Missouri business group opens arms to job-poaching Rick Perry

[pstokely]

Source: STL Post Dispatch

He’s backed by $206,400 worth of TV and radio commercials that tell Missouri business owners why they’d be better off in Texas. And he has an unusual ally: The Missouri Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber is supposed to promote the interests of Missouri businesses, not expose them to someone who’d like to steal them away. But the Chamber was a big backer of the income tax cut that was vetoed by Gov. Jay Nixon, and it is lobbying hard to convince the Legislature to override that veto.

Inviting Perry to speak at a Chamber lunch on Thursday at the St. Louis Club is part of that effort.

“Yes, he is coming to tout Texas,” said Dan Mehan, president of the Missouri Chamber. “He’s doing what governors do. When Gov. Perry meets with our group he’s also going to be sharing the success story of tax cutting in Texas and how they market it very aggressively.”

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/business/columns/david-nicklaus/missouri-business-group-opens-arms-to-job-poaching-rick-perry/article_1463c669-69c7-5142-abc5-52aec04f6dba.html

[cstanleytech]

1. Somehow I doubt that the success story of Texas will be including

a before and after presentation of West, Texas.

[wild bird]

2. And the fact that Texas is running out of water.

Not a very good selling point there.

[n2doc]

4. And the fact that they are turning paved roads into gravel ones

Nor will it be mentioned that the majority of the Texas state budget goes to bribing businesses to come.

[KansDem]

5. Perry's sales pitch: "Bring us your jobs...and a few gallons of water!"

Really though, I wonder what Missouri's counter-offer will be: reduce taxes on MO businesses?

It's the same ol' same, ol' race to the bottom...

[Volaris]

14. not if I have anything to say about it...

my response to that idea is "fuck you, have fun in Texas, because the rest of us don't want you HERE."

[hatrack]

3. State Chambers are generally insane, anyway

They don't have to actually deal with actual people running actual businesses.

They just spout grand pronouncements paid for by their Biggest, Bestest donors who, since they're rich, know the answers to everything.

[LiberalFighter]

6. That would be a key point.

What background do these Chamber morons have in the business world? They come up with pie in the sky farts thinking they are the only thing in the world.

[freshwest]

22. +1

[BlueManFan]

7. What a crock of shit. I live in Texas and I'm sure they won't be talking about the abysmal schools

or the nation leading population of uninsured, nation leading creation of minimum wage jobs, that schools teach Adam and Eve rode dinosaurs, that our AG keeps a stiffie by suing Obama, that a woman has no control over her body, that....fuck it. You get the picture

[Rozlee]

11. Gawd, yes.

I live in the Hill Country, teabagger central. If all my relatives didn't live in Texas, I'd haul ass up to Maine or Vermont.

[BlueManFan]

15. I live in the Houston area, which USED to be relatively sane. Now the baggers have ruined here too!

[freshwest]

25. To the contrary, all great selling points. Think about the end results of Perry's policies.

Lack of education and theocracy creates a humbled, dumbed down labor force. That equates to greater profit with no resistance.

No taxes, pollution or labor regulations, a devil take the hindmost and outright battering of human rights and eviscerating democratic institutions is the best environment for some businesses.

Only China or another fine specimen of laissez faire capitlalism would be more attractive. And since Texas is next door, the shipping costs of what they produce will be less that overseas labor and they get to have it all right here.

I always, say, know your enemy. They can teach us who they are, but also, who we are. What Democrats think are reasonable and a good selling points in favor of the people, is just awful for the profiteers. What's anathema to us, is pure gold to them.

We might as well accept what kind of critter we are playing with in this case. It's their nature, crying won't do any good, nor will outrage. Banishing them from the public sphere is all we can do with them.

JMHO, YMMV.

[BlueManFan]

27. I weep because you are absolutely correct. But I have to live here....sigh!

[freshwest]

28. Native here. It ain't just Texas. You are not alone. Can happen anywhere.

[Xolodno]

8. $10 bucks says....

...he runs on being a job creator in the next election. But apparently he doesn't know the difference between job creation vs. job poaching.

I can almost see it now.....election stump speech...2016...."I will go up to Canada and down to Mexico and tell them that if they move their companies here, they will benefit from a better tax structure, less regulation, blah blah blah...."

Canada's response: Nah...we like having educated, healthy educated workers in a good environment

Mexico's response: Uh...hello...this is Mexico and we are not as developed as you are...but if we were...we would resemble Canada.

[vinny9698]

9. But due to deregulation of the electric market, electricity is very high in Texas

Companies look at all costs of moving their operations. Power is one of them. Texas has one of the higher electric rates in the nation because of deregulation. So any tax savings are eaten up by power costs.

[1KansasDem]

10. Actually Texas seems to be about in the middle as far

as average cost per KWH. A quick google shows Texas somewhere between 25th and 31st in cost per KWH.
California and most of the Newengland states seem to have the highest cost.

[Rozlee]

12. Deregulation did hit us really hard though.

Our energy prices went from 17th to 30th in the nation in about six years and they're still climbing. Deregulation really hurt us, but most Texans know absolutely nothing about it.

[haele]

20. California provides incentives for alternative energy, and many companies take advantage of that

Especially companies that are into long-term strategies, instead of turn-overs and quick bucks for investors. We may also charge more, but tend to use less; the average utility bill on the average gas/electric 3 bedroom, 2 bath residential home built in 1970's in the city of San Diego, which has one of the highest electrical costs in the state of California, is still only half that of the counterpart residence in San Antonio, Texas, where my FiL lives. Same with comparable apartments.

Last month, my total bill was $65.00 - in a 1950's built rather drafty 1000 sqft house - energy usage with consisting of a home network (two full computers with large monitors, a printer, 2 tbyte storage unit, WiFi network router), two video gaming sets, blue-ray player, HD cable box and modem/DVR with a 46" LED TV, an extra 24cuft freezer for our household food (two adults, two picky teens, and a growing toddler), constantly running ceiling fans, a 10-year old water heater (that probably needs to be replaced - the temperature is a bit inconsistent), a 40-year old gas stove (which I adore!), a 12 year old refrigerator that needs to be replaced, and 3 elderly window-mounted AC units for the front room and two of the bedrooms that were probably purchased a couple years after the stove.
This month, with the heat, it will probably be around $80.

My FiL's bill has always run close to $200 a month, and his "energy efficient" house (built in 2005) has fewer energy-eating electronic play-toys, efficient HVAC, solar water heater system and is only 500sqft larger.

The highest it (on edit - my energy utility bill here in San Diego) has ever been was $124; and that during a very weird hot-and-cold February.

Haele

[1KansasDem]

21. I would think your beautiful weather in San Diego has a large

part of your lower utility bills. San Antonio has a lot more 100+ days and many -30 days.
I'm guessing the big difference in you FIL's bill is mostly heating and cooling his home in more extreme weather conditions.

[KamaAina]

23. San Antonio has -30 days?

Per Wiki, the record low is zero.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio#Climate

[haele]

24. One of the reasons our CoL is higher is the weather.

My husband re-tweeted from a New Yawker he follows who recently visited our town -
"Hey, San Diego - is it always room temperature when you're outside here?"

We pay for our temperate weather - if they can't get us through the utilities or the fresh produce, they get us through housing and gasoline.

San Diego, the easist place to be a weatherman.

Haele

[Ilsa]

26. That -30° must be a typo. Plenty of 100°+ days, though. nt

[1KansasDem]

29. That was supposed to be days when temperatures are below 30 degrees.

I do believe San Antonio and San Diego have the same number of days -30 per year. None.

[GreenStormCloud]

19. My electric bill went down with deregulation. N/T

[Left Coast2020]

13. I hope he makes a big ass of himself...

..and the local media critters are there to record it for us to gaggle over.

[Sunlei]

16. the 'border businesses' that use $7 a day cheapo, throw-away workers are what attracts

[vkkv]

17. Cutting off your nose to spite your face.. The GOP at work

Cutting off your nose to spite your face.. The GOP at work.

Insane in the membrain.

[vkkv]

18. When are TX, MO, KS and the South going to secede so we can get going on that border fence?

When are TX, MO, KS and the South going to secede so we can get going on that border fence?