Thursday, March 19, 2009

CEOs: Best and Worst States to Do Business

Chief Executive's fifth annual survey asked 543 CEOs to evaluate their states on a broad range of issues, including proximity to resources, regulation, tax policies, education, quality of living and infrastructure. Providing additional insight to the evaluations, CEOs were also asked to grade each state based on the following criteria: 1) Taxation & Regulation, 2) Workforce Quality, and 3) Living Environment.

“Our survey, year-over-year proves that those states with the worst records continue to practice the same policies that alienate businesses,” said JP Donlon, Editor-in-Chief of Chief Executive magazine. “As the nation’s economic problems continue to snowball and an increasing number of states experience budgetary problems, state governments ought to take a hard look at their taxation and unionization policies if they want to turn the page and attract new businesses and capital to their provinces.”

Once again, this year, the same states that took the bottom five spots over the past few years preserved their rankings for the most part. For the fourth year in a row, California and New York were ranked the worst and second worst state to do business in, respectively. Michigan was ranked third from the bottom for the second year in a row. Plaguing business growth and opportunities in these states are high business taxes exposed on business owners as well as a strongly unionized labor force.

One CEO said, “Michigan and California literally need to do a 180 if they are ever to become competitive again. California has huge advantages with its size, quality of work force, particularly in high tech, as well as the quality of life and climate advantages of the state. However, it is an absolute regulatory and tax disaster, as is Michigan.”

MP: What do the top 9 states (TX, NC, FL, GA, TN, NV, VA, AZ and SC) have in common? What do the bottom 7 states (CA, NY, MI, NJ, MA, IL, and OH) have in common? Check map here to find out.

21 Comments:

At 3/19/2009 8:53 AM, Blogger save_the_rustbelt said...

CEOs work hard to depress real wages and benefits of workers.

CEOs now cannot understand why consumer markets have collapsed.

CEOs want high quality infrastructure and an educated work force, as long as someone else pays for it.

CEOs are unhappy about infrastructure quality and education quality.

Hmmmm.

 
At 3/19/2009 9:46 AM, Blogger ExtremeHobo said...

Its quite obvious you have never met or attempted to talk to a CEO

 
At 3/19/2009 11:44 AM, Blogger Monkeesfan said...

What is obvious is save the rustbelt has no clue how the real economy works.

 
At 3/19/2009 11:59 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

CEOs work hard to depress real wages and benefits of workers.

CEO's lead companies that create millions of jobs and providing meaningful employment. But, heh, I'm sure that you and your lefty friends will soon be stepping up to fill the void and provide jobs with great "real wages and benefits", right?

CEOs now cannot understand why consumer markets have collapsed.

No, they're just sitting around hoping that a genius, like you, will explain it to them. Maybe you can direct them to the appropriate page(s) in Mao's "Little Red Book".

CEOs want high quality infrastructure and an educated work force, as long as someone else pays for it.

Someone else? "Someone else" has been carrying your worthless ass since birth, and will probably carry you through adulthood as well. How is it possible for "someone" to be so completely ignorant of where wealth comes from?

CEOs are unhappy about infrastructure quality and education quality.

And judging from your post, they have a legitimate gripe.


"save the rustbelt"? I guess you mean save it from morons like you.

 
At 3/19/2009 1:00 PM, Blogger misterjosh said...

I'm shocked SHOCKED that CEOs prefer right to work states!

 
At 3/19/2009 1:32 PM, Blogger QT said...

"high business taxes exposed on business owners"

Shouldn't that be "imposed" rather than "exposed".

Another area that should be considered is litigiousness which is not really the same as regulation (ie. compliance with codes, bylaws, etc). In states like Missouri and New York, businesses are routinely targetted by legal firms on every aspect of personnel management (ie. hiring, promotion, discrimination, firing).

 
At 3/19/2009 1:51 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

What a misleading title. Should have been "CEOs don't like paying taxes, use survey as signaling mechanism." Shocker.

How could we possibly find out what they really think about the best and worst states to do business? I know, how about looking at where they actually do business?

As far as your latest "what do these states have in common?" puzzle:

In 2007, the bottom 7 states produced 1.35 trillion $$ more than the top 9. That's a 45% higher combined GDP. They also have a 13% higher per capita GDP. (source: bea.gov) Do I win?

Seriously, you're allegedly an academic; if you want to make a point about RTW then get a thesis and run the numbers. These just-so stories are pointless.

 
At 3/19/2009 2:03 PM, Blogger Bob Cosmos said...

Testimonial: My company has 20,000 employees and provides consulting services exclusively to federal, state and local governments. We will not do business with the State of California because of unreasonable contract terms for risk assumption. We'd like to do business with them, and in my view, the state of CA sorely needs our services.

 
At 3/19/2009 2:07 PM, Blogger Bob Cosmos said...

This outstanding research shows that pro-union labor relations laws constrain free enterprise and hampers small business growth.

 
At 3/19/2009 2:25 PM, Blogger ExtremeHobo said...

tristero - Did you look at rate of expansion in the bottom states vs the top?

I think you might (actually will) find those numbers do not prove your point, and isn't expansion what its all about?

 
At 3/19/2009 3:34 PM, Blogger juandos said...

"CEOs work hard to depress real wages and benefits of workers.

CEOs now cannot understand why consumer markets have collapsed.
"...

Hmmm, on what planet is this happening on? You forgot to mention it...

QT said: "In states like Missouri and New York, businesses are routinely targetted by legal firms on every aspect of personnel management"...

Hmmm, as a Missouri resident since 1980 I've not seen this alledged targeting of personnel management personally in the state as a whole and if it happens it rarely shows up in the St. Louis Business Journal let alone the other news media streams...

These lawsuits used to happen in the city of St. Louis (and to a lesser extent, Kansas City) but that problem took care of itself by having every corporate headquarters leave the city...

Now downtown St. Louis is your basic Detroit type of burg...

Now there are other areas where tort lawyers graze contentedly...

Now over in Illinois, specifically Madison county which is across the river from downtown St. Louis, well that was law suit country in a very big way... Everyone and everything it seems was sued for something...

 
At 3/19/2009 3:52 PM, Blogger sethstorm said...

We're friendly to the workers here in Ohio. Business just needs to stop acting like it is among the Divine; it being pleased at great cost to those who serve it.


It's Monkeesfan, Anon 11:59 and ExtremeHobo that need to stop reading Scientific Management as a justification for being screwy with workers.

 
At 3/19/2009 3:59 PM, Blogger juandos said...

"We're friendly to the workers here in Ohio"...

Who's friendly to the workers? The state?

If so maybe that's why Ohio ranks fifth from the bottom...

 
At 3/19/2009 4:07 PM, Blogger sethstorm said...

1:

Who's friendly to the workers? The state?

The law. We don't believe in giving business undue power for their ability to beat workers with scale.

Besides, we get plenty of businesses relocating to a certain NY shill magazine's "5th emptiest city" in the nation.

 
At 3/19/2009 4:30 PM, Blogger juandos said...

"Besides, we get plenty of businesses relocating to a certain NY shill magazine's "5th emptiest city" in the nation"...

Really sethstorm?

Dang! Then these people must be lying!!

32,000 people exit Ohio per year (October 23, 2006)

United Van Lines says 57 percent of its business in the state last year was moving people from Ohio to someplace else. The company says it was the 15th straight year for the trend (January 5, 2008 2:57 AM)

 
At 3/19/2009 4:37 PM, Blogger sethstorm said...

save_the_rustbelt:
Ironic that they put nothing into quality of life or infrastructure where of all odd things, NJ and Ohio do well.

How telling.

 
At 3/19/2009 4:42 PM, Blogger sethstorm said...


32,000 people exit Ohio per year

Considering that Ohio is a state of 11 million, that's a drop in the bucket.

 
At 3/19/2009 4:43 PM, Blogger juandos said...

"Ironic that they put nothing into quality of life or infrastructure where of all odd things, NJ and Ohio do well"...

Hmmm, I guess that's why there's a race to the bottom between Ohio and New Jersey for that nebulous quality life thingie... LOL!

 
At 3/19/2009 6:18 PM, Blogger sethstorm said...


Hmmm, I guess that's why there's a race to the bottom between Ohio and New Jersey for that nebulous quality life thingie... LOL!

Actually, Ohio's not at the bottom, but up there with Texas in transportation.

We just get dinged for not letting business play God. Sorry if we don't let you wreck our towns anymore than you have already.

If anything, people who were jealous of the manufacturing states got their wish. Now its our turn.

 
At 3/19/2009 7:55 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

@sethstorm,

Remind us agian, how many jobs have you created for the people of Ohio?

 
At 3/20/2009 12:24 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Another area that should be considered is litigiousness which is not really the same as regulation

Texas has that problem. Not only is it much more of a nanny state than its reputation suggests, but its tort system is broken.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home