Who’s Our Competition?
July 25, 2012 - by
Pat McCrory and Walter Dalton are debating whether North Carolina lost its competitive edge. The question is: Who are we competing with? And is competition just about taxes?
Rob Christensen’s N&O story Sunday asked whether we’re still a “Dixie Dynamo.” But some people who work in economic development think that’s too narrow. We’re not only competing with Southern states, we’re competing with Boston, Austin and Silicon Valley. And China, Korea and Europe.
The Southern focus leads to a tax focus. The N&O had a table comparing our taxes with the usual suspects: South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia. Lew Ebert at the N.C. Chamber of Commerce focuses solely on the cost side: taxes, tort reform, workers compensation and regulations.
But, if taxes are everything, why do companies go to Massachusetts and California? Not exactly low-tax havens there.
This is the challenge and opportunity for Walter Dalton and the Democrats: a lot of bright, creative, entrepreneurial come to North Carolina – or go somewhere else – not because of taxes, but because of lifestyle preferences, including the quality of schools and universities, the quality of health care, recreation, social life and livability.
The Democrats have to link a strong economy to all these factors. If it’s all about taxes, they lose. If they can paint a bigger picture, they can win.
Who’s Our Competition?
July 25, 2012/
Pat McCrory and Walter Dalton are debating whether North Carolina lost its competitive edge. The question is: Who are we competing with? And is competition just about taxes?
Rob Christensen’s N&O story Sunday asked whether we’re still a “Dixie Dynamo.” But some people who work in economic development think that’s too narrow. We’re not only competing with Southern states, we’re competing with Boston, Austin and Silicon Valley. And China, Korea and Europe.
The Southern focus leads to a tax focus. The N&O had a table comparing our taxes with the usual suspects: South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia. Lew Ebert at the N.C. Chamber of Commerce focuses solely on the cost side: taxes, tort reform, workers compensation and regulations.
But, if taxes are everything, why do companies go to Massachusetts and California? Not exactly low-tax havens there.
This is the challenge and opportunity for Walter Dalton and the Democrats: a lot of bright, creative, entrepreneurial come to North Carolina – or go somewhere else – not because of taxes, but because of lifestyle preferences, including the quality of schools and universities, the quality of health care, recreation, social life and livability.
The Democrats have to link a strong economy to all these factors. If it’s all about taxes, they lose. If they can paint a bigger picture, they can win.