KC's largest private company may be moving to KCK (Kansas City: layoffs, buying)

[rwiksell]

Originally Posted by kcmo

How is Charlotte, San Antonio and Orlando ahead of KC. Pretty sure they are smaller.

Sorry, should have provided a link. Take it for what it's worth: List of Metropolitan Statistical Areas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

What's really weird is to see Orlando ahead of Cleveland.

[rwiksell]

This got me thinking about the recent growth of all these metropolises, so I made a map. The larger the arrow, the greater the change in Metropolitan population between 2010-2013. Growth arrows are green, and Decline arrows are red (Interestingly, no metro area declined by a significant amount, and only Detroit and Cleveland declined at all.)


Looking at this, it's easy to see that Kansas City is growing moderately well compared to other well-established Midwest cities. We look a little weak, however, compared to emerging Midwest cities, like Minneapolis, Indianapolis and Columbus. And we look really weak compared to the Sunbelt and the Pacific Northwest. But what are you gonna do?

[MoNative34]

I think the moderate growth that KC has is a good thing. I am surprised Las Vegas is still growing after the housing burst.

Nice job on the map, btw.

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by rwiksell

Do you have any idea how much money Kansas is throwing into this effort? NO other state even comes close to the amount of incentives Topeka is offering, in exchange for virtually NO additional residents (because the relocations are local.) This is not comparable to what anyone else is doing, anywhere. If you need to see the numbers in order to believe me, let me know and I'll track them down.

Additionally, this move has nothing to do with infrastructure or public schools, because the DFA is currently located in an area which is doing well on both counts.

Let's see the numbers.

[Mathguy]

Some things to consider...

To States Trying to Lure Illinois Businesses: It's Not Just the Tax Rates, Stupid | Tax Justice Blog

Also, how many hundred million (or billion?) have been spent building and expanding highways to southern MO to draw tourism there?

How many hundreds of millions in lower gas taxes were collected in order to draw in people to buy their gas in MO instead of neighboring states?

[Truly Missouri]

Originally Posted by brooksider2brooklyn

This is the main reason Kansas City will never again be a great American city. That metropolitan area (if you can even call it that) has slowly taken itself off the national map by dismantling the core city to prop up the suburbs at a time when cities across the country are doing the exact opposite.

Good luck kc, but if you keep this up, soon your metro will be a fourth tier city with little economic growth and it will be totally unattractive to new residents and companies to the area.

Originally Posted by rwiksell

I'm as bothered by this trend as anybody, but comments like this just sound like an ignorant hate-fest. KC is missing a lot of opportunities, yes, but there is no evidence whatsoever to back up your doom-and-gloom prognostications.

"...if you can even call it [a metropolitan area]"? Give me a break. Stick to Brooklyn.

I feel in brooksider2brooklyn's frustration. This city should be so much more greater than what it is right now. And with the metro area (Kansas) continually doing what it is doing, than this city's potential shall only become further stifled.

From what I've read, brooksider2brooklyn has been a very good and supportive commenter in this thread. So then why get all bent out of shape at his frustration? Accusing him of ignorant hate-fest, only to further insult him by saying "Stick to Brooklyn".

People who share in many of your convictions rwiksell, why do you try to make enemies of them?

Originally Posted by shindig

We got ourselves a drama queen. 4th tier city, lol. For a Company that hasn't even announced it is moving and said they are looking at both KS and MO locations? Blame the Company, not the system or process. This crapola of a Company is only looking out for handouts, if they leave MO, then I say good riddance. KS will bankrupt themselves soon enough.

A drama queen? I can read into exaggeration when I see it. So perhaps, that makes you a drama queen.

I'm all for Kansas bankrupting themselves, but, not at the expense of hurting KCMO in the process.

[rwiksell]

Originally Posted by Truly Missouri

People who share in many of your convictions rwiksell, why do you try to make enemies of them?

I hope nobody becomes an enemy of mine because of a silly internet debate. But the issue here is not about the convictions we share, but the ones we don't. Namely, the conviction that Kansas City is essentially doomed. That is where brooksider and I part ways very decidedly. Especially when he ignores all positive evidence about the future of the city to rain on everybody's parade. There's no place for that kind of attitude, in my mind, amongst supporters of Kansas City.

[rwiksell]

Originally Posted by Mathguy

Let's see the numbers.

I was hopeful at first that the numbers would be available, but kcmo chimed in to point out the unavailability of such data. I'll let him speak for himself:

Originally Posted by kcmo

There are no numbers. I have yet to find anything remotely close to what Kansas does. I subscribe to four business journals plus try to keep up with major projects in most cities and it JUST DOES NOT HAPPEN.

States simply do not give away tens of millions of dollars to lure a few hundred employees from 25 miles away. There are no other examples. States rarely give away 5-10 million to lure 500 employees from 500 miles away, let alone do what KS does.

Yet, Kansas has done it many many times.

And also, in response to Mathguy...

Originally Posted by kcmo

What a bunch of BS. You have no idea what you are talking about. Stick to the Kansas forums where you belong.

Dairy Farmers of America would move from a BETTER area of the metro near KCI airport in an area with better schools than KCK with better roads that are getting even better (KCMO is spending millions in Tiffany Springs right now on infrastructure) to a county with higher state and local taxes despite the KCMO E tax.

This company doesn't give a rats ass about taxes, they will get back more than they will ever pay in taxes by moving to Kansas.

Try again.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by rwiksell

This got me thinking about the recent growth of all these metropolises, so I made a map. The larger the arrow, the greater the change in Metropolitan population between 2010-2013. Growth arrows are green, and Decline arrows are red (Interestingly, no metro area declined by a significant amount, and only Detroit and Cleveland declined at all.)


Looking at this, it's easy to see that Kansas City is growing moderately well compared to other well-established Midwest cities. We look a little weak, however, compared to emerging Midwest cities, like Minneapolis, Indianapolis and Columbus. And we look really weak compared to the Sunbelt and the Pacific Northwest. But what are you gonna do?

First off. Love the map. I'm a map nerd, so nice work.

But to be honest with you, if you were trying to make KC look like it's in good shape with that map, I'm not sure you succeeded. That map screams that there is something wrong in KC to me. Sure, the metro is growing faster than a few rustbelt cities, but why is KC always compared to St Louis and Cleveland? KC has just as many Denver and Indy and Phoenix traits as it does Cleveland and Milwaukee and Cincy.

KC is a hybrid city. It didn't get hammered by loss of heavy industry and has a very diverse economy. Compared to those rust belt towns, KC has room to grow, the infrastructure is better shape, KC has a ton great attractions, it has some very nice suburbs, it's in a central location and a regional city for millions of people. Yet....

I really do think that if KC had its act together, it would be growing at least the rate of Indy and Columbus. Probably somewhere between Indy and Denver.

I honestly think the regional issues that plague KC are the number one thing keeping KC rather stagnant. The city should be doing much better.

[shindig]

And KS is cutting school funding again while they will probably offer this company $40m in incentives to move 10 miles.

Brownback to cut education by $44.5 million amid budget shortfall | The Kansas City Star The Kansas City Star