Business & Job Creation
Businesses need a friendly and fair business environment so they can compete, innovate, and create jobs. We’re keeping politicians from playing favorites by offering special deals and tax breaks to the favored few.
What could Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and the five City Council members have been thinking when they authorized a $100 million tax subsidy for CityNorth, a private development planned for northeast Phoenix?
Prop. 202, the minimum wage initiative, would raise the statewide minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.75 per hour. Proponents don't talk much about the other provisions in the proposition, which is understandable. There's some pretty nasty stuff in the small print.
The legal minimum wage, in principle, is government interference with our individual rights to contract with each other. If I need a job and you want some work done, we should be able to voluntarily enter into an employment contract with mutually agreed upon terms.
For Larry Browning, health insurance is the most consistent and most frustrating cost of his business.
In the last 12 years, the president of Discover Sunriver Vacation Rentals said he's had to pay 15 percent more per year for employee health insurance premiums.
He now pays $75,000 per year on benefits for his 25 full-time employees.
Convinced the grass is greener, some Tucson business leaders and public officials recently went to Austin to study its best practices for generating growth.
According to a series of articles in the Tucson Citizen, the Texas capital has "rhythm and synergy," a cool music scene and a hip downtown.
Local policymakers fear Tucson lacks a "vibrant core" and will never attract "creative class" workers that supposedly drive economic growth.
If only we were more like Austin, they opine.
SCOTTSDALE - Scottsdale is betting taxpayer money - $217 million - on incentives for retail and redevelopment projects that it expects will pay off over 20 years to generate nearly a half-billion dollars in city revenue.
SkySong, the costliest incentive project at $125 million, is the latest investment for the city. It is wagering that the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center will revive Scottsdale's sagging southern flank.
A state economic program that attracts jobs and business investment to rural and urban areas with high unemployment and poverty rates is facing extinction because of some strong opposition in the state Legislature.
Some conservative Republicans and Democrats in the state Senate oppose extending the state's enterprise zone program because it offers special incentives and tax breaks to specific businesses.
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon has said the multimillion dollar bonds up for voter approval will "propel us into the future, and it will be a future unlike any we predicted."
Unfortunately, the future is not likely to be as rosy as predicted. This year's bond package will cost taxpayers $1 billion more than advertised and has the potential to damage our economy.
Dino Paspalakis was sure his business was secure. For 17 years, as co-owner of Joyland Amusement Center, a popular arcade in Daytona Beach, Florida, he's been pouring his money into upgrades, drawing a consistent clientele, and carrying on the family business.
Californians are converging on Arizona in record numbers. Between 1995 and 2000, nearly 200,000 Californians moved to the Grand Canyon State. And while California lost 755,000 residents, Arizona gained almost 800,000, U.S. Census numbers show.
So why do so many Californians move to Arizona?
PHOENIX-In a report released today by the Goldwater Institute, economist William B. Conerly argues that reforming Arizona's unemployment insurance (UI) system would benefit workers, families, and employers, and help the state save money. "This is a win-win situation for Arizonans," said Dr. Conerly. "With a few changes to the system, we can get Arizonans back to work."