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EDITOR'S
PERSPECTIVE - February 2002 by Claude Hammond Lucky Kentucky There are times when I’m having so much fun, I have to pinch myself to see if I’m dreaming. There are not a lot of better jobs one can have than being the editor of a business magazine in Kentucky. I mean, look at our businesses. We’ve got the world’s finest horses and the world’s best bourbon. Some of America’s finest beef, hams and sausage are produced in Kentucky. But business is more than food, drink and entertainment. It requires vision. Business thrives on the resourcefulness of its owners, managers and employees in finding ways to succeed. Being a lifelong Kentuckian, it’s rewarding to discover that we have some talented people in industry and government encouraging this resourcefulness here. Some “pinch myself to see if I’m dreaming” moments have come over the past few years when: • Voters in Jefferson County approved a streamlined, unified government. • Instead of moving some operations to Ohio, UPS expanded in Louisville, adding thousands of jobs and the Metropolitan College Program. This results in UPS getting good workers and young people getting a good education. The Louisville area economy got a $1.1 billion boost. It’s a win-win-win situation. • Northern Kentucky has transitioned from Cincinnati’s bedroom community to the region’s major area of growth. The Cincinnati Northern Kentucky Airport has been a big economic spark there, as have been the activities of Ashland Inc. and commercial developer Corporex. • Toyota’s dedication to its community includes helping start a high-tech industrial development to help the area diversify economically. Probably the most recent time when I had to pinch myself was in reading a statement made by Commissioner Jim Navolio of Kentucky’s Department of Business Development “…we have a government that understands business,” Navolio said. “Government doesn’t create wealth nor jobs; we create an environment where companies can invest money and put people to work.” That seems to be a rather simple little statement. But Navolio, like Gene Strong and other leaders in economic development, has a firm grasp on how an area’s government and its economy relate to one another. It is not the government’s responsibility to give people jobs. There’s not a government on this planet that has proven itself to be an efficient employer. This is due to its lack of competition – there's little threat of a government going out of business due to either inefficiency or lack of profitability. In the latter part of Navolio’s statement, he talks about government’s responsibility to create “an environment where companies can invest and put people to work.” Again, he’s absolutely right. Government should encourage entrepreneurship and business on all levels. A big part of maintaining a healthy environment for business is keeping taxation to a minimum. Though Jim Navolio (and a great many other people in Frankfort) might disagree, there is really no such thing as a corporate tax. Taxing companies is really taxing its customers. Don't be fooled – when politicians talk about taxing a corporation, they are really talking about taking money out of its customers' pockets. The nature of a company is to make money. It does this by charging more money for its products than what it spends to produce them. Taxes drive up product cost, so the company making it is forced to increase its price. It's that simple. Fortunately, Kentucky's aggressive incentives for new and expanded industries help in this department. The statement by Navolio reveals that our state's economic leadership has a firm grasp on how government and business can best work together. The state government's creation of an environment to foster the kind of vision, courage and hard work required for business success will benefit us all. Claude Hammond
is editorial director of The Lane Report. |
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Copyright 1996-2002, by Kentucky Business Online. All rights reserved. Editorial content
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