Kevin McCullough - Why Poaching Profits People

Critics of a free market economy are also critics of individual responsibility. Because they believe in higher taxes, centralized control, and absolute intolerance to other viewpoints, they find themselves reducing free market ideas to that of human flatulence.

At least the current governor of California--Jerry Brown--did this week.

The seventy-four year old was quite taken aback. He was asked by California media this week if Texas Governor Rick Perry's recent poaching expedition would matter much to the state's future. His reply was direct.

"It's not a serious story, guys. It's not a burp. It's barely a fart," replied Brown.

Maybe Governor Brown is just in just denial but Governor Perry's three fold plan appears to be working like a charm.

In the initial stage the Texas Governor voiced a personal public service announcement to the CEOs and gatekeepers in California's business leadership communities. He placed moderate advertising buys in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and other specialty areas. The commercial created a firestorm of attention in the state and gained Perry additional earned media coverage.

He followed that up with a fact-finding mission and personal meetings with some of California's largest corporations. It should also be noted that he was invited to do so by some of California's elected leaders in Sacramento. It was this in-person visit that seemed to rile the California Governor's feathers the worst.

Lastly comes the elbow grease and follow-up with companies that had additional questions, and this appears to be where the real story lies.

Since governor Perry's return home--only days ago--the Greater Austin (Texas) Chamber of Commerce reports a definitive spike by inbound inquiries by California companies. And since the November elections--when California saw state tax increases passed (not even including looming federal tax and Obamacare increases)--businesses in the Golden State are investigating a move to a state that offers much lower regulatory hurdles and ZERO state income tax.

“We have had a spike of double or triple the amount of normal (business relocation) activity since the November election in California,” said Dave Porter, senior vice president at the Greater Austin Chamber.

Critics of Governor Perry's attempts to boost inbound business growth in his state dismiss the efforts out of hand.

Greg LeRoy, long time progressive, and now head of the liberal activist (and heavily pro-union and pro-green) "Good Jobs First" stated, "Interstate job piracy is not a fruitful strategy for economic growth." He argued that "poaching... amounts to a geographic reshuffling of existing jobs." (As opposed to new business activity.)

Recently numbers of governors are joining the open-poaching policy with fervor in a dispute that is raging first philosophically, but secondarily, economically.

Why else is it that states with the strongest economies are poaching from the states in deepest economic trouble?

Governor Walker of Wisconsin, Governor Scott of Florida, Governor Chris Cristie of New Jersey, Governor Daugaard of South Carolina, and Governor McDonnell of Virginia have all made direct plays for companies in California, New York, Illinois, Maryland, and Minnesota to relocate.

So while Governor Brown would like to dismiss the effort, and while leftist progressive think tanks inside the beltway claim a zero sum economic advantage, why would I still argue that poaching is good for the nation?

Significant reason number one: greater, more wide-spread fiscal accountability!

The idea of risk and competition scares progressives because there is no guarantee of "equal outcomes" (which are never actually equal, they only pretend to be.)

Governor Brown--in an already economically near-bankrupt state--could stand to lose massive tax generation from the mere number of employees that one to ten major corporations take out of state (not to even mention the corporate taxes involved.) This reality further hits the pocketbooks of the tax-payers he has promised to solve the economic woes of. If those companies leave he must find alternative solutions for balancing the cost of the state to do business which could mean: spending cuts.

The same for Maryland, Illinois, New York etc.

Significant reason number two: continued job development.

When a company saves money on regulatory costs and on taxes (which serve as a pure burden on the cost that is passed on to tax-payers--remember companies never pay taxes--their customers always do) they can create more jobs in the new location than they previously had in the higher regulatory and taxed region.

Poaching has multiple benefits most immediately for the states that are engaging in it, and long term for the states that are forced to admit that other states are beating them in the contest of ideas, revenues, economies, and contentment.

Governor Perry is right to not only brag about his state's economic growth, but he has a moral obligation to do all he can to expand it.

And while it may give Governor Brown a bit of gas, ultimately he will be forced to accommodate, innovate, or step aside.

And that's exactly the way it should be!

Kevin McCullough

Kevin McCullough is the nationally syndicated host of "The Kevin McCullough Show" weekdays (7-9am EST) & "Baldwin/McCullough Radio" Saturdays (9-11pm EST) on 289 stations & Sirius/XM . His newest best-selling hardcover from Thomas Nelson Publishers, "No He Can't: How Barack Obama is Dismantling Hope and Change" is in stores now.

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Michelle Fields - Sean Hannity - White House Churchill Story Busted! - You Didn't Build That

White House is backpedaling after choosing a fight against Syndicated Columnist, Charles Krauthammer regarding the his recent column describing how the Obama administration returned the bust of Winston Churchill to the British Embassy. Democratic Strategist, Julie Roginsky, and Daily Caller Reporter, Michelle Fields discuss the facts behind this issue along with a highly spirited debate surrounding President Obama's 'You Didn't Build That' statement. FNC's Sean Hannity hosts.

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Austin Hill - Athletes Yes, Business Owners No

Why is it okay to be a successful athlete, but not a successful business owner?

It’s been nearly two weeks since President Obama delivered his now famous “Roanoke rant,” wherein he noted to entrepreneurs that, among other things, “if you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.”

Apparently the president’s spiteand vitriol for business owners isn’t playing so well with voters. By the middle of last week, the Obama campaign was doing damage control with a new video advertisement explaining that the President had just been “taken out of context,” and he actually loves business owners.

But watch the “full context” of the Roanoke speech, and it becomes even clearer that the President was once again speaking the language of collectivist economics. While assuming the absolute worst about the motives of business owners, President Obama was again suggesting that wealth creation and material success are neither to be attributed to, nor enjoyed by individuals – only the collective masses can take credit for such successes, and we should all collectively share in the blessings of one-another’s wealth.

Call it socialism, call it Marxism, call it what you like. The president has made it clear throughout his professional life that he loathes the economic success of individual companies and business owners (unless, of course, such business owners are donating to his campaign), and regards their financial achievements as ill-gotten gain.

But would you ever expect the President of the United States – even President Barack Obama – to apply this kind of thinking to athletes? And after the U.S. Olympic Athletes return home from London, will the President invite them to the White House and lecture them on how “somebody else made it happen?”

It’s unlikely that President Obama would treat the Olympic competitors with the disdain that he shows to business owners. And if his recent treatment of a certain women’s college basketball team is any indication, then the U.S. Olympic athletes may be in for a real treat.

Two days after his “you didn’t do that” speech about business owners, the Baylor University women’s basketball team was welcomed to the White House for some time with President Obama. Speaking before the media, with the “Lady Bears of Baylor” standing on a platform behind him, the President recognized the achievements of the coaching staff, and then stated that “If there’s one thing to describe this team…it was dominant. Last season, the Lady Bears scored more points than any team in women’s college basketball history…”

Never did the President suggest that being “dominant” was problematic for the basketball team members. Likewise the President didn’t suggest that being the scoring leader was a selfish or greedy type of pursuit, or that the points were accrued by some sort of corrupt means. The President made it clear that the Lady Bears were number one, and they deserved to be recognized as such.

And might there have been some government-sponsored underpinning to the ladies’ success that the President could have noted? No doubt some of the Lady Bears are attending Baylor University with scholarship funds, some of which are probably generated from private donors and others provided by government agencies.

Yet President Obama didn’t single-out any financial aid recipients and tell them “you didn’t get here on your own,” nor did he bother to remind the players that they didn’t build the courts that they play on. Instead, President Obama chose not to malign the basketball players and coaches at all, but rather gave them high praise for their success.

In America we recognized the value of challenge – not just on the court or playing field, but in business as well. When everyone plays by the same rules, competition can develop human character, produce great products and services – and put lots of points on the scoreboard.

After the London games, our U.S. Olympic Athletes will likely get the “Lady Bear” treatment at the White House. But it is a disgrace that the President of the United States can’t understand the virtues of market competition, the way he understands the benefits of sports.

Austin Hill

Austin Hill is an emerging American voice, addressing culture-defining questions through books, talk radio, web, speaking, and interviews. His recent books "White House Confidential" and his new title "The Virtues Of Capitalism" show his range from whit-infused writer to thought-provoking expert on the intersection of philosophy, religion, politics & culture. Hill helps to make the complex seem simple when exploring capitalism, socialism, and other "Isms".

He is an editorial contributor to national publications such as U.S. News & World Report, a columnist with TownHall.com, and is a popular expert-host on radio from leading stations in Washington DC, Chicago, Phoenix and Los Angeles, and nationally with networks such as Fox NewsTalk Radio.  He hosts the "Austin Hill Show" weekday mornings at Fresno, California's Talk Radio 105-9 KMJ-FM,  and weekday afternoons at Boise, Idaho's Newstalk 580 K I D O radio.

Hill holds a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo, and a Master's Degree in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics from Biola University in California.

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PJTV Trifecta - Families v. Government Programs - Which Plays a Bigger Role in Individual Achievement?

Is there a critical difference in ideology between the presidential candidates? Romney thinks families and communities assist in individual achievement. President Obama thinks it is government and dumb luck. Who is right? Find out as Trifecta shows you footage of Mitt Romney's 2002 Olympic comments and compares them Obama's recent comments on government.

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Austin Hill - Loathing Obama And Loving Harry Reid: The Myth of "Pro-Business" Democrats

A note to business men and women who call themselves Democrats: you really can’t have it both ways.

You can’t continue supporting your party and your favorite Democrat politicians, and also expect that you and your business associates will remain free to take risks, to invest, to innovate, and to succeed. This is because your political party is no longer about ideals – it is all about one person, a persona, an individual.

It’s all about a man named President Barack Obama. And to say that President Obama is “just not that into you,” would be an understatement. He is downright hostile to you, your accomplishments, and to private sector enterprise in general.

A few days ago the worlds of business and political news were rocked by Steve Wynn, C.E.O. of the publicly traded Wynn Resorts, Ltd. The headlines stated that “Wynn Slams Obama On Business,” but if you read or listened to any of his actual remarks, you’d realize that there really wasn’t much of any “slamming” going on.

More accurately, Wynn’s comments seemed very accurate, rational and fair – as though he was simply stating the obvious.

Speaking with a calm tone during a corporate conference call last week, Wynn stated, among other things: “… This administration is the greatest wet blanket to business, and progress and job creation in my lifetime…my customers… are frightened of this administration… Everybody complains about how much money is on the side in America…those of us who have business opportunities and the capital to do it are going to sit in fear of the President. And a lot of people don't want to say that. They'll say, God, don't be attacking Obama. Well, this is Obama's deal and it's Obama that's responsible for this fear in America…”

After acknowledging the Obama-driven “fear” among America’s entrepreneurs and investors, Wynn further states that “the guy (President Obama) keeps making speeches about redistribution and maybe we ought to do something to businesses that don't invest, they’re holding too much money. We haven't heard that kind of talk except from pure socialists. Everybody's afraid of the government and there's no need soft peddling it…It is the truth. And that's true of Democratic businessman and Republican businessman, and I am a Democratic businessman and I support Harry Reid. I support Democrats and Republicans. And I'm telling you that the business community in this country is frightened to death of the weird political philosophy of the President of the United States… until he's gone, everybody's going to be sitting on their thumbs…”

If you’re “shocked” by any of this, I have a question for you: Why? Are you surprised that a Democrat and business executive had the audacity to state the obvious? Or is Wynn’s analysis of the President not so obvious to you?

Column space doesn’t allow me to chronicle the many ways President Obama has been spiteful to private enterprise, but consider this from the summer of 2008. Several American oil corporations had just posted some robust profits, even as gasoline prices were surging across the U.S. Standing before a stadium full of adoring fans, candidate Obama said this: “…You’ve got oil companies making record profits… no companies in history have made the kind of profits the oil companies are makin’ right now…one company, Exxon Mobil, made eleven billion dollars…billion, with a “b” ….last quarter….they made eleven billion dollars the quarter before that…makin’ money hand-over-fist…makin’ out like bandits…”

Did you get the gravity of this, Democrat business executives? It was easy to dismiss this as simple “class warfare politics” given the spike in fuel prices back then. But This was our future President, using his platform to directly chastise an American corporation, calling them out by name, and expressing his disdain because – because why? - it was successful. “Record profits” was the company’s grave sin, and Barack Obama likened them to thieves. What part of “anti-business” do you not understand, executives?

Fast-forward to January 29th of 2009. Despite the economic decline, some of the nation’s lending institutions had just posted some hefty – here’s that horrible word again – profits. Worse yet, the companies paid their executives - gasp! – bonuses. President Obama chastised this achievement, stating “there will be time for them to make profits, and there will be time for them to get bonuses…now’s not that time..” Apparently President Obama believes that it is sometimes preferable for companies to be unprofitable.

As for the idea that one can embrace certain Democrats, while still rejecting the Obama agenda.. I’m guessing that Steve Wynn enjoys a respectable friendship with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. But Reid belongs to the party of Obama, and has carried the water for the President’s legislative agenda. There’s no distinguishing between the two of them, at this point.
In this present crisis, one can respect private enterprise, or one can ascribe to the “weird political philosophy of the President.” But there’s no middle ground between the two.

Austin Hill

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Austin Hill is an emerging American voice, addressing culture-defining questions through books, talk radio, web, speaking, and interviews. His recent books "White House Confidential" and his new title "The Virtues Of Capitalism" show his range from whit-infused writer to thought-provoking expert on the intersection of philosophy, religion, politics & culture. Hill helps to make the complex seem simple when exploring capitalism, socialism, and other "Isms".

He is an editorial contributor to national publications such as U.S. News & World Report, a columnist with TownHall.com, and is a popular expert-host on radio from leading stations in Washington DC, Chicago, Phoenix and Los Angeles, and nationally with networks such as Fox NewsTalk Radio.  He hosts the "Austin Hill Show" weekday mornings at Fresno, California's Talk Radio 105-9 KMJ-FM,  and weekday afternoons at Boise, Idaho's Newstalk 580 K I D O radio.

Hill holds a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo, and a Master's Degree in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics from Biola University in California.

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Democrat Steve Wynn, in an interview on Cavuto, calls Obama a liar.

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