"Colorado Loves California!" - What are your thoughts? (Denver: transplants, how much)

[DenverAztec]

"Colorado Loves California!" - What are your thoughts?

The 9News.com web site posted this article a few minutes ago. Encouraging business to expand here is a good thing, no matter where they come from.

Check out this article and the correlating link below:

9NEWS.com | Colorado's Online News Leader | Denver trying to show California some love

Colorado ♥ CA

Denver Aztec

[SubaruFiend]

i find this amusing since a couple weeks ago I was reading about how denverians hate california transplants! :P

But I guess it COULD be good for the denver economy, as long as it doesn't get OVERDONE! I don't want the housing market/economy to get to the point where you get a little patch of grass for a front yard and your teeny house is priced at $750,000!!!!! (like how it is in parts of cali!)

[jkanderson521]

I think that Coloradans should consider the types of people moving here. Most of the people moving from California are highly educated professional types who will beuild the robust competitive economy that is needed for 21st century job growth. Most of the people I know moving here are a huge net positive on the state and their local communities. CO will be one of the most prosperous states in the comming years if this trend continues.

[nele]

I think CO is trying to benefit from CA's plunging economy...businesses must be leaving there in droves, CO may as well get some of 'em!

I think it's a good thing since it will boost property values.

[treedonkey]

Right on JK, well said... Why not evaluate individuals by their deeds, not groups by their origins?

I am a recent CA transplant, and you should know this:
1) I make income from a CA-based employer, yet I pay taxes OUT to CO local and state gov'ts. Not to mention the money I spend on retailers, tradesmen, restaurants, and entertainment, frequenting locally owned businesses whenever possible.
2) My wife and I (a family of 2) bought an existing home from a family of 4 who moved back to Texas, the the net population of CO is actually -2 thanks to us.
3) We support the local arts community, and natural restorative efforts, and perform several hours of community service every month.
4) We practice safe driving habits and try to do the speed limit (or less in inclement weather) at all times. And we're getting much better at driving in snow. Not one accident yet, and I've even helped unstick a couple of CO 'natives'.

So next time someone wants to judge the CA-transplant book by it's cover, maybe instead they should consider what they're doing to make their own home a better place.

[vegaspilgrim]

This is very, very good news. I like how they are specifically targetting corporate executives, trying to attract business here. If this program can actually succeed in siphoning off some of CA's business, that would be awesome. I think to really make push come to shove though, they need to do more than just talk... they need to flash the cash... in the form of tax breaks, incentives, etc. So far I don't see a whole lot of that happening.

The article says: "And today, a plane with an 80-foot-long "Colorado Loves CA" banner will fly throughout metro Los Angeles to further make Metro Denver's intentions known."

Unfortunately, they picked the wrong day. Right now here in LA it is raining.

One thing though, Denver Aztec-- expect this thread to rapidly turn into a flame war/ hate fest, once the Colorado state forum posters get their grubby hands on this. The hatred of Californians on this forum is toxic and intense.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

This is very, very good news. I like how they are specifically targetting corporate executives, trying to attract business here. If this program can actually succeed in siphoning off some of CA's business, that would be awesome. I think to really make push come to shove though, they need to do more than just talk... they need to flash the cash... in the form of tax breaks, incentives, etc. So far I don't see a whole lot of that happening.

The article says: "And today, a plane with an 80-foot-long "Colorado Loves CA" banner will fly throughout metro Los Angeles to further make Metro Denver's intentions known."

Unfortunately, they picked the wrong day. Right now here in LA it is raining.

One thing though, Denver Aztec-- expect this thread to rapidly turn into a flame war/ hate fest, once the Colorado state forum posters get their grubby hands on this. The hatred of Californians on this forum is toxic and intense.

Yeah, everyone in our OC office on a call this afternoon was complaining about the rain and cold, claiming it's coming my way.

I say this is good for business if it means job creation in Denver.

[jazzlover]

This is the typical "one-note-samba" economic development tripe that Colorado has been trying for 20 years or better--and it is being gobbled up by the clueless news media like its something new.

The benefits of all of this are pretty dubious, at best. First, it seems that a lot of the "benefits" of a lot of these companies moving to Colorado have been to provide jobs mostly for umpteen transplants from someplace else. So, if you want to get out of SoCal or whatever, you can get a transfer to Colorado. Good for those people, but of far less benefit to the local employee pool. Second, it also seems that Colorado regularly becomes the "marginal" operation for many of these companies--meaning the Colorado operations are the first to be downsized, moved, or closed outright when the business of the particular company falters. Hardly the kind of "stable" business and industry that makes for a good economy.

If one measures "quality of life" beyond the number of warm bodies that the state can hold or how much money is rolling in--rather to include things like sprawl, traffic, pollution issues, crime, etc.--then the picture of "benefits" becomes even less attractive. And Colorado has growing problems with all of those scourges--that, not coincidentally, have mushroomed right along with the state population.

Finally, a big item is the fiscal picture of state and local government. 20+ years of tireless "development" has left the state and local governments in worse fiscal shape than ever, the infrastructure increasingly crumbling and inadequate, and with increasing regulation and bureaucracy just to cope with the effects of growth. Hardly a positive situation.

So, after two decades of explosive growth, the Colorado quality of life is declining--and fast. The answer to this decline is for the State of Colorado to waste taxpayer money to what?--why, promote MORE of it! You would think that Colorado could look hard at the state they are trying to pirate business from right now--California--and get a clue! California's "growth model"--which Colorado so badly wants to imitate--has created an over-crowded, over-sprawled, increasingly crime-ridden, over-taxed, over-regulated, severely environmentally-degraded mess that people are begging for a way from which to escape. And that model will cause ALL OF THOSE SAME PROBLEMS HERE!

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over--and expecting a different result."

[vegaspilgrim]

See what I said, Denver Aztec-- it took approximately 32 minutes after I said that for the haters to come on board here! Thanks a lot, man!

[wanttomoveeast]

I have to say I agree somewhat with Jazzlover's theory, especially the second to last paragraph and last sentence defining insanity. But my desire, is that Denver become HUGE. And other cities even bigger. So, I guess I have mixed feelings.