature to give companies incentives to bring their businesses to the state.
“I know there is still a concern about this tax and about the adequacy of our state’s economic development programs. And I welcome a discussion with the legislature this year about how we should move forward. I need your help and your ideas,”
NO. You are concerned about your corporate buddies. The voters of this state are NOT. We told you that in November. Why are we not concerned? Because this state has oodles of incentives for business to relocate here. TIF’s, high productivity, low wages, NO state income tax, low crime, etc, etc. We do not need to give cash incentives to businesses that are not paying income taxes.
Daugaard did say the state’s economy is doing much better than many other states across the country. He said while others are looking for places to cut money from budgets, South Dakota can now look at where to spend.
Good. Spend it where we can get the most bang for our buck; Public education, enough with the corporate welfare.
I have a great idea for South Dakota’s bottom line:
Give some taxpayer funded incentives to some oil companies to drill hundreds of miles horizontally under the border into North Dakota’s juicy oil formations. Like we was Kuwait, back in the 1980’s.
You got to love them. It’s the GOP at its best. Just dust off the old economic development press release and sent it out again.
However, South Dakotans should take special note and concern when Governor Daugaard takes a special interest in economic development. The Governor just recently appointed a key Rounds’s adviser to a board that hands out South Dakota economic development loans.
All South Dakotans are for decent and fair economic development, but when it is tied to the Senate ambitions of a political associate of the current Governor, the citizens of this state must be informed, cognizant, and keep up their guard.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/01/04/1176340/-SD-Sen-Gov-Daugaard-R-Appoints-Mike-Rounds-R-Ethanol-Crony-To-Board-of-Economic-Development#
I understand your sentiment l3wis, but honestly Governor Daugaard is just doing what (many if not most) voters expect him to do. The primary responsibility of a Governor is to push economic development and growth, so he is just trying to do what people expect of him.
I don’t see this as an insult to voters, but rather he is saying “hey that idea didn’t sit well with the citizens, so let’s look for other ways to attract businesses to a part of the nation which isn’t exactly known for being a hot spot for young people or up and coming companies”.
You may be right that we have a lot of things going for us, but to be quite honest it isn’t enough. Citibank came here in the 1980s and started the credit card boom due to Janklow’s efforts, and 30 years later people are STILL talking about it because it is one of the last booms we had. Even though taxes in Minnesota are much higher, and even though wages in Iowa are higher, and even though the weather in North Dakota is equally as horrid as it is here – companies are choosing those states over ours much of the time. So it takes more than low wages and a lack of a corporate income tax to attract (and keep) companies within our borders.
Now of course Daugaard could ignore the issue and focus on other things like education funding, but most people would fault him for it because most people feel you need to be in state of perpetual growth. We see the same thing locally – if the mayor isn’t doing everything he can to attract businesses and to keep developers building and expanding, a lot of people get upset and call for his head.
Sure there are some of us who think our elected leaders often put growth ahead of common sense, and sure we see far too many handouts given to large companies or developers, but as sad as it might seem if you are against these things you are actually in the minority, because so many people have the mindset that if you aren’t growing you are dying. The status quo is never good enough for most people, so the Governor and the Mayor and the City Council are quite honestly doing exactly what most people want.
Craig,
“You need to be in state of perpetual growth,” perhaps. But if you do not invest in people, education, and infrastructure the ability to maintain this perpetual motion is challenged.
I know, you are going to say that this growth provides revenue for others programs like education and infrastructure, but quite frankly the track record for this type of commitment to people investing is lacking in South Dakota.
Did anybody read the letter to the editor in today’s Argus, blaming public education for the way kids are now. Basically what it amounts to is that public education takes control of the kids from the parents. It never used to be that way. A lot of parents now just plain aren’t interested enough in what their kids do. In my home town, many years ago when I was a kid, I think there was all of two single mothers in the town, and they were working mothers, but their kids weren’t out running around and when they got in trouble, no matter where, there were repercussions. If there was trouble in school, the parents sided with the school, not blaming it, and siding with their little angels.
Every generation seems to think the kids are causing more trouble and are less responsible than those before them. This is nothing new. Blaming someone else for a perceived problem is also nothing new.
I don’t buy that kids are any worse today, and aside from anecdotes I’ve yet to see any data which confirms that they are. Kids aren’t getting into trouble any more today than they were 50 years ago, and their grades aren’t that much different either.
When my father was in school, they used to keep their shotguns and rifles in their cars so they could go hunting after school. These days if a kid did that it would be front page news and he would be expelled.
They also used to skip out and smoke cigarettes behind the school – that would probably be a three day suspension in today’s world. When my brothers were in high school and were caught drinking, the cops took the beer and made them call our parents. These days the kids would be arrested, charged with at least a minor consumption, and probably sentenced to alcohol classes.
So are the kids really any worse, or are the punishments just making it appear as such?
I’ll tell you what is different. We no longer have kids protesting against minorities attending their schools, college attendance is way up, and kids in high school aren’t afraid of coming out of the closet for fear of being attacked.
Are things perfect? Nope. But kids are kids, and they aren’t really any better or worse than they were “back in the old days”. Perhaps it has more to do with people looking at history with rose colored glasses and refusing to remember some of the things they used to do.
Wow. This is a great thread. But let’s get back to the topic at hand.
Craig, the governor was very clear in his statement, HE WANTS TO SPEND OUR MONEY ATTRACTING BUSINESS. How is this any different then what voters turned down? There are MANY creative ways to attract business to SD w/o spending millions of tax dollars for little to no return on that investment. Let’s not forget the racket that DooBad was running at Children’s Home Society. Sure, Denny knows how to spend our money, he just can’t guarantee a trickle down return.
DL: “the governor was very clear in his statement, HE WANTS TO SPEND OUR MONEY ATTRACTING BUSINESS. How is this any different then what voters turned down?”
Well the voters turned down a large-project incentive for large businesses, primarily because it seemed like it was code for a slush fund which would be handed out to companies at the whim of one man. I’m not saying that is what it was, but that is what it appeared to be when the average man on the corner read about it.
Now it seems the Governor is merely looking for ideas. He isn’t saying he wants something like that fund, but he still wants ideas on how to attract more businesses and companies. Like you said there are many creatives ways to do this some more expensive than others.
Perhaps the ideas include offering some creative tax incentives, or maybe it is just being more proactive with advertising what we already have to offer. It could even be something as simple as targeted advertising via social media to ensure companies know about our lack of a corporate income tax or our low payroll costs. There are a million ideas – I’m not sure he is making any assumptions yet.
I could be wrong, but I don’t see this as an example of where he is ignoring the voters and going to try to slide something in. It looks like to me he is honestly looking for alternatives, and personally I like the idea that he is asking for help and ideas rather than just shoving something down the throats of public.
You may disagree, but I believe the average South Dakota voter wants him to attract businesses, and that voter knows it will cost money. It is merely a matter of how much is spent, and how it is spent. Putting up billboards in Minnesota talking about our tax advantages is something most people think is ok, but when you hand out “relocation” funds to companies that were potentially already heading here anyway… people start to smell something fishy – and perhaps for the first time the smell isn’t coming from a broken sewage station near the Big Sioux.
Craihg – beg to differ as to the primary function of Governors. It is NOT to promote economic development. It is to assure the effective operation of the state government as a whole – in service to the greatest benefit of the CURENT CITIZENS – whatever that may be.
rufusx,
Amen!
For some reason SD Governors and mayors have become blatant arms of the Chamber without any shame(OMG, I sound like Manny and Lora.) But seriously, Craig mentioned the Janklow era and Citibank, without getting into a discussion about the good and bad of that reality, it happened because Janklow personally lobbied Citibank and even Sears for its Sears Payment Center. These moves were achieved without loans, but rather through legislative change and the personal lobbying of a Governor.
One of the other duties of our political leadership, in addition to promoting economic growth, is to make government work, but not to actually work for corporate special interests which can fend for themselves.
rufusx I don’t mean to say that is what SHOULD be happening, I’m just stating that what IS happening and many people seem to want.
I’d be happier if we had a leader who focused upon the current citizens rather than those who might decide to come here… but hey – I’m also a fan of people caring about humans after they are born instead of ceasing to give a $hit after the moment of birth… so I must be nuts.
“I could be wrong, but I don’t see this as an example of where he is ignoring the voters and going to try to slide something in.”
Are you that naive? Of course he is trying to ‘slide something in’ I mean, how many times do we need to be kicked in the balls by the SD GOP before we go, “Wow. That really hurts.” He is trying a backdoor approach, no doubt. Realize it, and call a spade, a spade.