One would think something like Inslee’s proposal for an Economic Competitiveness and Development office would be the sort of thing that Rob McKenna would mostly ignore because it’s bland and obvious: the government should do more to help grow the economy, especially in areas where we can press our advantages. It’s, in short not the issue you’d think McKenna would want to draw a distinction. But:
A TV ad from Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna features a small business owner mocking Democrat Jay Inslee for part of his jobs plan: a new government office dedicated to helping businesses
Hmm. Well, I think that would backfire on its merits. Again, the government might help small businesses isn’t exactly a monster under the bed type story. But, it turns out that this particular small business owner had help from the government.
But elsewhere Bresheare has had great praise for one government office that helped her business, along with many others. She’s featured on the website of the Small Business Development Center at Western Washington University, complimenting the advice she’s received there (a fact pointed out by the Inslee campaign).
Those small-business centers are a partnership of the federal Small Business Administration and the state, and they offer services such as aid in writing a business plan or obtaining financing. The services are publicly funded and provided at no charge to small business owners.
Look, of course there’s room for debate about what are the best programs to help grow the economy and individual businesses. And, yes, sometimes the best thing the government can do is get out of the way. Still, the facts remain: very often government at all levels helps businesses.
Still, the facts remain: very often government at all levels helps businesses.
OK, let’s call this undisputed fact.
What, then, is the basis for ANOTHER government agency, supposedly to help businesses?
The ad you describe is critical of Inslee for wanting to create a NEW entity for this.
While I can’t say my business has been helped by the government, I really didn’t need the help. I just needed no hindrance, which fortunately proved to be the case as I got up and running.
I do know of others who have been helped, most recently by someone from Green River College who was instrumental in aiding a friend with her new venture.
If those entities already exist and are doing the job, why do we need another? Couldn’t we just give more support to the entities we already have?
Here’s something I would criticize:
His jobs plan also calls for new “sector leads” – advisers who would work to grow selected industries.
That’s from your link.
Suppose my business wasn’t one of those ‘selected’ by the Inslee machine. Would I just be screwed?
Obama ‘selected’ green industries, like Solyndra, for targeted support. Inslee has shown a similar inclination.
This should be looked at as a benefit?
I don’t want my government ‘selecting’ who to help and, by inference, who not to help.
# 1 & 2: Sometimes you find a “gap” in what the government provides and what businesses need.
Some of these proposals are intended to cross the jursidictional boundaries of state, local, and federal government agencies. Moreover, some are intended to develop plans which cross specific areas covered by other government entitities: education, workforce training, unemployment training, etc.
An example might be the Aerospace Apprenticeship Program, which was instrumental in keeping the 737-MAX program in Washington State by working with Boeing, community colleges, and technical high school programs to graduate technical workers who matched right with the Boeing job codes.
# 2: As for “selected industries”, the Japanese have been doing so for decades – just see the results in the auto industry. China has been doing the same in aerospace for the past twenty years, starting with subsidized heavy maintenance facilities which trained workers and management develop the skills and knowledge base, and they are now moving toward replacing Boeing or Airbus aircraft purchases with locally-built airlines – but that might take another fifteen years or so.
It’s all about long-term planning. And you can’t necessarily push every industry. As Napolean is reported to have said, “to defend everything, is to defend nothing”.
Of course, without such initiatives and planning in advance, we are destined to dive head-first into crisis prevention mode – usually too late to do any good. In such cases, the usual “favored” industry will be the biggest one, and the one most politically connected.
The TARP I bailout to the wall street investment firms in the fall of 2008 is a good example.
@ 4
And you can’t necessarily push every industry.
I guess that’s similar to saying you can’t top off every pension fund when ramming two-thirds of an industry through bankruptcy.
Which, I agree, you can’t.
Problem is, by picking and choosing whom to help and whom not to help, there’s going to be a political slant to it. This is beyond ‘elections have consequences’ and into fraudulent behavior.
Small wonder Team Obama isn’t releasing documents related to how decisions were made to top off union pension plans and let the white collar workers suffer.
“While I can’t say my business has been helped by the government, I really didn’t need the help. I just needed no hindrance, which fortunately proved to be the case as I got up and running.”
Your indudgence in narcissism is not only disgusting, it has left you in an absolutely fucking clueless state of mind.
@1,
Really, you needed no help?
So you paved all necessary roads?
Maintained power and communications systems yourself?
So what’s your point, Serial “It’s acceptable to humiliate and degrade any stranger until they earn his respect” Conservative?
Don’t try?
If those entities already exist and are doing the job, why do we need another? Couldn’t we just give more support to the entities we already have?
Maybe. But are they filling the niche that this new agency will cover?
I don’t want my government ’selecting’ who to help and, by inference, who not to help.
We do that all the time. We don’t help the business of illegal drugs and prostitution. You don’t argue with that. We help safe and unsafe oil drilling. You don’t argue with that. We help companies send jobs over seas. You don’t argue with that. We help Boeing and GE. You don’t argue with that.
Yes and developers help themselves to government money as “investors” at taxpayer expense.
King County Council Members Eastside Republicans Jane Hague and Kathy Lambert voted 6/3 for a proposed $460 million professional basketball and hockey arena in Seattle
The County Republicans Jane Hague and Kathy Lambert’s two former? friends Republican conservative Eastside developers Rowley and Wallace sent a nastygram to the two Republican Eastside dwelling County Council women stating the initial deal would use scarce public resources in hard times, hurt Seattle and threaten to clog roads used by the Port of Seattle and be “a sweetheart deal” for investor Chris Hansen.
Rowley, Wallace, their wives and businesses also contributed more than $18,000 to Hague’s and Lambert’s campaigns since 2001, according to public disclosure records.
So the Republican Eastside developers/investors are pissed because they didn’t get a piece of the Seattle city’s taxpayer funding Metro Transit car-tab fee sports arena pie :) I love it when Republicans cannabilze each other and fight over tax payer funded projects that only benefit themselves and their business cronies :)))
It has been my experience that all manner of political and quasi-political entities of all partisan flavor work extremely hard to support and favor business. The Republican governor of Nevada convened a new economic development task force which identified seven economic areas for state support and investment. The reactionary conservative commissioners in our county put county funds into our sawmill [which could not compete with a bigger mill one county over] and refused econ development funds for a dollar-type store because it would compete with an established local business also getting those funds.
You can certainly argue the Inslee’s proposal is redundant, inefficient or whatever but arguing that government should invest in or support certain industries is a loser long past.
@2 Kaptain Kornflake says
I don’t want my government ’selecting’ who to help and, by inference, who not to help.
Kornflake has no idea how nutz that statement is.
Kornflake, ALL governments help people and/or industries. What you want is no government. You want anarchy.
In our constitutional government “We the People” are the government and “We the People” decide where, when, how and who we help and do not.
I’d love to hear from Kornflake of a government which does not choose who to help and who not to, cuz that’d be as funny as House Republican Leader, Paul Voucherize your Medicare Ryan talking about the difficulty of his math.
Rejecting Inslee’s business assistance plan because it would select some industries over is rather a slap in the face of reality. Industries are selected for preference all the time by various government agencies.
Take, for examply, Cheney’s secretive “task force” on energy, where it appears that the only ones attending were oil company executives. No official records of who attended, no minutes were taken, no official pronouncements of policy thereafter. Yet by defining “energy” as “oil”, the Bush administration shut out all competing forms energy within the industry other than oil (and later coal). Excluded were solar & wind power, as well as energy efficiency programs.
So, this goes on all the time. Serial is just complaining that he’s afraid HIS ox might get gored, at which point he argues broad principles. But he’s quite content to remain silent while it’s his neighbor’s ox that is being gored.
10. Perhaps it could be argued that taxpayer funded projects such as building another damn arena or arenas creates jobs, increases tax revenue for the city and profits for investors and more sports entertainment for sports fans.
But why should everyone have to pay for this shit?
@8 I seem to recall a recent seminal stump speech the networks picked up by Romney (or was it Ryan? Does it matter?) pounding on the “you-built-it” theme. He was speaking to the employees of a truck manufacturer.
If you can’t see the cognitive disconnect there, you’re too damn hopeless to try to explain it to.
Has anyone read Inslee’s book?
http://www.amazon.com/Apollos-.....ewpoints=1
Cover to cover, not a skim.
Comments from those who have?
It’s 97 cents, used on Amazon. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!
Two can play that game, Serial “It’s acceptable to humiliate and degrade any stranger until they earn his respect” Conservative. What is your point?
Anyone read Palin’s book?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer.....038;sr=1-3
Cover to cover, not a skim.
Comments from those who have?
It’s 1 cent, used on Amazon. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!
# 17: Gee, I work 65 hours a day, M-F, on my day job, plus some evenings and weekend work (I worked 16 hours last weekend). I am also reading books on securities laws and patent and copyright protection. Oh, and I’m taking a foreign language class once a week (4 hours). I’ve got a side business, and I’m helping my daughter establish a side business as well.
I’ll try to get around to it sometimes.
@ 18
Sixty-five hours a day. I guess you would have to work a lot if you want to be in all 57 states.
“57 states”
It seems that all you’ve got is that, birther nonsense and images of our nation’s president as an African witch doctor. Oh, and falsely blaming the president for all 16 trillion of our nation’s debt, most all of it run up under Republican presidents, and Facebook images of guns with implied threats to his life.
Meanwhile, Gekko/Galt keep peddling their secret plans for the nation. We’ve seen that act before. That time it was a war. This time it’s damn near everything.
Little wonder you’re fucking losing, Bob.
@19,
Still pissing yourself over Rmoney’s drubbing in the polls Bob?
# 19: I had it in “hours per day” at first. But since it varies depending upon the day, I changed the number to the average “hours per week”, but forgot to change the reference.
So sue me.