So what is the solution? Is there a way to make this sustainable? On 2015-12-01 13:11, David Schwartz wrote: > Have you called the organization and looked into their charter? > > The general idea is to invest a little up-front in tax abatements of > various sorts to encourage companies to set up shop here. The theory > is they’ll create a lot of good jobs and their employees will boost > the overall tax base of the community, while the local economy will > expand. > > It’s great in theory, but these folks often don’t think things through > very well. > > About 30 years ago, the good folks with our State / Country / City > decided they wanted to steal business from Wyoming or Montana or > wherever and become the credit card processing capital of the nation. > So they passed laws and provided tax incentives to draw these > businesses — and jobs — to the Phoenix area. > > After a few years they realized the error of their ways because it > created a flood of minimum-wage jobs with high turnover rates. From > what I’ve read, these companies have enjoyed lower taxes and higher > profits, most of which went to headquarters located in other states > (mostly Delaware), while the jobs they created did nothing to boost > the ecoomy. > > Bringing in high-tech companies is a much smarter plan. The jobs tend > to pay much higher than minimum-wage, although what I’m seeing is a > lot of those software jobs are paying awfully low relative to other > cities. I guess their argument is the cost of living is lower; > relative to SF and Silicon Valley, yes. But not in comparison to other > cities with large tech hubs (eg., Atlanta, D/FW, Houston, Austin, > Denver, Portland, etc.) > > Then there’s the obvious fact that AZ ranks 48th out of 51 in terms of > school quality and funding, so who in their right mind would want to > move here with school-age kids to take a job that pays a below-average > salary in a state that protects businesses over consumers? (We’re a > lot like Texas in that respect, these days.) > > For as long as I’ve lived here (I’m a native and lived here most of my > life), I’ve never seen much in the way of “smart policy” when it comes > to business development here. It’s run by an Old-Boy’s Network, and > the same Old-Boys get the benefits most of the time. > > Exceptions are mde now and then for encouraging corporations, but they > can be fickle. Intel bought a huge chunk of land along I-17 and > Beardsley way back in the 80’s, looking to build a huge campus. Then > the City planners decided to run a freeway through the middle of it to > appease some local (long-term) land-owners. > > One thing has become painfully clear to me over the years: Govt > planners like to bend over backwards to attract NEW business, but once > you’re here, they don’t really give a rip. They spend money to woo new > companies into an area where existing companies are going bankrupt, > then just move on to lure the next one. > > That area of Chandler is mostly NEW development. > > Take a look at MetroCenter, Fiesta Mall, and some other areas where > business has died for lack of investment and support by the community. > I remember when these places were built! They were buzzing with all > kinds of efforts by local politicians to attract new businesses. Now > you’ve got the same handful of bottom-feeders who move in to these > areas, like burrito vendors, payday loan places, thrift shops (that > are tax-exempt), and other scrappy service providers. Fiesta Mall is > turning into a huge office complex while buildings around it are being > razed. There’s a new apartment complex going in South of Southern > around Extension (E of Alma School) but …. where are the jobs and > other services? > > That’s what the Chandler Price Road Corridor will look like in 20 > years! > > That’s just how things roll here. > > I was going to add that the only small-biz incentives I’ve heard of > are focused on two groups: vets and the “disabled”. I put the latter > in quotes because it refers to individuals who are served by > non-profit entities that pay them a pittance to keep busy and > supposedly learn some skills while employing lots of other > “volunteers”, and ultimately sending the vast majority of their > proceeds to a handful of executives. > > There’s always money somewhere to do something to benefit vets, > although most of it never ends up doing much good for anybody but the > business founders. (Ask Univ. of Phoenix about that!) > > I tried for years back in the 90’s to get any kind of funding I could > find. Nobody was interested. I founded what might have been one of the > first co-working tech spaces in the valley; at our peak, we had 6 > businesses or so and about 15 employees there. Nobody would give me > the time of day. (The building we were in at 16th St and Coulter was > torn down last year. It’s still an empty lot. Some developer will > probably buy it and put up more high-end luxury apartments or condos, > which seems to be the rage in town right now.) > > -David Schwartz > > > > >> On Dec 1, 2015, at 11:38 AM, Keith Smith >> wrote: >> >> >> >> Hi, >> >> I'm doing research on government subsidising tech companies to entice >> them to move into a community. In this case I'm wondering about the >> Chandler Price Road Corridor. I know someone on the list must work in >> that area. >> >> I discovered the Chandler Price Road Corridor existed a couple months >> ago. Normally I would not be a fan of government spending millions a >> year for multiple years to build a business environment. In this case >> I am intrigued and am wondering if this is a case where local >> government can create a sustainable high tech business environment. >> >> I am wondering what ingredients will cause this environment to survive >> after the initial contract period. >> >> Some of my thoughts are housing, shopping, entertainment, and a >> workforce that can be brought together to do things like build chips >> at Intel. >> >> Does ASU aid this? What about skills learned at the Maricopa >> Community College network of colleges? >> >> At present the City of Chandler is only working with large companies >> like eBay, Wells Fargo... etc. The City Council is looking at this >> and may modify this requirement so smaller companies can build and >> occupy within this corridor. >> >> One thing I have not read about is venture capital. Given the cost of >> doing business in Silicon Valley, I would think a tech rich >> environment might pull some from Silicon Valley. >> >> What about Chandler Gang Plank? Could this come into play? >> >> Please help me discover what I should be looking at and how to look at >> it. >> >> Your thoughts are much appreciated. >> >> Keith >> >> >> >> -- >> Keith Smith >> --------------------------------------------------- >> PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org >> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: >> http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss -- Keith Smith --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss