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Every big city has a short list of titles that people think about. When I think of PHX it instantly gets combined with the entire metro region. Some items that come to mind are Spring training, desert plus sunshine, sprawl, in-your-face somewhat controversial politics like Sherriff Joe, retirees, ASU, and golf vacations come to mind.
In actuality, outdoor activities and natural beauty aren't really thought about much. Well, unless you consider golf courses beautiful. This is especially amongst less-traveled visitors. I've found most people are surprised by our beautiful AZ lakes and close proximity to amazing views. Inside of an hour or two, there is a quick change of scenery that catches people off guard like the higher elevation towns.
Interesting, we host a lot of visitors at work, I can't remember the last visitor that has brought up Sheriff Joe, it seems like that's been a long time. I get a lot of questions about trail access nearby hotels visitors are staying at (they do know I'm a big outdoorsy person usually), golf certainly comes up a good bit, places to see in Scottsdale, everyone knows about that town. Tons of questions about where the best Mexican food is, they're shocked when I also recommend some highly rated pizza places. ASU and the Suns come up a good bit, as do some of the larger companies with a presence here, people seem to know about Intel and TSMC.
I don't hear much about politics, maybe people don't want to talk about it in business settings, and certainly can't think of much retiree talk if any.
MN Born-n-Raised nailed it on the cities with brainpower. This is where I think Phoenix falls short.
Seattle is known for the high-tech industry and Bill Gates has spearheaded it. His foundation is donating millions for post-secondary education in Washington. https://ground.news/article/gates-fo...get-to-college This man is probably the most generous billionaire I can think of, and Phoenix could use more leaders like him.
Many people say college isn't necessary. If Phoenix needs an image adjustment, education is 1 area to do better. Most big companies that offer good pay want to be located where education is taken more seriously.
You mean like the Phoenix based Burtons? Who made the list of Top 50 philanthropists in the U.S. in 2021? Donating around $125 million with top cause focused on education? Their biggest gift was to nonprofit Arizona Community Foundation.
Donations aren't going to single-handedly fix education, it will take voting for politicians who support it and figuring out how best to fund a lot more budget for education.
You mean like the Phoenix based Burtons? Who made the list of Top 50 philanthropists in the U.S. in 2021? Donating around $125 million with top cause focused on education? Their biggest gift was to nonprofit Arizona Community Foundation.
Donations aren't going to single-handedly fix education, it will take voting for politicians who support it and figuring out how best to fund a lot more budget for education.
Everyone in the world knows who Bill Gates is, but mention the Burtons and you'll get a lot of . I never heard of them until I read your post.
You're probably right about education though, it won't improve much until people in state government and the voters take it more seriously. Phoenix has an absence of big companies like Microsoft and Amazon and a lot of it ties to the education rankings I think.
Interesting, we host a lot of visitors at work, I can't remember the last visitor that has brought up Sheriff Joe, it seems like that's been a long time. I get a lot of questions about trail access nearby hotels visitors are staying at (they do know I'm a big outdoorsy person usually), golf certainly comes up a good bit, places to see in Scottsdale, everyone knows about that town. Tons of questions about where the best Mexican food is, they're shocked when I also recommend some highly rated pizza places. ASU and the Suns come up a good bit, as do some of the larger companies with a presence here, people seem to know about Intel and TSMC.
I don't hear much about politics, maybe people don't want to talk about it in business settings, and certainly can't think of much retiree talk if any.
Since I leave the state, people discuss their perceptions with small talk. You are right, Sheffif Joe politics have passed. But those memories are combined with the Kari Lake and Cyber Ninjas topics. But again, those too are fading fast until we have our pending political controversy. Whatever it is, I'm sure Paul Gosar will be involved.
As a reminder, AL, MS, WV, SC, NM, KY and LA (the state, not the town) have a combined total of 5 corporate headquarters. I think I know why ^^^.
You seem to be making the assumption that it's primarily linked to school funding, but all the states you listed are relatively small in population, predominantly rural/agrarian, high in poverty, and have no major cities to speak of (unless you count New Orleans, which is really not that large of a city/metro).
Quote:
Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised
The 10 best states for ideal business climate (low taxes) are:
1. Wyoming
2. South Dakota
3. Alaska
4. Florida
5. Montana
6. New Hampshire
7. Nevada
8. Utah
9. Indiana
10. North Carolina
Other than FL, the others on the list might need to spend a wee bit more on their infrastructure. Including K-12 education. Because low taxes by itself doesn't seem to cut it. IMO, keeping a state fiscally responsible is brilliant. When the pendulum swings too far the other way, companies start to leave (think CA, MI, IL). But spending too little is arguably a bigger mistake.
Again, look at the population of many of these states. The first three have less than a million people each, and those three along with a good share of the others are vastly rural. Companies definitely look for financial incentives, but they also want to be located in places with a relatively high population concentrated in larger cities, and there has to be a noticeable pool of talent, skill, and knowledge. Casper, Sioux Falls, Anchorage, Billings, and Nashua simply don't have the population nor the labor pool to support a base for large corporations.
Also, if you want to go by a state's education spending, Wyoming & Alaska are in the top 10. How many Fortune 500 firms are headquartered in those states? NONE! While I believe that the quantity of good educational facilities in an area contribute to a company's decision of where to base corporate offices, per pupil spending doesn't seem to be much of a determining factor.
Phoenix has an absence of big companies like Microsoft and Amazon and a lot of it ties to the education rankings I think.
Well, that doesn't seem to be a problem for a few posters ... especially one in particular who emphasizes how smaller metros have fewer Fortune 500s than we do, so Phoenix as a young metro must be doing OK, yup yup. As for education spending, see the link above about where states rank in per pupil spending. CA & TX are relatively low on this list, but they have among the most Fortune 500 HQs in the nation. It's largely tied to population, the quality of the labor force, supplier access, etc.
You seem to be making the assumption that it's primarily linked to school funding, but all the states you listed are relatively small in population, predominantly rural/agrarian, high in poverty, and have no major cities to speak of (unless you count New Orleans, which is really not that large of a city/metro).
I'm saying that drawing on brainpower matters. And people with brainpower want great schools for their kids. They could be public or private. In TX and CA, there are a lot of very wealthy people. Dropping $20K a year on K-12 for the 1% of wage earners is what happens. If you want a great school, it costs a lot of money. The wealthy aren't often sending their kids to private schools like "Our Lady on Budget" Catholic school. But the wealthy Minnesotans or Massachusettsans will feel comfortable sending their kids to a great public school. Big picture: quality costs $. And terrible quality schools cost the most when they need the infrastructure to take care of problems and disabled kids. Therefore, "more money" doesn't mean better unless you shed the outliers. When you do, then how much you spend correlates to a better school product. I'm convinced the bottom-of-barrel school funding has held the PHX metro back.
Let's forget about state averages and focus on regional averages. Brainpower is NOT heading out to Desert Hot Springs, CA, Brownville, TX, or Coolidge, AZ. It's located in pockets where the headquarters are often located. I propose that wealthier areas mandate higher K-12 spending. And the top 1% have no problem dropping major coin on big dollar private schools. Frugal states in areas of higher income and education (brainpower correlates) will easily pass bonds. I looked for some data showing that the East Valley cities are passing more bonds than the West Valley (follow the money) but I could not find a list. When you live paycheck to paycheck, many people are willing to vote against K-12 spending. It's why I bet the East Valley has more passed referendums. They care more about education and they can afford more (and I propose those are interrelated).
As a side note, here are AZ's Fortune 500 HQ's:
157. Freeport-McMoRan (mining).
180. Avnet (parts distributor: Most of their employees work out of state. I actually sold semiconductors for them in the 90's).
290. Carvana (Car retailer. On the financial ropes).
329. Republic Services (Trash company... Literally, not figuratively).
373. Insight Enterprises (IT, business to business enterprises)
425. Opendoor Technologies (House buying company. On the financial ropes).
453. Taylor Morrison Home (Builder).
483. ON Semiconductor (Semi design and manufacture fab)
Looking at the list, 2 of the recently added companies (Opendoor and Carvana) are wobbling. I hope they make it.
Everyone in the world knows who Bill Gates is, but mention the Burtons and you'll get a lot of . I never heard of them until I read your post.
You're probably right about education though, it won't improve much until people in state government and the voters take it more seriously. Phoenix has an absence of big companies like Microsoft and Amazon and a lot of it ties to the education rankings I think.
Which makes the Burtons even cooler than Bill Gates, they're not even doing it for the publicity in any way shape or form. Your comment was Phoenix needs people like that, they have them, you're just not dialed into Phoenix enough to know it.
Which makes the Burtons even cooler than Bill Gates, they're not even doing it for the publicity in any way shape or form. Your comment was Phoenix needs people like that, they have them, you're just not dialed into Phoenix enough to know it.
I'm not following. Do the Burtons have a billion-dollar industry and create products that are used by people around the world? How are they cooler than one of the leading software developers?
I'm not knocking the Burtons but they're unknowns compared to Gates, Jobs or Musk. Those people are what the Phoenix valley could use more of.
I'm saying that drawing on brainpower matters. And people with brainpower want great schools for their kids. They could be public or private. In TX and CA, there are a lot of very wealthy people. Dropping $20K a year on K-12 for the 1% of wage earners is what happens. If you want a great school, it costs a lot of money. The wealthy aren't often sending their kids to private schools like "Our Lady on Budget" Catholic school. But the wealthy Minnesotans or Massachusettsans will feel comfortable sending their kids to a great public school. Big picture: quality costs $. And terrible quality schools cost the most when they need the infrastructure to take care of problems and disabled kids. Therefore, "more money" doesn't mean better unless you shed the outliers. When you do, then how much you spend correlates to a better school product. I'm convinced the bottom-of-barrel school funding has held the PHX metro back.
Let's forget about state averages and focus on regional averages. Brainpower is NOT heading out to Desert Hot Springs, CA, Brownville, TX, or Coolidge, AZ. It's located in pockets where the headquarters are often located. I propose that wealthier areas mandate higher K-12 spending. And the top 1% have no problem dropping major coin on big dollar private schools. Frugal states in areas of higher income and education (brainpower correlates) will easily pass bonds. I looked for some data showing that the East Valley cities are passing more bonds than the West Valley (follow the money) but I could not find a list. When you live paycheck to paycheck, many people are willing to vote against K-12 spending. It's why I bet the East Valley has more passed referendums. They care more about education and they can afford more (and I propose those are interrelated).
As a side note, here are AZ's Fortune 500 HQ's:
157. Freeport-McMoRan (mining).
180. Avnet (parts distributor: Most of their employees work out of state. I actually sold semiconductors for them in the 90's).
290. Carvana (Car retailer. On the financial ropes).
329. Republic Services (Trash company... Literally, not figuratively).
373. Insight Enterprises (IT, business to business enterprises)
425. Opendoor Technologies (House buying company. On the financial ropes).
453. Taylor Morrison Home (Builder).
483. ON Semiconductor (Semi design and manufacture fab)
Looking at the list, 2 of the recently added companies (Opendoor and Carvana) are wobbling. I hope they make it.
Surprise open-door still on the list. I would imagine they will be off the next time as will be Carava.
Also Higley and Queen Creek schools districts voted down bonds, Gilbert, Mesa, Chandler, Kyrene passed them. All I know off the top of my head.
Surprise open-door still on the list. I would imagine they will be off the next time as will be Carava.
Also Higley and Queen Creek schools districts voted down bonds, Gilbert, Mesa, Chandler, Kyrene passed them. All I know off the top of my head.
As of Q4 2022 Carvana is still in the $3B range of revenue per quarter, the cutoff for F500 ranking last year was $6B a year. I don't think they'll fall off. Open Door is around $2.8B a quarter, still quite a bit ahead of the cut off as well. It's possible but you're talking about revenue reductions of 50% or more which means the US economy would likely be in a horrible position. If that happens it's likely other companies revenues shrink a lot as well.
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If Phoenix needs an image adjustment, education is 1 area to do better. Most big companies that offer good pay want to be located where education is taken more seriously.
Burtons?
