Thursday, June 14, 2012

Salt Lake Tribune: Utah Ranks Second Among The Next Economic ‘Boom States’

Sit back and enjoy the upcoming Utah economic gravy train, folks

Chirpy puff piece from the Salt Lake Tribune, reporting that a U.S. Chamber of Commerce report compared states throughout nation, and says the Beehive State’s economy ready to take off.

Here's the lede:
Washington • Utah’s economy is growing and a new report comparing states throughout the nation says it is ready to explode.
Citing the state’s burgeoning tech sector and its spike in exports, combined with a lenient regulatory structure and low cost of living, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ranked Utah second in a list of "the next boom states."
Check out the full Matt Canham story:
Funny... not a word about Utah's abysmally low wages. Realistically speaking, you'd think that's the one Utah economic factor which these "Chamber of Commerce Types" would be raving about the most, no?

Predictably, Governor Herbert, who stands for re-election in November,  is milking this story for all it's worth:
"It is an attitude. We are saying to the marketplace that we value the entrepreneur and the businessperson," Herbert, a Republican, told the crowd that included business leaders. "We’re going to make sure we have government that gets off your backs and out of your wallets."
And the U.S. Chamber's numero uno state, poised to set its local economy on fire?

North Dakota? C'mon. Gimmee a break.

Read the Trib story. We are not making this up.

Sit back and enjoy the upcoming Utah economic gravy train, folks.

7 comments:

Bob Becker said...

Ah, yes.... Wasn ' t it just a few years ago that out of state realtors were arriving in Ogden, hooking up with Hizonnah Mayor Godfrey and insisting that if we only all got on board with selling Mt.Ogden Park to build vacation villas there and with building a public flatland gondola, then Ogden too could enjoy booming real estate prices like Phoenix. How fortunate we were that voters and several Council members said "no" thus saving Ogden from "enjoying" the Phoenix phenomenon.

A cautionary reminder: when runaway growth happens in humans, we call it cancer.

Ogden Res said...

All growth is not good, as Bob notes.

On the other hand, when has the US Chamber of Commerce ever been right?

Ray said...

Now that we be boomin, I guess it's time to start refusing the government pork that our politicians love to hate but complain about if it doesn't arrive...

Smaatguy said...

I'm thinking its going to be Ogden Valley before Ogden....if at all....  North Dakota is due to oil plain and simple....boomtowns have sprouted up like the old Yukon....and they are not cozy places to be....

Bob Becker said...

Not to mention that booms go bust.  Not much deader than what was once a boom town when the boom goes bust.   

Smaatguy said...

yup...exactly...

Val Holley said...

From the Sacramento Daily Record-Union of Sept. 13, 1890: "Throughout the entire West, townsite booms and speculations have been as common and as successful as lottery enterprises. Ogden is just now engaged in advertising itself after the most montebank fashion ... The very fact that Ogden is advertising its growth and its townsite additions in Chicago and San Francisco is a proof that a swindle is intended ... There is plenty of capital in Utah, plentyof capital to be attracted to Ogden by the existence of real attributes of growth, without advertising ... There are many towns whose growth has been retarded for half a century by reason of booms, just such as the enemies of Ogden are now attempting to create.

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