Nevada was ranked 47th of CNBC’s “Top States for Business” for the second year in a row.
CNBC measured the states in 10 categories, which included education, technology and innovation, cost of living, and quality of life. According to CNBC’s website, the group scored states on 40 metrics.
Texas, which was second overall last year, earned first place in 2010.
Nevada placed last in education and tied with Rhode Island for last place in economy — a measure of overall economic strength. [...]
The state scored 15th overall in business friendliness, which assessed “legal and regulatory” frameworks. Nevada ranked 19th for its workforce, as measured by the availability and quality of workers.
CNBC used test scores, the number of higher education institutions, class sizes and spending on education to rank each state’s schools. Education is important to businesses because it creates a strong base from which to recruit, the website said.
But wait, I thought we were a "shoo-in" to win this one. I mean, we do have the second lowest tax burden in the nation and the cheapest state government in the nation per capita (and, I might add, being far cheaper for the super-rich and big corporations than all the rest of us "unwashed masses"). So what caused this?
Oh yeah, that's right... WE HAVE NO REAL INFRASTRUCTURE! Our schools are constantly the butt of jokes. Our "transportation system" is always in a state of incomplete. Our "health care" system may actually be quite deadly. Basically, we're not the kind of place people feel comfortable living in and regularly doing business in.
And look at the places where people do feel comfortable living and working. Massachusetts and Minnesota have great schools. Virginia and Colorado have invested in the kind of infrastructure that has lured tech and biotech companies to their state. Even Texas, which scored #1 this year, invests far more in its state than Nevada!
Meanwhile, poor lil' Nevada, where the chamber of commerce always threatens to bolt when even hearing rumors of "the t word" coming, once again hits rock bottom along with "crazy, hippie, commie-loving pinko, lib'rul, anti-business" states like Mississippi, West Virginia, and Alaska. The common thread? Again, we don't invest enough in our own state and our own people!
I know some righties like to mock Rory Reid for talking so much about education (and occasionally not using his last name, whatever). But now that we think about it, is it really that crazy? Considering how states with great schools tend to have an easier time recruiting businesses, doesn't it now make sense?
Now if Rory could only come up with some plans to fully bring this state into the 21st century? Wait, that might require "the t word"? Well, look where all those "lowest taxes in the nation" got us so far.
I am incredibly skeptical of any study that puts Texas at number one.
ReplyDeleteTexas' health system is the model of no guarantees. They implemented the kind of system that conservatives crowd of when boasting of tort reform during the health care debate. The kind that heavily restricts patients' abilities to put a Doctor out of business for cutting off the wrong arm. Since then, their state medical board has been leading the nation in the sheer number of disciplinary actions as every two-bit doc moves to that state.
And Texas schools showed their true colours a few weeks ago with that textbook debacle.