[Slytrix]

Originally Posted by Coco Chanel

Mark Zuckerberg was just an example. I'll grant that someone like that moving to your city and bringing his business with him is a mixed blessing. Eventually, housing CAN become unaffordable. Still, far better to have high paying jobs than NOT have an abundance of high paying jobs.

The problem with Arkansas and it's organizations that would like to attract business to the state is the corruption and the Good Old Boy Network. It always comes back to the same problem.

If I choose to relocate my multimillion dollar business to Arkansas and create jobs and something goes wrong, can I get justice, or will the Good Old Boy Network just drop its pants and moon me? Tell me to go "f" myself. Will I have to take my relatively minor little legal issue all the way to the Supreme Court to get the justice I need and then I learn how racist and sexist the state can REALLY be? There are too many other good places to relocate my business. People don't want to deal with that nonsense. THAT is what the Chamber of Commerce is really dealing with.

So, that's the problem and what's sort of amusing is that Arkansans tend to think they are residing in heaven. They can't see the problem.

It was different and better when Sam Walton was alive. That man was an old fashioned Republican who knew how to do business and hot to attract business. Drop the BS! Miss that man. He was a huge leader in the state.

Why are you moving such a successful business anyway?

Not sure about sexist or racist but I have met the Good Old Boy Network in my short time in Arkansas.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by Coco Chanel

Actually, I was raised by two very conservative, hard working, well liked entrepreneurial parents in Louisiana. I'm traditional and conservative, just not alt right. My parents were traditional Republicans and raised me to be like them.

I'll never get over the shock I experienced at how negatively Arkansas has changed since around 2006. I moved away in 2005 and then moved back in 2014. Then I moved away again to stay in 2015. The economy is lame because no one wants to deal with how their fellow professionals act there anymore-spiteful and whacked out. It didn't used to be that way. There are JUST so many other better places to do business in the deep South is that's what you want to do.

Sadly, anti Semitism is rising globally, most likely due to hard economic times and angry people looking for someone to blame. People have a right to know that Arkansas may be becoming dangerous for Jews as are other locations around the globe. But, as I noted, the new neo Nazism seems more focused upon misogyny and keeping all brown skinned immigrants out.

Not that I'm in favor of a massive influx of immigrants from the Mexico border, because I'm not. In fact, what I favor, is both parties establishing a clear platform or policy on immigration from Mexico.

Am I Jewish or Mexican? No, I have a very tradition Louisiana heritage. My father was French/Italian and my mother was Scotch/Irish, born and raised in Mississippi.

I agree easily with your statement (an you might want to include Canada if you have any new regulations for bordering nations as opposed to overseas), but what we have now is the "massive influx" and that really needs to be regulated somehow. We have a fairly high percentage of Mexicans here, and I've got to say that all certainly earn their pay. They work hard, and as many say, they do jobs few of us want to do. So the whole Mexican immigration thing is testy at best.

I've been to Arkansas once in my life, and that was driving from Memphis to Little Rock, then north to the Branson area. My mother and two older sisters were born in NE Arkansas and my parents lived there for many years before moving to Mississippi. Our heritage is somewhat similar.

Since I'm not familiar with Arkansas, I thought the Fayetteville area was supposed to be the cat's meow. Is that just Chamber of Commerce publicity? For what it's worth, I love where I live in north Alabama and I think it's a pretty business-friendly climate here. There's certainly enough companies moving in to make me believe that.

I'd have to use google to find out what a neo-Nazi flag looked like. As far as I know, I've never seen one anywhere. But those folks are totally nuts.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by Coco Chanel

Am I being overly dramatic? I'm sorry, I was shooting for dry and witty

I've lived in Arkansas twice for two long stretches and so I've moved away twice. That's why I thought I was qualified to join this post.

The first time I moved away was in 2004 I was reluctant because my experience had been so good. I'd made wonderful friends and kind of fallen in love with the state. That's why I invested so heavily in NW Arkansas in 2006. I wanted to see what Austin, Texas was like because I'd heard good things so that's why I left in 2004, but Arkansas was such a nice place then.


I moved away again in 2015 and it was just a very negative and shocking experience. Part of me said, "I don't want to stay here any longer and I certainly don't want to live out my life here." The other part of me was saying, "What the HECK happened to Arkansas?"


I've detailed my reasons for leaving in other posts well enough I think, but, in a nutshell I think the state government of Arkansas has become kind of covert authoritarian. They do whatever they want, never mind the constitution. Even more disturbing is that the press and attorneys seem intimidated. THAT'S why there aren't enough good jobs. THAT'S why neo Nazis are cropping up. Corporations don't want to settle there anymore. Creepy.


Dry and witty signing off!

I'll do some amateur psychoanalyzing. You moved away to Austin, one of the most progressive (politically and economically) towns/areas in the entire country. I'm wondering if leaving Arkansas and going to such a place may have changed your concept of what's normal and acceptable in civilized society, at least to an extent. Maybe Arkansas was as you describe all along and you just didn't recognize it because it's all you'd known all your life (and for all I know, you're the most cosmopolitan, world traveler ever ... I have no idea)? Does that make sense?

[Coco Chanel]

Originally Posted by Slytrix

Why are you moving such a successful business anyway?

Not sure about sexist or racist but I have met the Good Old Boy Network in my short time in Arkansas.

I'm NOT moving a successful business. I was using an example. Those who have large, successful businesses such as Zuckerberg and Bezos and many others avoid relocating to places such as Arkansas. A huge consideration for them is will their existing employees be happy and safe moving to a place such as Little Rock, for example.

In my personal opinion, the state government of Arkansas has become so covert Authoritarian, doing whatever it wants regardless of the constitution and likely the true will of the people, that business is really suffering everywhere in the state except perhaps Bentonville. I remember different times and I'm truly shocked by how the state has changed since I first moved away in 2004.

[Coco Chanel]

Originally Posted by RocketDawg

I'll do some amateur psychoanalyzing. You moved away to Austin, one of the most progressive (politically and economically) towns/areas in the entire country. I'm wondering if leaving Arkansas and going to such a place may have changed your concept of what's normal and acceptable in civilized society, at least to an extent. Maybe Arkansas was as you describe all along and you just didn't recognize it because it's all you'd known all your life (and for all I know, you're the most cosmopolitan, world traveler ever ... I have no idea)? Does that make sense?

I disagree.

The people in Arkansas are warm and sincere but often not the most sophisticated people in the world. Those in Austin are sometimes warm and sincere and very sophisticated.

This is about the issue of a state government having it's head so far up it's butt that you can no longer run a business in the state. It's about simple little legal issues requiring years and tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands in legal fees to resolve. It's a truly horrifying level of dysfunction and intolerance.

The state of Arkansas is made up of some people who are just horribly biased and it's clogging up the system. They cannot look past their hatred or dislike of minorities. They carry those biases to work with them and clog the system. Don't these biased workers have supervisors? Yes, and they are also just sort of hopelessly biased.

Business are ATTRACTED to Austin. Things get DONE in Austin. Things don't get done in Little Rock because biased government officials have their heads up their butts. It's the citizens who need good, high paying jobs that suffer. Entrepreneurs don't want to go there. MUCH easier to do business in other states AND safer for their diverse employees.

[Tyryztoll]

I think Coco Chanel has more than made their point in this thread. I’ve been trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, but even though the conversation seems to be flowing they always seem to revert to insulting and belittling the state of Arkansas and its citizens, and because of that pattern I’ve asked a senior mod to review their posts.

[Hollynla]

Originally Posted by Tyryztoll

I think Coco Chanel has more than made their point in this thread. I’ve been trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, but even though the conversation seems to be flowing they always seem to revert to insulting and belittling the state of Arkansas and its citizens, and because of that pattern I’ve asked a senior mod to review their posts.

22 out of 22 posts "Coco" has made has been bashing AR on this very thread, seems very legit for a supposed big business woman / lawyer to make these types of postings mostly during the hours of 2am to 4am.

[Slytrix]

Originally Posted by Coco Chanel

I'm NOT moving a successful business. I was using an example. Those who have large, successful businesses such as Zuckerberg and Bezos and many others avoid relocating to places such as Arkansas. A huge consideration for them is will their existing employees be happy and safe moving to a place such as Little Rock, for example.

In my personal opinion, the state government of Arkansas has become so covert Authoritarian, doing whatever it wants regardless of the constitution and likely the true will of the people, that business is really suffering everywhere in the state except perhaps Bentonville. I remember different times and I'm truly shocked by how the state has changed since I first moved away in 2004.

Now I KNOW YOU ARE A TROLL. Come on Zuckerberg or Bezos, give me a break.

[gemstone1]

"Come on Zuckerberg or Bezos, give me a break"....I give up, what is your point ?

Regards
Gemstone1

[Coco Chanel]

Originally Posted by Slytrix

Now I KNOW YOU ARE A TROLL. Come on Zuckerberg or Bezos, give me a break.

When Amazon was recently searching for a second headquarters, Arkansas was considered.