Today's GR Pundit posting compares tax burdens in individual states with population growth rates. Volkswagen chose not to build a factory in Michigan (as have many other businesses). When will Lansing fix the state's tax, regulatory, and education systems? How long will it be before Michigan is competitive again?
Grand Rapids Pundit Forums » Michigan Forum
Volkswagen chooses Tennessee for new plant
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Posted 2 years ago #
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Rollnggrnade
MemberNothing in the article says anything about Michigan's tax structure being problematic for Volkswagon. Quite the contrary; the reason VW chose Tennessee over Michigan is that we don't spend enough on the state:
"The Chattanooga plant will have an initial annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles and will include body production, a paint shop and assembly operations, Volkswagen said. <b>The Tennessee site was chosen over Alabama and Michigan because it has a better infrastructure, a good supplier base and a qualified workforce, the carmaker said</b>."
The list of state tax rates (which change favorably for Michigan if you apply federal taxes to the equation) compared to population growth isn't really helpful because population growth doesn't necessarily correlate with an improvement in a state's economy or overall quality of life.
Even if it did, however, most of the 'low tax' states with high population growth are "welfare" states - meaning that they receive more federal funding than they pay in taxes - so their economic development is being unfairly subsidized on the national level:
1. D.C. ($6.17 per $1)
2. North Dakota ($2.03 per $1)
3. New Mexico ($1.89 per $1)
4. Mississippi ($1.84 per $1)
5. Alaska ($1.82 per $1)
6. West Virginia ($1.74 per $1)
7. Montana ($1.64 per $1)
8. Alabama ($1.61 per $1)
9. South Dakota ($1.59 per $1)
10. Arkansas ($1.53 per $1)Besides, there's no need to be a pessimist given all of the other jobs that are coming to Michigan:
<b>Perrigo plans expansion, including 400 new jobs</b>
Posted by Julia Bauer | The Grand Rapids Press July 15, 2008 10:00AM
http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/07/perrigo_plans_expansion_includ.html<b>State lures new jobs with tax breaks</b>
Posted by Peter Luke | Press Bureau July 16, 2008 07:22AM
http://www.woodtv.com/global/story.asp?s=8675625<b>150 new jobs headed to Greenville</b>
Wood TV | Posted: July 15, 2008 07:07 AM
http://www.woodtv.com/global/story.asp?s=8675625<b>Kalamazoo packaging plant expands, adds jobs</b>
Posted: July 15, 2008 01:02 PM
http://www.woodtv.com/global/story.asp?s=8678111<b>Medical billing firm's jobs project in the works for Kalamazoo, Detroit</b>
Posted by Press News Service July 15, 2008 11:14AM
http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/07/medical_billing_firms_jobs_pro.html<b>1,000 new jobs for West Michigan?</b>
Posted by Peter Luke and Cami Reister | The Grand Rapids Press June 28, 2008 00:09AM
http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/06/1000_new_jobs_for_west_michiga.htmlPosted 2 years ago # -
Rollnggrnade
MemberPS - is the inability to post comments on the actual blog post deliberate (in encouraging people to post on the forums), or is it a result of a bug in the recent upgrade to Wordpress?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Thanks for the comparisons of tax rates and federal pork rates. I think that is something to be considered as well. That info would make a good post.
As for comments - that is not intentional. Thanks for pointing it out, I'll have to do some investigation.
As for the new jobs - they really pale in comparison to the 400,000+ jobs lost in this state alone since 2001. Most of the job additions are on the West side of the state, so thankfully, we're somewhat insulated from the implosion of the SE Michigan.
Posted 2 years ago #
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