Consequences

One of the main differences that the GOP holds up as to why they should be in charge and not the Dems has to do with job growth and business climate.  Utah has a growing business climate thanks to some very aggressive pro-business growth policies.  Illinois and California (both run by Democrats) on the other hand.....

Businesses have tad it with poor business conditions in two of the most dysfunctional states in the union, California and Illinois.

In an editorial, the Orange County Register reports Even profitable firms fleeing California...

...The Chicago Tribune lists 10 companies with an eye in exiting the state in Illinois companies eyeing an exit

We'll come back to the Chicago Tribune link in a minute.....The OC Register quotes the reactions of some legislators...

Democratic reaction to the news that Waste Connections, a $3.6-billion company and major Sacramento-area employer, is headed to Houston to seek a friendlier business climate tells other businesses all they need to know about the attitudes of those who run California's government.

State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, gave these clueless and snarky remarks in response to the news: "In this instance you have a company that is, in fact, profitable, making significant revenue gains in 2011 and 2010. That doesn't speak to a bad business climate here in California when a good company is able to thrive in that way. So whatever Mr. Middelstaedt's (company CEO) reasons are to leave the great state of California, I know I'm pushing back."

Is it really the Senate president's role to determine the proper profit margin for a privately owned company? Talk about arrogance.

That IS the million dollar question isn't it.  Should it be the legislatures role - OR CONGRESSES ROLE - to determine the "proper"profit margin for any company.  This is the biggest difference between the two parties.  The GOP (by and large) says no - the Progressives in charge of the Democrats live for that kind of control.

"The decision by Waste Connections to relocate, despite the 17 percent revenue increase and the $18 million cost to move to Texas, illustrates that businesses will endure short-term costs to ensure long-term prosperity," wrote state Sen. Mimi Walters, R-Laguna Niguel, in response to Steinberg's message. Walters quotes business-relocation expert Joe Vranich of Irvine, who notes that businesses typically save 40 percent in costs by leaving California because of lower taxes and more manageable regulations found elsewhere.

If California wants to improve its business climate and reduce its double-digit unemployment rate, its officials need to understand what companies such as Waste Connections are saying, rather than simply dismiss their concerns.

Back to my old home turf...Illinois.

Chicago's huge futures exchange owner CME Group has joined a growing list of companies threatening to leave Illinois as a result of the state's corporate tax increase earlier this year. Illinois pushed through the 45 percent corporate tax increase in January, trying to address one of the biggest budget shortfalls of any state in the U.S. But the move proved to be a risky step -- since then, both small and large companies have complained about the increase, and some have received incentives to stay put.

Also on the list: Sears, Motorola Mobility, Caterpillar, Navistar, Mitsubishi, US Cellular, Jimmy John's, and continental (sic) Tire.

Loosing the CME Group (owners of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange), Sears and Navistar would be like Minneapolis losing Best Buy or Target or Salt Lake City losing Hill Air Force Base or Deseret Industries.  These are companies that are synonymous with their cities.  They started and grew with the cities and are an integral part of the city and state culture and psyche.  When you say Sears you are saying Chicago and when you say Chicago you are saying Sears - and you can not say the Chicago Mercantile Exchange without Chicago!

Activists on the left and the right decry incentives like Tax Increment Financing however these kinds of business credits are more than offset by the the money that the jobs they provide bring in.  Removing the incentive to succeed in business (and let's face it that IS why people go into business - to SUCCEED) is a guarantee to drive business away from your state and your country.

The class warfare of the Occupy Movement and the Obama Administration simply ignores (willfully I might sdd) the reality that people who start businesses do so to make money - the do so to provide services or products that people want/need and to make money.  Take away the incentive to make a profit and you take away the incentive to do business...and someone else will provide that incentive somewhere - whether here or abroad....