This is a catch-up post. Recently Rich Miller pointed out the great news that OfficeMax is consolidating its two headquarters and moving to a single headquarters in Naperville. The additional jobs are great! But why in the third best place to live in the country according to a business-oriented magazine is Illinois paying $33,000 per new job to the nation’s third-largest office product retailer? Is that really what being the third best place to live in the country yields you? If so, America is in real trouble.
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s state initiative Opportunity Returns, is a great concept, and Naperville kicking in money for its economic development is the right thing to do - but the money should focus much more on long-term competitive advantages, not tax breaks to businesses. Better transportation for people and goods is one area woefully inadequate in Illinois and in the country. It’s a bottomline business issue in addition to being an issue of quality of life. Transit-oriented development is an area where government should spend effort and money. We also can do better educating our workforce, and money there is well-spent. Invest in infrastructure, smart planning and smart people and business will follow. It’s a long-term competitive advantage that doesn’t depend on the whims and fortunes of individual businesses.
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