This could be interesting… I’m not exactly in the center of the political world, but I have to say our economy here in Arizona has a lot more room to expand and breathe than in most other cities in our nation. It’s such a young state in constant flux with plenty of potential, and this potential could go either way. Doesn’t it make sense to have the actual business sector weighing in on these decisions? Use the comment box below to weigh in, I’m interested in your opinions…
Governor pitches plan to privatize commerce department
Phoenix Business Journal – by Chris Casacchia
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Gov. Jan Brewer on Wednesday unveiled a plan to privatize the Arizona Department of Commerce.
The model calls for a private-sector leadership board and pushes the state to be more responsive to the needs of the business community and seek more opportunities.
The quasi-public relationship will continue to manage state incentives in attracting and expanding businesses, while engaging the private-sector through a 15-member board composed of CEOs from across Arizona and chaired by the governor, said ADOC spokesman David Drennon.
Read more: Governor pitches plan to privatize commerce department – Phoenix Business Journal
Why would you want to privatize the department? If we’re worried about the quality of leadership all we have to do is elected a new governor who will appoint a better person to run the department.
I’m afraid that if we put private business in charge of the department all they are going to do is ask for lower taxes, if not no taxes at all. We need to be better stewards of our economy. I can’t afford to vote with my dollar and would much more trust a state run department with me interest at heart to attract the right business for our economy as appose to business that are simply trying to dodge taxes.
My biggest concern for AZ businesses (smaller ones, especially) is that the dept will now place even greater emphasis on attracting out of state companies. Instead, they should focus on expanding research and helping demonstrate market demand for local businesses seeking financing, or just looking for basic market knowledge to ease market entry/expansion. This sort of effort would not only complement services offered by the SBA and city departments, but it would expand the support base amongst business owners and very likely deliver greater ROI for all involved.
BTW, now that I’ve declared my skepticism, I realize that I should have asked first if Local First was invited to the table for these discussions. What are you hearing?
I totally hear what you’re saying, Johnny. Fortunately the power to raise/lower business taxes would stay with the government, and my hope is that these new advisors would begin to focus on the needs of existing AZ businesses and provide ways for new entrepreneurial startups to get a foothold (adaptive reuse comes to mind).
I don’t know exactly what this plan entails, and nothing is ever perfect, but like I said we’ll be watching it unfold with interest. And Patrick, we have been asked to participate but I don’t have enough information right now to say in what capacity. But you can bet we’ll be speaking out on behalf of our local businesses and entrepreneurs.
Go get ‘em, Russ! One thing everyone has to remember is that Gov. Brewer inherited this problem, or should I say these problems. Blame your legislature for the stupidity it shows and vote next election. The housing market fiasco could have been avoided if the financiers in the government had watched the signs. Now drastic cuts have to be made everywhere in order to save Arizona. Privatizing the Dept. of Commerce may be one way of bringing jobs back into that department itself, and develop interest in bringing more people back into the work force. The state has laid off and is laying off people in droves. Perhaps private enterprise can hire some of them back. Just a thought. Privatization can be scary – I know I don’t want big business telling me how to manage my little business, and we will have Russ there to guard our interests. However, I don’t think the Dept. of Commerce has brought enough profitable business into Arizona or done it’s part to support Local people like ourselves who really need the business and are trying to maintain in these hard times. We need those entrepreneurial startups Russ mentioned. Let’s give the thought a chance before we condemn it too much. And how about the Arizona Chamber of Commerce… has it done it’s part in bringing business or growing those that are here?