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Old 04-04-2016, 12:52 PM
 
Location: Boston Metrowest (via the Philly area)
7,251 posts, read 10,503,774 times
Reputation: 8758

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Angus215 View Post
Talent will go where there is opportunity. The problem isn't that Philadelphia is an undesirable place to live, it's that there isn't much opportunity for people who want to make real money, and therefore the talent leaves. If you want to attract talent, you have to attract high-end jobs, to do that you have to attract (and retain) large companies, and to do that you have to have a favorable business climate. All the restaurants, coffee shops, and museums in the world won't change that. People can say what they want, but the reality is that jobs will continue to move away from places like PA and NJ unless something drastic is done. Personally, I gave up waiting and left.
I think part of the issue is that you're focusing on large corporations. Even if we do focus on that segment, I don't know where you're getting the idea that Pennsylvania is doing so poorly--as of 2015, PA had 18 Fortune 500 companies, which is very respectable given its stature/population in comparison to other states:



https://www.geolounge.com/fortune-50...tate-for-2015/

It's worth noting that Pennsylvania also ranks ahead of "low cost" and more populous Florida. And fiscally dire Illinois has 34. Clearly, there is much more that factors into large corporation locations than taxes/financial conditions.

If you expand the business conversation to small-to-midsize businesses, Pennsylvania is also apparently just fine as a place to realize growth, ranking 9th in the US for raw number of fastest-growing companies (punching a bit below its weight, but still very respectable):

The States With the Most Fast-Growing Companies | Inc.com

I know lots of people like to blame taxes for being a growth barrier at a nebulous level, but this notion that they are "driving all of the businesses out" is really more myth than reality.
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Old 04-04-2016, 12:52 PM
 
Location: Dude...., I'm right here
1,763 posts, read 1,530,355 times
Reputation: 1987
You're looking at Philly through the rear view mirror rather than through the windshield.

We are talking about growing rather than resting on our laurels while these companies are expanding elsewhere.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cpomp View Post
But there are several huge world renown companies in the region, they are just all located in Newtown Square, Chester Springs, and King of Prussia, not Philadelphia.
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Old 04-04-2016, 12:55 PM
 
Location: Montgomery County, PA
1,339 posts, read 2,470,633 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cpomp View Post
But there are several huge world renown companies in the region, they are just all located in Newtown Square, Chester Springs, and King of Prussia, not Philadelphia.
There are only 8 Fortune 500 companies left in the Philadelphia metro area (including 1 in NJ), only 2 of which are in the Fortune 200. That's only 1 more than Nashville, a metro area less than a third the size, and 2 less than St Louis, a metro area that's half the size. By contrast, Atlanta has 18, Dallas has 23, Houston has 25. I think Philly is a great place to live, and wish I could have stayed there, but you have to recognize that this is a huge problem that doesn't bode well for the future of the area.
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Old 04-04-2016, 01:03 PM
 
Location: Boston Metrowest (via the Philly area)
7,251 posts, read 10,503,774 times
Reputation: 8758
Quote:
Originally Posted by Angus215 View Post
There are only 8 Fortune 500 companies left in the Philadelphia metro area (including 1 in NJ), only 2 of which are in the Fortune 200. That's only 1 more than Nashville, a metro area less than a third the size, and 2 less than St Louis, a metro area that's half the size. By contrast, Atlanta has 18, Dallas has 23, Houston has 25. I think Philly is a great place to live, and wish I could have stayed there, but you have to recognize that this is a huge problem that doesn't bode well for the future of the area.
Once again, there is much, much more to the economy than very large companies. In fact, it's more desirable to be home to multiple small/mid-sized companies than a handful of large ones for several reasons, including economic diversification, less inequality, and the fact that a city/state is not as beholden as it would be with large employers (i.e., the need for preferential treatment).

As of 2014, the Philly urban area has the 9th largest concentration of Fortune 1000 companies: https://www.geolounge.com/list-fortu...es-urban-area/

This very closely aligns with population and notably outranks Boston and San Francisco (sans San Jose).

Last edited by Duderino; 04-04-2016 at 01:22 PM..
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Old 04-04-2016, 01:21 PM
 
Location: Dude...., I'm right here
1,763 posts, read 1,530,355 times
Reputation: 1987
I've been to both Nashville and Memphis a couple of times (I prefer Memphis to Nashville) and it's baffling that anyone would want to be HQ'd in Nashville. This is really odd.




Quote:
Originally Posted by Angus215 View Post
There are only 8 Fortune 500 companies left in the Philadelphia metro area (including 1 in NJ), only 2 of which are in the Fortune 200. That's only 1 more than Nashville, a metro area less than a third the size, and 2 less than St Louis, a metro area that's half the size. By contrast, Atlanta has 18, Dallas has 23, Houston has 25. I think Philly is a great place to live, and wish I could have stayed there, but you have to recognize that this is a huge problem that doesn't bode well for the future of the area.
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Old 04-04-2016, 01:49 PM
 
Location: Montgomery County, PA
1,339 posts, read 2,470,633 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Duderino View Post
I think part of the issue is that you're focusing on large corporations. Even if we do focus on that segment, I don't know where you're getting the idea that Pennsylvania is doing so poorly--as of 2015, PA had 18 Fortune 500 companies, which is very respectable given its stature/population in comparison to other states:
Not such a great story when you consider that, just 10 years ago, PA had 26 Fortune 500 companies, and that 2 of the existing ones will be off the list in a year (Rite Aid being acquired by Walgreens and Heinz moving to Chicago)
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Old 04-04-2016, 01:56 PM
 
Location: Montgomery County, PA
1,339 posts, read 2,470,633 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1ondoner View Post
I've been to both Nashville and Memphis a couple of times (I prefer Memphis to Nashville) and it's baffling that anyone would want to be HQ'd in Nashville. This is really odd.
Not odd at all - no personal income tax, reasonable corporate income tax, low cost of living. Bridgestone just moved their US HQ there. Hardees just announced that they were as well.
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Old 04-04-2016, 02:02 PM
 
Location: Boston Metrowest (via the Philly area)
7,251 posts, read 10,503,774 times
Reputation: 8758
Quote:
Originally Posted by Angus215 View Post
Not such a great story when you consider that, just 10 years ago, PA had 26 Fortune 500 companies, and that 2 of the existing ones will be off the list in a year (Rite Aid being acquired by Walgreens and Heinz moving to Chicago)
I think there are always ebbs and flows, especially with acquisitions, and to your earlier point, clearly Heinz is not moving to Illinois for a better deal on taxes.

Yes, I know that it's not every day that a F500 company is gained or created, but there are other companies that can fill the ranks--and as demonstrated by my previous post on F1000 companies, Pennsylvania has many other contenders: https://www.geolounge.com/fortune-10...list-for-2015/
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Old 04-04-2016, 02:16 PM
 
Location: Dude...., I'm right here
1,763 posts, read 1,530,355 times
Reputation: 1987
May be many CEOs like country music too

I don't think Nashville fully recovered from the floods they suffered a couple of years back. The last time I was there, some attractions looked like they had shut down for good.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Angus215 View Post
Not odd at all - no personal income tax, reasonable corporate income tax, low cost of living. Bridgestone just moved their US HQ there. Hardees just announced that they were as well.
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Old 04-04-2016, 03:14 PM
 
283 posts, read 460,796 times
Reputation: 314
I just want to point out that it's not necessarily true that talent only goes where opportunities are. It works both ways. Opportunity goes where talent is as well, and Philly surely is no slouch when it comes to talent. I had the pleasure of speaking with the CEO of Brandywine Realty and he said that increasingly often employers are looking to move where the talent is, and that the amount of taxes they have to pay is only something like 7th on the list of things they consider when deciding where to locate. Increasingly firms that aren't located in cities are having a more difficult time attracting talent (which is why Vanguard is rumored to be considering relocating into Philly). The demographic shift of people favoring cities over suburbs is a relatively new phenomena and employers don't want to move until their sure about the trends. I still believe a slow and steady wave of employers will locate in Philadelphia in response to this trend, it's just a little too early to really be seeing the effects. I'm confident it will happen.
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