Todd Nicholson on Keeping County Businesses From Moving Away

During 1992, many Orange County residents wrote about their thoughts and feelings in articles for Orange County opinion pages. As we look back on the year, some of those thoughts are recalled in these excerpts.

Representatives from 28 states recently convened at the Anaheim Marriott hotel. . . . Their mission was to get Orange County companies--and the jobs they provide--to relocate. And these visitors to our community didn’t arrive empty-handed.

Some of the offerings included cheap land, no income taxes, no corporate taxes, lower utility costs and an attitude that says we want you to be part of our community and will forge a partnership with you for our mutual success.

Discussions with business leaders indicate that there is plenty of dissatisfaction with the business climate here and that it is becoming increasingly difficult for executives to turn a deaf ear to these out-of-state offers.

States spend an average of $19 million each year to attract companies to relocate.

It is unrealistic, with our state and local governments’ budget woes, to expect our cities, the county or the state to compete financially with many of the offers being made by these out-of-state recruiters.

However, a start can be made to counter these attractive offers by eliminating adversarial attitudes by government officials and bureaucrats and by initiating local efforts to improve the business climate.

It is encouraging to know that a few Orange County cities have launched efforts to do just that. These initiatives to retain business should be models for other cities and districts if they are serious about helping foster economic vitality in their communities.

Todd Nicholson is president of the Industrial League of Orange County.