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While not the best climate I'm sure, Kansas has proven itself habitable for businesses. Most (if not all) of the Kansas City Fortune 500 companies are native to Kansas, not to mention Garmin and Embarq. Some of Kansas City's woes are in fact the fault of Missouri.
Sprint headquarters is in Kansas too, and wasn't "stolen" from Kansas City, Missouri. And like I have said repeatedly, if KCMO wants to keep businesses in KCMO, they need to remain competitive. I own a small business and, money being the same, I would much rather have my business based in Johnson County, Kansas than Kansas City, Missouri. Personal preference partly. I like suburban over urban. Plus driving and parking downtown in KCMO is not very fun. There is more crime. Johnson County is just all around a more pleasant place than Kansas City, Missouri.
Businesses leave Kansas City, Missouri because they want to. No one makes them leave and it's not Johnson County's fault if businesses would rather be in Johnson County, Kansas than Jackson County, Missouri.
I have no problem with Kansas. I just think that the survey is a little lacking.
I'd have less problem with the survey if they incorporated the Tax Foundation's overall state plus local tax rates computations, rather than going by what they stated in their 2012 roundup, where they just took whatever the state income tax rate was for the average state earner and applied that.
Property taxes and sales taxes are important too.
Also, i'm wondering how Kansas jumped so high from 19th in 2012, since the state wasn't in the upper thirty states in percentage income growth for 2012.
That was the year before they applied that "Wellness" category.
Why does KCMO continually bash KS, especially JOCO? We know the expression, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."; and in this instance it describes KCMO. Someone from JOCO, at sometime, did him wrong and he has never been able to make peace with it and move on. You'd think, as much as he brags about his 'cultural' life in Washington DC, that he'd be satisfied with his life; but sadly, for him, he is still deep in resentment regarding anything, or anyone to do with Kansas.
I agree 100%, katie45! And interestingly, he doesn't seem to participate in the forum where he does live, but prefers to hang out here. hmmmm....
I agree 100%, katie45! And interestingly, he doesn't seem to participate in the forum where he does live, but prefers to hang out here. hmmmm....
He trolls here because he can....and continues to be fed....and will continue as long as he can log in.
We all know that few, if any, other state forums would tolerate it. Try that in Sage of Sagle's Idaho forum, for example, and you'll very soon find yourself high over the Snake River Canyon....looking back and down trying to find the cannon you were loaded into and shot out of before you could say "not a member".
I agree 100%, katie45! And interestingly, he doesn't seem to participate in the forum where he does live, but prefers to hang out here. hmmmm....
I have over 6000 posts. Only about 300 are in the KS forum and the vast majority of those are several years old. It may seem like I post a lot here because there are so few active threads here. I have more posts in the DC/VA/MD forums than KS now. FYI.
I was just saying that "cultural amenities" do matter to people, maybe not to everybody but they do matter and believe it or not, being near KCMO's amenities is a main reason much of the population of Kansas is near the MO border and KCMO.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kanhawk
You don't like JoCo and I get that but is simply inaccurate to write the entire state is based around JoCo. Much of the state feels very little affinity toward Johnson County. Kansas is mostly rural with an agricultural economy and has little in common in Johnson County. I don't write that to bash JoCo. just stating a fact. Most of Kansas outside the Northeast is much more connected to Wichita than to suburban KC.
But it IS based around JoCo. Kansas puts all of its eggs in the "subsidize JoCo and WyCo sprawl" and those of you in the rest of the state should stand up to Topeka and attempt to right the ship. If you can't see what's going on in Kansas, then there is little I can say that that would help.
Outstate Kansas should be totally throwing a fit about all the corporate welfare that goes on in the suburban KC area of Kansas. Heck, even people in JoCo should be. Sales taxes there are nearly 10%. That's like 4% higher than it is here where we have subways, light rail, extensive recreation etc funded by sales taxes and yea, they still have some great suburban schools just like Kansas (although Kansas really only has a few good districts in the entire state). FYI, you can find good schools in affluent suburbs ANYWHERE.
Like I said, things are not as great in Kansas as is may seem. Most of the state has major issues and the one county that everybody loves to worship has to subsidize any sort of economic development be it retail or office with incredibly insane incentives. The state has to pay for development in what is supposed to be an affluent area (often at the expense of KCMO or even older areas of KS), while places like Topeka, Wichita, KCK and most of Small Town Kansas rot away.
Keep those blinders on Kansans! This is not trolling it's reality. Wake up and smell the sunflowers! . But what bugs me most about Kansas is what an awful neighbor they are to KC. My god, the little bit of friction here in the DC/VA/MD area is just nothing compared to what goes on in KC. At least here there is "some" respect and cooperation. I guess Kansas has no other choice other than to be a terrible neighbor to KCMO because they just can't land eco development any other way and have no other low hanging fruit to poach from. But I still say Kansas would be a better place if they just worked with KC rather than find any and every way to take and poach from KC. JoCo is not doing "that" well any more. It's not 1985 anymore. Metro KC has lost a lot of ground when it comes to competing nationally and globally and the main reason for that is the metro is nothing but two small metros competing. As KC slips, so does JoCo eventually and what is Kansas without JoCo after decades of neglect to anything Kansas outside of JoCo, the speedway and Lawrence? Hmm....
9. Kansas The story for Kansas is very similar to Utah's: Income may be below average, but a low cost of living and unemployment rate make up for that, while an above-average ranking for its work environment provides an additional benefit. This all added up to give Kansas its first appearance in the top 10.
Bringing the thread back to the original topic at hand...
MoneyRates.com does not seem to back up the ranking with statistical data that actually can demonstrate specific levels of job growth in differing parts of the state. Tax rates can also be measured differently depending on metrics used, and also has sizable impacts depending on median household income that varies widely in different parts of the state.
Kansas does not have much in common with Utah regardless of political leanings. Utah is an extreme anomaly due to the theocractic nature of the political climate, government, and LDS church fused together. Utah, therefore, has forced economic growth due to its age structure demographics being more similar to China or a developing country compared to the vast majority of the US. Southwest Kansas actually does have similar population age structure, but that is mainly due to immigration and the highly centralized corporate agriculture imbedded in the region.
Johnson County will continue to see economic growth, but the taxpayers of the county will have to continue paying more and more to sustain the current model of state-level funding. This will be a test of how much money is literally left to work with as the economic growth is just not occurring in the rest of the state to support the incenvization and tax breaks for businesses that aren't needed.
I have looked at the total non-farm employment numbers over time for every single county in the state. The total employment numbers have declined or are staganant for every single county in the state besides Johnson County.
Therefore, the end result will be higher and higher taxes for taxpayers who live in Johnson County to fund the existing model that the state uses. It should be interesting to see what unfolds over the next 10-20 years
My suggestion, going forward, is to just ignore KCMO's postings altogether since we don't have the ability to banish him from the board. He feeds off of any of us who react to what he writes about KS being his least favorite spot on Earth.
I have over 6000 posts. Only about 300 are in the KS forum and the vast majority of those are several years old. It may seem like I post a lot here because there are so few active threads here. I have more posts in the DC/VA/MD forums than KS now. FYI.
I was just saying that "cultural amenities" do matter to people, maybe not to everybody but they do matter and believe it or not, being near KCMO's amenities is a main reason much of the population of Kansas is near the MO border and KCMO.
But it IS based around JoCo. Kansas puts all of its eggs in the "subsidize JoCo and WyCo sprawl" and those of you in the rest of the state should stand up to Topeka and attempt to right the ship. If you can't see what's going on in Kansas, then there is little I can say that that would help.
Outstate Kansas should be totally throwing a fit about all the corporate welfare that goes on in the suburban KC area of Kansas. Heck, even people in JoCo should be. Sales taxes there are nearly 10%. That's like 4% higher than it is here where we have subways, light rail, extensive recreation etc funded by sales taxes and yea, they still have some great suburban schools just like Kansas (although Kansas really only has a few good districts in the entire state). FYI, you can find good schools in affluent suburbs ANYWHERE.
Like I said, things are not as great in Kansas as is may seem. Most of the state has major issues and the one county that everybody loves to worship has to subsidize any sort of economic development be it retail or office with incredibly insane incentives. The state has to pay for development in what is supposed to be an affluent area (often at the expense of KCMO or even older areas of KS), while places like Topeka, Wichita, KCK and most of Small Town Kansas rot away.
Keep those blinders on Kansans! This is not trolling it's reality. Wake up and smell the sunflowers! . But what bugs me most about Kansas is what an awful neighbor they are to KC. My god, the little bit of friction here in the DC/VA/MD area is just nothing compared to what goes on in KC. At least here there is "some" respect and cooperation. I guess Kansas has no other choice other than to be a terrible neighbor to KCMO because they just can't land eco development any other way and have no other low hanging fruit to poach from. But I still say Kansas would be a better place if they just worked with KC rather than find any and every way to take and poach from KC. JoCo is not doing "that" well any more. It's not 1985 anymore. Metro KC has lost a lot of ground when it comes to competing nationally and globally and the main reason for that is the metro is nothing but two small metros competing. As KC slips, so does JoCo eventually and what is Kansas without JoCo after decades of neglect to anything Kansas outside of JoCo, the speedway and Lawrence? Hmm....
But, in my opinion, "the one county that everybody loves to worship" is an inaccurate statement. In fact, I don't know ONE person personally that worships it, because I don't live anywhere near it.
What difference does it make? I mean, really? To each their own. You love the city life with all it's "amenities" and I love the wide open spaces. It's not a matter of which county is the best - because there is no one county that is THE best.
I would be miserable living in your world, and judging from your posts, you would be miserable in mine. Isn't it great that Kansas has more than one "world" to choose from? You city folk can have JoCo and KCKS/MO, and I'll keep my beloved SW Kansas. What is Kansas without JoCo? Americas bread basket. We produce oil, gas, corn, and beef - all the things you city folk rely on.
I feel you judge the entire state harshly based on your limited exposure to the state. That's not fair.
My suggestion, going forward, is to just ignore KCMO's postings altogether since we don't have the ability to banish him from the board. He feeds off of any of us who react to what he writes about KS being his least favorite spot on Earth.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chele123
But, in my opinion, "the one county that everybody loves to worship" is an inaccurate statement. In fact, I don't know ONE person personally that worships it, because I don't live anywhere near it.
What difference does it make? I mean, really? To each their own. You love the city life with all it's "amenities" and I love the wide open spaces. It's not a matter of which county is the best - because there is no one county that is THE best.
I would be miserable living in your world, and judging from your posts, you would be miserable in mine. Isn't it great that Kansas has more than one "world" to choose from? You city folk can have JoCo and KCKS/MO, and I'll keep my beloved SW Kansas. What is Kansas without JoCo? Americas bread basket. We produce oil, gas, corn, and beef - all the things you city folk rely on.
I feel you judge the entire state harshly based on your limited exposure to the state. That's not fair.
Two great posts in a row - thank you. It is so good to see more speaking up about what has been going on here.
The winds of change are blowing....and it is long overdue. Together we can make this forum what it could and should be.
For those of you who may not know, I lived in Overland Park and Shawnee for 11 years and have many fond memories of my life there. That is where my personal interest in this forum comes from. Essentially, I miss everything but the summer weather. Most especially, I miss the people.
The last thing I am is a San Franciscan....I'm just stuck out here 'til I retire.
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. But what bugs me most about Kansas is what an awful neighbor they are to KC. My god, the little bit of friction here in the DC/VA/MD area is just nothing compared to what goes on in KC. At least here there is "some" respect and cooperation. I guess Kansas has no other choice other than to be a terrible neighbor to KCMO because they just can't land eco development any other way and have no other low hanging fruit to poach from. But I still say Kansas would be a better place if they just worked with KC rather than find any and every way to take and poach from KC. JoCo is not doing "that" well any more. It's not 1985 anymore. Metro KC has lost a lot of ground when it comes to competing nationally and globally and the main reason for that is the metro is nothing but two small metros competing. As KC slips, so does JoCo eventually and what is Kansas without JoCo after decades of neglect to anything Kansas outside of JoCo, the speedway and Lawrence? Hmm....
Ignore KCMO. . .
