Unemployment (home, unemployment benefits, school)

[Omahahonors]

Nebraska is extremely business-friendly. The state is good at retaining businesses and luring new business expansions to the state through less restrictive labor laws and tax-cut deals.

[SCentralNEGuy]

Originally Posted by Omahahonors

Nebraska is extremely business-friendly. The state is good at retaining businesses and luring new business expansions to the state through less restrictive labor laws and tax-cut deals.

Well not sure what we are doing wrong if South Dakota, Wyoming, and Texas are able to offer no individual or corporate taxes.

[itsMeFred]

And, interestingly enough, Wyoming and Texas both, as an example, were hit harder by the recession than Nebraska.

Ie, it would seem "business friendly" really wasn't a guarantee of anything.

[JustMe_T3K]

It is not just one thing. There is so many variables.
That is why it will be so hard and take so long for the economy to get better or even change.

[geog-fanatic]

Originally Posted by itsMeFred

And, interestingly enough, Wyoming and Texas both, as an example, were hit harder by the recession than Nebraska.

Ie, it would seem "business friendly" really wasn't a guarantee of anything.

I cannot speak for Wyoming, but Texas was far more impacted by the recession because they were so heavily a part of the construction boom/bust. It will be interesting to watch over the next few years to see if their business friendly practices pay off with a bigger/faster recovery than other locations. At this point with the economy still lagging, it is too hard to tell.

On the other hand, I understand that Iowa actually has the highest corporate tax rate, and they, too, were not as negatively impacted by the recession as many other states. This does support your statement, but it still leaves an open question as to what makes Nebraska so recession-proof? The last I checked, unemployment was 4.1% statewide (4.7% for Omaha and 3.8% for Lincoln). If these good numbers cannot be directly tied to expansion of "big business" or larger corporations, then I can only asume that Nebraska's people have a healthy entrepreneurial spirit.

[SCentralNEGuy]

Originally Posted by geog-fanatic

I cannot speak for Wyoming, but Texas was far more impacted by the recession because they were so heavily a part of the construction boom/bust. It will be interesting to watch over the next few years to see if their business friendly practices pay off with a bigger/faster recovery than other locations. At this point with the economy still lagging, it is too hard to tell.

On the other hand, I understand that Iowa actually has the highest corporate tax rate, and they, too, were not as negatively impacted by the recession as many other states. This does support your statement, but it still leaves an open question as to what makes Nebraska so recession-proof? The last I checked, unemployment was 4.1% statewide (4.7% for Omaha and 3.8% for Lincoln). If these good numbers cannot be directly tied to expansion of "big business" or larger corporations, then I can only asume that Nebraska's people have a healthy entrepreneurial spirit.

The low unemployment rate is mostly because of agriculture. Agriculture is the only industry that it seems like can be counted on. We are not heavily reliant on manufacturing thankfully because most big businesses/larger corporations have shown themselves to be disloyal and up and leave for lower costs in China or bigger tax breaks in the next state. Witness the destruction of the town of DeWitt in Southeast Nebraska when Vise Grip left - thats why I don't trust manufacturing as a base of employment for Nebraska.

Take a town like Elkhart, Indiana - not a "boom" state or "boom" town by any sense of the term. Demand for RVs slow down severely with gas prices and the recession, massive amounts of people are laid off. From the interstate Northeastern Indiana looks agricultural but there are a heck of a lot more people than in Nebraska more so than can be supported by agriculture alone. Thats why the eastern Midwest states have much higher unemployment but its not like we have jobs for them if they moved west because most people are already settled in the jobs and our employment situation only works with the small number of people we have.

I guess you're right about the taxes Wyoming probably gets a lot more oil revenue, South Dakota must get tourism money and federal government money, and Texas must have a huge budget crisis from the boom/bust and/or fund their government through high sales tax and/or property tax. I'm not criticizing Nebraska because a lot of states have individual and corporate income taxes but I am wondering how the other states are able to do it because companies that are looking somewhere might look for the "bargain basement" taxes that are available in Texas although that may not be within the best interest of the people of Texas itself.

[MICHAEL J]

Originally Posted by itsMeFred

And, interestingly enough, Wyoming and Texas both, as an example, were hit harder by the recession than Nebraska.

Ie, it would seem "business friendly" really wasn't a guarantee of anything.

There are no guarantees, and no one suggested that. But now that we've been in the terrible downturn for a period of time, businesses are migrating to "business friendly" states. That's a well-known fact. Also, it's very well known, and I am witness to the fact, that businesses are leaving California by the thousands and relocating to states like Texas. Do your research.

Texas and Wyoming may have been hit hard, but now Wyoming is tied at 7th for the lowest unemployment rate and Texas sits and 24th. The unemployment rate in Texas is at 8.0% and while still high, is well below the national average. Not only that but Texas and Wyoming are not running the huge budget deficits that many other state are. Can anyone say California?

In addition, now California is going to start collecting sales tax on Internet sales and it was well reported just this morning (6/30) in interviews with business owners, many more plan to leave.

For anyone to suggest that politics doesn't play a role in the unemployment rate, they are well... just plain wrong. Even though most on here may not be employers, it's just plain economics 101.

I'll repeat, in part what I stated in my first post.

8 of the top 10 states for unemployment are blue states. 42% of blue states are below the national average and 58% are above the national average of unemployed. By contrast, 63% of the red states are below the national average of unemployed while 37% are above.

[MICHAEL J]

Originally Posted by SCentralNEGuy

Yeah but there were states that appeared to be business friendly environments that when the recession hit turned out to be extremely hostile to business like South Carolina with huge increases in unemployment insurance. Texas is business friendly and has not been hit as hard by the recession. Sometimes I wish Nebraska was more business friendly but the only business that seems like it can be counted on anymore is ag so not sure if we want all the manufacturing plants that might up and move to China anyways

And when you have states like you suggested, that are hostile toward business and continually make it more difficult with high unemployment insurance premiums and other obstacles, how does that encourage anyone to grow their business and create jobs?

[313 TUxedo]

Originally Posted by MICHAEL J

<snip>
8 of the top 10 states for unemployment are blue states. 42% of blue states are below the national average and 58% are above the national average of unemployed. By contrast, 63% of the red states are below the national average of unemployed while 37% are above.

DUH! Let's suppose you have lost your job because governments and the financial industry pushed your employer to move their operations to China, and you are now dependent on welfare or unemployment benefits for your livelyhood.

One party still plans to pay out some benefits, the other wants to eliminate those benefits altogether.

Which party would you vote for?

[SCentralNEGuy]

Originally Posted by MICHAEL J

And when you have states like you suggested, that are hostile toward business and continually make it more difficult with high unemployment insurance premiums and other obstacles, how does that encourage anyone to grow their business and create jobs?

Well South Carolina has traditionally been very business friendly and willing to throw huge tax breaks to have companies come until the increase in the unemployment insurance premiums. Since we are talking about Nebraska though I guess the concern is how to make Nebraska more competitive because we don't have the cheapest individual or corporate income taxes. Do the other states spend less, do they have some hidden stream of revenue, does anyone think that Nebraska is more or less competitive than other states at attracting new business/tax rates, do we want new business like manufacturing that can up and move to China on a whim? Its important that we have our leaders making the right decisions because business and politics go hand in hand.