Funkhouser calls out JoCo for poaching (Kansas City, St. Louis: schools, casino, subsidized)
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What Funkhouser didn’t mention, said Pam Whiting, a chamber spokeswoman, is that the chamber board has also approved Missouri enhancing it economic development incentives.
Quote:
If Missouri had similar incentives it might be the economic development equivalent of “nuclear deterrence,”
Ya think?
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I see the " JoCo should just stop" mentality rises all the way up the Mayor's office.
I see the " JoCo should just stop" mentality rises all the way up the Mayor's office.
You quote "Missouri enhancing it economic development incentives." But it doesn't say what those are, or that those allow KC to compete with JoCo. Considering Funkhouser states they need something to allow the city to compete with KS, I'd guess they aren't ones that do much for KC in regards to KS poaching.
I like how you ignored this quote from the article:
Quote:
Federal Reserve economic study that found that a region’s economic interests hinges on the viability of the core city
You know.. what KCMO has been saying but you keep disregarding. KS by poaching, hurts the entire region in the long run...
I like how you ignored this quote from the article:
You know.. what KCMO has been saying but you keep disregarding. KS by poaching, hurts the entire region in the long run...
I didn't ignore it. I didn't mention it because I don't take issue with it. Generally speaking, I agree with it.
I agree that it would be better for the region as a whole if companies were not lured to jump the state line and if KC, MO could maintain a strong urban core.
I have never stated otherwise.
What I have said repeatedly is that I understand how/why this phenomenon started and how/why it has continued and still happens. Contrary to popular forum belief, I do "get it". That the leadership of KC, MO and the state of MO haven't been able to figure it out and figure out a way to resolve it over the last 4 decades is what really baffles me.
In this particular case, is JoCo hurting the region by offering incentives that MO can't match? I honestly don't know. They may very well be. But I understand their perspective and position as well at this point.
I don't work on commission, you know. I'm just an observer.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Samantha S
I didn't ignore it. I didn't mention it because I don't take issue with it. Generally speaking, I agree with it.
I agree that it would be better for the region as a whole if companies were not lured to jump the state line and if KC, MO could maintain a strong urban core.
I have never stated otherwise.
What I have said repeatedly is that I understand how/why this phenomenon started and how/why it has continued and still happens. Contrary to popular forum belief, I do "get it". That the leadership of KC, MO and the state of MO haven't been able to figure it out and figure out a way to resolve it over the last 4 decades is what really baffles me.
In this particular case, is JoCo hurting the region by offering incentives that MO can't match? I honestly don't know. They may very well be. But I understand their perspective and position as well at this point.
I don't work on commission, you know. I'm just an observer.
Perhaps one reason is that MO is much larger in population, and they can't allocate a huge amount of corporate welfare dollars out to just one county (Jackson County, MO) compared to KS (JOCO). That is the only thing that I can think of as I am also perplexed by the semantics of the situation. No one would disagree that KS shovels pretty much 95% of all STAR bonded corporate incentives to JOCO at taxpayer expense. KS is NOT a low tax state. This money has to be coming from somewhere!!! Meanwhile, KS metros like Wichita and Topeka are languishing with netural to severely negative job growth so far this century. Of course you have outliers like Manhattan, which won the big govt biodefense ag facility. Another outlier could be Dodge City, which is building a mega casino along with a few other projects, although it is classified as micropolitan. Population dynamics in the West (western Kansas) favor spot labor shortages due to the brain drain of talent to metro areas, trends that have been happening for nearly 100 years. Short-term booms in a place like Dodge City, which has long-term water issues due to steep declines in the Ogallala Aquifer, are passing blips on the radar screen.
Perhaps one reason is that MO is much larger in population, and they can't allocate a huge amount of corporate welfare dollars out to just one county (Jackson County, MO) compared to KS (JOCO). That is the only thing that I can think of as I am also perplexed by the semantics of the situation.
Maybe so. However, as was mentioned in the article, if MO would put together a very competitive incentive package that matched KS nose to nose, they probably would very rarely have to actually implement it, if ever at all. Much like a cold war: If each side has the same weapons, neither side has an incentive to actually use them and a much greater incentive to get along. <shrug>
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Samantha S
Maybe so. However, as was mentioned in the article, if MO would put together a very competitive incentive package that matched KS nose to nose, they probably would very rarely have to actually implement it, if ever at all. Much like a cold war: If each side has the same weapons, neither side has an incentive to actually use them and a much greater incentive to get along. <shrug>
Agreed. If the incentive packages were more equalized and they playing field "a bit more level" with regard to bistate companies moving in the local area it would be beneficial to the metro as a whole. MO needs to streamline the incentive packages for those very rare occasions they need to use them. One standard should be applicable for large metro counties like Jackson County, St. Louis County, St. Charles County, Clay County, etc, with a separate standard for the small metros and rural areas.
Missouri no longer has a choice but to offer similar incentives to keep companies from fleeing to Kansas if they want to save KC. But do they want to?
If they bend over and go to war with KS, in 10 years when MO is one of the most financially strapped states with no corporate tax base and no new net economic growth and out of control subsidized sprawl combined with urban decay (see Michigan), they will have nobody to blame but themselves.
I think that is exactly what MO is trying to avoid.
Right now over 50% the economy in the state is in metro St Lous where there is normal regional competition for business, it's nothing like that of the KC area with KS and the state line.
If the state of MO does open this can of worms to help save the KC portion of the state's economy (which is 25%), they will risk losing not only KC companies that will come out of the woodwork and threaten to leave but StL companies as well. I don't see that as a risk the state of MO is willing to take so KC will become collateral damage for the overall good of the state's financial viability.
Of course it would be a short term benefit to Kansas for MO to concede and let the KC corporate economy continue to flow into KS, because this type of KS side growth may be slightly better for the KS side from their point of view. But the KC area is already seeing major signs of no longer being economically competitive with peer cities and you can see that with how hard the economy has hit metro KC compared to similar midwestern cities. Not to mention how having a struggling center city makes a city less desirable for businesses and residents as well.
The losses on the MO side more than cancel that out the gains on the KS side creating an overall negative loss for the Kansas City metro area.
But whatever. Seems like there is only finger pointing and justification. KCMO deserves to rot in hell. That's the mentality of most metro area residents, even on the MO side. It's really, really messed up.
While the state of Kansas continues to focus on JOCO, and how to grow it.. (and not doing that great since basically all the state's efforts are confined to that anymore)
Look at the latest economic news from Kansas, in the parts I've known for years..
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