Comments on: North Carolina and American Express Provide a Good Example

By: Papillon

Papillon — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:40:33 +0000

The non-economic scope would be great to know, but incredibly difficult to quantify. Things like the political culture where it may be more ‘pay to play’ in certain places than in others. That example (with individual politicians having great influence) seems to be outside the scope of this blog, and that is ok.

With greater political influence in the economy, things are becoming more difficult to predict/rely on.

By: Christine Harbin

Christine Harbin — Thu, 27 May 2010 15:09:19 +0000

Please excuse my poor word choice. I agree with your observation that luck has nothing to do with attracting business to a state. I agree that tax structures and political equations are responsible for it.

The IDEAS website includes only fiscal and economic data. Although I think that non-economic data is outside of the scope of the web tool, is that something that you would find valuable?

By: Papillon

Papillon — Thu, 27 May 2010 14:26:19 +0000

North Carolina is fortunate because profitable, confident businesses like American Express are moving to the state on their own volition, and without the financial assistance of the government. (If only Missouri were so lucky!)

Does luck have anything to do with it? One time events, sure, but over time, the house always wins.

I used the IDEAS link, pretty poorly I think, and couldn’t find any tax structure advantage of North Carlina over Missouri. Universities? Geography? Climate? Labor Laws?

I hate the tax giveaways that some companies get and ending the giveaway culture is, I believe, a worthwhile goal.