Another company that has no business presence in South Dakota has ranked South Dakota as one of the better states in which to do business.
CNBC’s newest annual rankings of state business climates says South Dakota is the 20th-best state for setting up literal shop, tied with Arizona. Neighbors beating us are Minnesota at 6th, Nebraska at 14th, and Iowa at 18th. We beat Wyoming at 26th, North Dakota at 29th, and Montana at 34th.
We make the top ten in two of CNBC’s ten categories. We place second in Business Friendliness (i.e., low regulation and litigation) and ninth in Cost of Doing Business (i.e., cost of living on basic items). Our two worst categories are Technology and Innovation (41st, as we apparently lag in supporting innovation, winning research grants, and generating patents) and Access to Capital (45th).
20th is not our lowest ranking in CNBC’s business scorecards. We’re recovering from 24th last year. But we used to be in the top ten, placing first in 2013 and 7th in 2012, 2010, and 2008. Minnesota was first in 2015 and third in 2017. Since the first CNBC business rankings archived online in 2008, Minnesota has placed in the top ten for business in all but two years, 2012 (11th) and 2013 (15th).
KSOO’s Jeff Harkness says our 20th place shows we’re “still a solid choice for business,” but… really? In their letter-grade version of the scorecard, we get two As, two Bs, four Cs, and two Fs. In my household, a report card like that gets an intervention, not a “solid.”
South Dakota bends over backwards to sell ourselves as a business dreamland—low taxes, low wages, low cost of living, plenty of room for trucks to turn around—and we still tie a state that has scorpions and get beat by income-tax-happy Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Oregon? Let’s not get wrapped up in our own hype.
CNBC has its headquarters in New Jersey, which ranks 36th on this year’s CNBC business scorecard.
~ The task at hand is … how to turn really good teachers (Education – B) into a massive increase in problem solving ( Technology and Innovation – F)?
~ The problem is … cultural negativity bias. i.e. Spending more time thinking about what can go wrong with a new idea than time spent thinking how to make a new idea work quickly, profitably and ecologically.
~ The solution is … vote Democrats into every possible governmental management position. Current leadership’s “Vote No On Everything” and excessive negativity paradigm is an anchor to development and a reason smart money won’t invest in the state.
Or take your business idea to Minnesota. That’s where South Dakota’s best and brightest are moving.
When a state is anti-LGBTQ and racist, that gets the National headlines and thus the move down the ladder from first. Businesses are very pro-LGBTQ these days, very! Of course they, are, they want the LGBTQs business! SD doesn’t seem to understand that the LGBTQ is a huge movement and very organized with millions of very passionate heterosexual supporters helping to support its cause also.
Daugaard is one of the few pubs that understood this and knew SD was guaranteed to lose millions in tourism money did the right thing by vetoing the potty bill.
MN PRIDE is watching SD very closely. Try any anti-LGBTQ bill or referendum, and MN PRIDE MPR will know about it right away. :)
Oh and come on over to MN PRIDE celebrations this month all over MN. Parades, dances, food, fun and lots of entertaining drag shows. I have had the most fun ever going to these celebrations! So much fun for the whole family!!
South Dakota rates AAA+ in business as usual, creeping cronyism division.
@Rohr … The brain drain is real and well established for over 60 years. At my high school commencement the main counselor told my class to get a college education in South Dakota (because the quality far outweighed the cost) and then move to a more developed state, economically. That was nearly 50 years ago.
I hope we all hang out on DFP because we’re trying to lend ideas to help South Dakota grow and improve. Although, sometimes the words “grow” & “change” seem to be a scary concept to the political party sitting on the anchor. The culturally inherent negativity and stubbornness make simple progress a bigger challenge than it needs to be. No sense giving up the battle, though.
Does “Quality of life” measure the quality for those starting/owning businesses or for those working in those businesses?
Porter, you’ve done an excellent job of describing SD’s biggest issue– “cultural negativity bias.”
I have called it a statewide low grade depression.
That doesn’t mean everyone is sad. It’s more a lack of optimism, a lack of belief that *it can happen here, that SD doesn’t have to Always rank at the bottom, that SD can be audacious, exciting, making Real Positive Change.
*whatever “it” might be
@Debbo … I know people who’s most common thought is, “No! That won’t work.”
“here.” That won’t work Here.
-or-
We don’t do that.
Why didn’t this ranking take into affect the Muslim Extremists in Minnesota vs South Dakota?
Do you need me to give the links Cory?
Out of bounds, Jason, and irrelevant, since any count of alleged “extremists” must be color-/creed-blind. Klansmen, FLDS compounders, and other white Christian extremists are surely as bad for business and quality of life as Muslim extremists, Jewish extremists, Sikh extremists, anarcho-capitalist extremists, Koch brothers….
O, the CNBC “Quality of Life” metric is general, scoring items from which both employers and employees may benefit:
And Minnesota VFW Islam haters??
Cory, Christian extremists don’t want to kill me.
Sorry, Jason. Plenty of Christian extremists want to harm trans-gender people, even when they’re in transition.
They are not Christian if the want to kill someone.
Jason, buddy. You did tours in Iraq and Kuwait in the military. You were there to kill Muslims, if the need arose.
Jason is incorrect as usual. According to the Bible Jesus Christ, hisownself, promised to kill Jezabel’s children. See Revelation 2:22-23 NIV, which states in part:
Some Christan apologists suggest that Jesus wasn’t actually referring to her children, rather they argue, Jesus actually meant he would kill all her followers, i.e., non-believers. See e.g.
http://biblehub.com/commentaries/revelation/2-23.htm
“Minnesota VFW Islam haters” What in the world?
I just checked the website for the Minnesota VFW and see nothing against Islam or Muslims. Many have served with honor and died for our country and would imagine there are plenty that are welcomed members of the Minnesota Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Porter, what you said also explains Jason’s ignorance about health insurance. He gets his through the VA or Tri-Care, govment stuff.
Jason. Why did you post as Miranda? Hit the wrong button? No, the VFW likes all religions. You know I’m talking about because you work there and harbor Islamic hate.
Porter, You must be in another state of confusion and although I am unable to help other than provide some clarification I am confident there are mental health professionals in your area than offer the assistance you need.
My service in the South Dakota and Texas Army National Guard was during the cold war enlisting when Ronald Reagan was our President and a time of peace before the 1st Iraq War. I was never deployed overseas, served in a war in Iraq or Kuwait. That makes me at least to my understanding Ineligible as far as membership in the VFW. The VFW and American Legion are both great organizations.
Against Islamophobia, Xenophobia and Bigotry.
So wrong person and have no idea nor really care who Jason, Old Sarge, Ryan or whomever is.
States that don’t have policies welcoming and protecting people regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc., are definitely not going to do as well on a business friendly basis.
That’s one of the items SD could fix at minimal cost, IF the GOP wanted to. They don’t. In fact, they’d like to discriminate more, which would move the state farther down the ladder.
SD would do much better in terms of prosperity, business friendlinessness, equality, healthcare and quality of life under Democratic political leadership.