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The unemployment rate went DOWN and the number of new jobs went UP in October including a big increase in construction, of all things. Still a long ways from good and many are hurting, but things are moving in the right direction again.
The US reported nationwide job growth of 150,000 in October and, if its apples to apples, then nearly 1 in every 5 new jobs created in October in the country were created in AZ. That's the way it was in 2004-2005 when the boom was looming.
Last edited by Ponderosa; 11-18-2010 at 03:17 PM..
Thank for this. It's always good to hear about good news both statewide and nationwide. I guess because of this we should see a stop in threads pointing out how our unemployment levels are increasing.
This could be due to a number of factors, people running out of benefits, people dropping out of the labor force, people moving away.
A one tenth drop doesn't impress me. But it beats 9.7 to try to say something positive.
However, I think it's a given that the true unemployment rates across the country are far higher than what we read.
Well it was 2/10ths, but I agree, that is not anything to get overly excited about. In fact, as the economy improves the unemployment number may actually rise reflecting the methodology of the survey. The good news in the report is the job creation number which is rather large. Some of that is seasonal and temporary, but it is a strong sign that recovery is taking hold nonetheless. For that we should be grateful.
The unemployment rate went DOWN and the number of new jobs went UP in October including a big increase in construction, of all things. Still a long ways from good and many are hurting, but things are moving in the right direction again.
The US reported nationwide job growth of 150,000 in October and, if its apples to apples, then nearly 1 in every 5 new jobs created in October in the country were created in AZ. That's the way it was in 2004-2005 when the boom was looming.
A small ray of hope indeed ... however, most of the new jobs appear to be in retail and construction. I guess I shouldn't be surprised because we have been down this same road before. Every time there is an economic downturn, Arizona seems to be heavily affected due to declines in construction, real estate, and retail. Then when the recovery begins, we start on the same old path of depending on real estate, construction, and retail for our bread & butter.
Not to downplay retail or construction type of jobs, but we can't keep this up because Arizona is no longer the sparsely populated state that it was several decades ago. Once any kind of recovery is underway, we MUST diversify the economy and attract more competitive, higher wage jobs if we're going to be any kind of player in the national/world market. If we don't, the state will continue to be little more than a haven for snowbirds, retirees, and sun freaks ... and will continue to be shunned in the national & global market.
Not to downplay retail or construction type of jobs, but we can't keep this up because Arizona is no longer the sparsely populated state that it was several decades ago. Once any kind of recovery is underway, we MUST diversify the economy and attract more competitive, higher wage jobs if we're going to be any kind of player in the national/world market. If we don't, the state will continue to be little more than a haven for snowbirds, retirees, and sun freaks ... and will continue to be shunned in the national & global market.
When people say diversify, they really mean white collar jobs but you are not going to attract rich people aka the people who bring white collar jobs here unless you
(1) Eliminate the State Income Tax - White Collar folk make a lot of money. They don't care about their property tax, they care about losing 7% of their income each year. It's a big reason LeBron James joined the Miami Heat....no state income tax.
(2) Offer incentives and tax breaks to companies wishing to establish themselves here
(3) Improve the Public Schools here
(4) Eliminate NIMBY policies - the W Hotel and Trump Building are two buildings that failed to be built due to dumba$# NIMBY policies. We lost an investor like Trump because of these fools who didn't want his building blocking a part of their view of the mountains...seriously! Robert Sarver couldn't build his W Hotel in downtown due to some moron preservationists who wanted to preserve some shanty historic building. Luckily the NIMBY's are dying off as the old school Arizonans are aging and dying leaving the state in the hands of people who moved here from out of state and want to actually improve the state instead of maintaining a slow lifestyle. The NIMBYs almost derailed the light rail (pun intended) and failed and they tried to do the same thing to Cardinals stadium and they failed then too. They tried to stop the Cubs/Mesa deal and failed. Most new policies narrowly pass now but the NIMBY presence is still there hence the reason these elections are so close.
Last edited by azriverfan.; 11-24-2010 at 12:19 AM..
When people say diversify, they really mean white collar jobs but you are not going to attract rich people aka the people who bring white collar jobs here unless you
(1) Eliminate the State Income Tax - White Collar folk make a lot of money. They don't care about their property tax, they care about losing 7% of their income each year. It's a big reason LeBron James joined the Miami Heat....no state income tax.
(2) Offer incentives and tax breaks to companies wishing to establish themselves here
(3) Improve the Public Schools here
(4) Eliminate NIMBY policies - the W Hotel and Trump Building are two buildings that failed to be built due to dumba$# NIMBY policies. We lost an investor like Trump because of these fools who didn't want his building blocking a part of their view of the mountains...seriously! Robert Sarver couldn't build his W Hotel in downtown due to some moron preservationists who wanted to preserve some shanty historic building. Luckily the NIMBY's are dying off as the old school Arizonans are aging and dying leaving the state in the hands of people who moved here from out of state and want to actually improve the state instead of maintaining a slow lifestyle. The NIMBYs almost derailed the light rail (pun intended) and failed and they tried to do the same thing to Cardinals stadium and they failed then too. They tried to stop the Cubs/Mesa deal and failed. Most new policies narrowly pass now but the NIMBY presence is still there hence the reason these elections are so close.
Can't agree with you on taxes. States that have the lowest taxes like AZ, MS, FL etc are the ones with the crappy low-paying jobs. It strikes me that states having the highest tax rates across the board have the most white collar jobs and mega-corporate headquarters. Low income taxes succeed mostly in attracting retirees who then oppose anything that would raise their taxes and make for a better corporate environment.
And nobody in AZ pays 7%. Where did you get that number? The HIGHEST marginal rate is 4.54% and that is on income over 150K. Most good jobs would pay less than that. AZ income taxes are low compared to states that have income tax.
If you want to cut any taxes to stimulate job growth then it would be corporate taxes, where unlike income taxes, we do have one of the higher rates. Of course, the burden would then fall on personal tax rates. The legislature is considering transferring corporate taxes to US this year.
Not convinced on NIMBY either. It is part of doing business. In fact, AZ is more open to new development than many places like Portland, SF, etc, etc. AZ is a developer's dream for the most part.
Of all your post, the only one I think has much merit is item 3 - improve public education. Having a reputation, fairly or unfairly, as an education bottom-feeder is not helping in attracting companies to our state.
Things like transportation, proximity to markets, cultural amenities, image, even time zones all trump the issues (except education) you bring up.
(1) Eliminate the State Income Tax - White Collar folk make a lot of money. They don't care about their property tax, they care about losing 7% of their income each year. It's a big reason LeBron James joined the Miami Heat....no state income tax.
Agreed, but I would add that property taxes should also be reduced (both residential and business). I agree with Ponderosa in this respect about reducing corporate taxes as well. Cutting taxes across the board helps everyone: consumers, businesses, entrepreneurs, homeowners, etc. It makes it easier to do business as well as reside here without being so burdened.
It also doesn't help that Arizona now has one of the highest sales tax rates in the nation. Admittedly, this was because of the will of the people who voted twice in the past ten years to hike sales taxes in order to supposedly save public education and other things that were threatened to be on the chopping block. Still doesn't help the average consumer though ... nor is it good for business owners who buy large ticket items which are necessary for their firms.
Quote:
Originally Posted by azriverfan.
(2) Offer incentives and tax breaks to companies wishing to establish themselves here
I thought we already did. Plus, the state is pretty solidly non union/right to work. I would think that alone would be an incentive for more reputable firms to establish base here ... but there are other factors that need improvement.
Quote:
Originally Posted by azriverfan.
(3) Improve the Public Schools here
Improve the schools, yes. The public school system needs to be turned over to the private sector. After all, schools are a business, so why should they be socialized? Besides, eliminating the "public" from the school system would save the state an enormous amount of cost burden because I believe it's right around 50% of the state budget that is spent on education. That is the greatest expenditure of any other by a long shot!
Quote:
Originally Posted by azriverfan.
(4) Eliminate NIMBY policies - the W Hotel and Trump Building are two buildings that failed to be built due to dumba$# NIMBY policies. We lost an investor like Trump because of these fools who didn't want his building blocking a part of their view of the mountains...seriously!
I totally agree on this ... and I was actually involved somewhat in this controversy several years ago because the proposed Trump building was in my neighborhood. Several of my neighbors were adamantly opposed to this for fear that it would block their mountain views. I kept telling them that if it obstructs their gawk of the BROWN HILLS, then step away from the building!
The original founders of this place named it Phoenix because they envisioned a great city that would RISE from the desert, just like the mythical bird rose from its ashes. Rise means to ascend upward ... not sprawl outward. These idiotic NIMBYs who are opposed to highrises are actually going against the founding fathers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by azriverfan.
Robert Sarver couldn't build his W Hotel in downtown due to some moron preservationists who wanted to preserve some shanty historic building.
Yes, it was a few vocal members of the Chinese community who protested doing anything with "their" Chinatown. What Chinatown??? It's the Sun Merc building they were trying to save, which is a dilapidated eyesore. That's what ticks me off about these NIMBYS: they raise hell over upward development that would improve the aesthetics, but don't seem to be upset about all the ugly vacant lots and abandoned buildings in disrepair.
Quote:
Originally Posted by azriverfan.
Luckily the NIMBY's are dying off as the old school Arizonans are aging and dying leaving the state in the hands of people who moved here from out of state and want to actually improve the state instead of maintaining a slow lifestyle.
I don't know about that. I have had the displeasure of running into a fair share of newer transplants who are NIMBYs. One in particular is a diehard opponent of the South Mountain Freeway extension (Loop 202) due to environmental concerns. One particular poster on this forum is a NIMBY who is opposed to any kind of new highrises, even in downtown Phoenix. I think you know who I'm referring to.
It likely goes back to what I said before about what TYPE of people we are attracting. It still seems to be mostly retirees and sun lovers who move here more than the ones with REAL ambition.
Compared to other states AZ ranks just 38th (with 4 other states) for year over year improvement.
Discussion here about how slowly AZ recovers (and to what extent) are proving accurate.
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