While you consider what policies are good for business...

Post Reply New Topic

Consider what Forbes has to say on the subject of which countries are the best for business

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenha ... -business/

I will grant you that Forbes is not part of the News International group, so it might have improper, liberal leanings, so, also worthy of note: http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking

For the second year, Canada outscores the United States in the Heritage Foundation's Economic Freedom index. This year the United States scores over Canada in only two factors: labour freedom and government spending. (You also tie us in investment freedom). In the other seven categories, Canada outperforms the United States. Our most dramatic lead is in freedom from corruption.

So perhaps, just perhaps, there are no panacaeas for your economic malaise. Perhaps the environment for growth in business is not to be achieved by simple, broad measures.

Freedom from corruption is unique to the US and Canada(considering how big and yet how clean we've been able to remain as compared to most states/nations), matter of fact, in Europe, to not be corrupt is often termed "being American" considering how rampant it is abroad. Canada in that regard can be a socialist model for Europe to follow.

We have 50 states, which means 50 chances to try and experiment with different ways of doing things, and I insist we import the Canadian model to one of them, preferably California which needs it the most! your economy is not much bigger then texas and half of that of California so some Canadian approaches are importable, perhaps not to the whole nation but to a good chunk of them. And the nation as a whole can take a few pointers as well.

We could improve our labor situation in the US(and thus lower our labor score) slightly but public, teacher unions and the UAW and the left have largely given it a black eye. Plus it's brought a horde of investment from abroad, most recently speculation that Toyota will build the Korean-market Camry (normally manufactured in Japan) in the United States that will be built in Kentucky with its relaxed labor laws and favorable exchange rates against the Yen. More company's are seeing that as a benefit(our relaxed labor laws) and Mercedes, BMW, VW, Ikea, Nissan, Toyota, and a good number of companies are flocking to the now more "export-friendly" US. I would love it if corporations would try to minimize corporate pay somewhat by having the CEO payed no more then 5 to 10 times the lowest payed worker(in the case of Costco, it's like 3), but that requires the cultural adoption of that psyche, and any governmental pressure to do so will have an unfavorable reaction.

I am probably the only conservative who favors tax hikes, but almost all don't, and the democrats certainly don't want to raise it on the bottom 95%. I support investments in tech but the left and the right always do it for some moral good like defense or minimizing reliance on carbon emissions.

The American voter has been so babied by a bill of goods. And disconnected from the costs of their governments decisions. Democrats and Republicans not willing to compromise and constantly terming whatever their trying to peddle as mainstream is unhealthy.

Would you consider Obama's recent Job Bill a simple broad measure?

World corruption barometer

by the transparancy international, used by forbes and many other news outlets, largely due to the most extensive world reaching report published in full at the link i gave you.

you basically linked to a primetime show and expect them to be 100% accurate, while it is true that there are european countries that are bad corruption wise most countries you mentioned actually have a lower rate of coruption.

now to a rant about how the countries themselves might allow corruption but most of the money being moved are done by large corporations as "investments", many are international and as such hit many countries at once.
siemens did have large troubles with corruption, i did subcontracting for them at the time, the administration of that branch was later fired and i imagine sued to oblivion by the german buraeucrats from hell.

China doesnt have to worry about those things