If the legislature wants to demonize businesses and investors for using legislatively-created incentive programs, they might as well stop acting like North Dakota is pro-business. The duplicity of elected officials on these "incentive" programs is blinding, and many Republicans are using programs they supported as political weapons, while ignoring what is happening under their noses.

May 2nd, 2016

Is North Dakota pro-business?

If you ask our elected officials, they will say, "yes of course."

But how do we measure this claim?

Do we look at rankings like The Tax Foundation's Business Tax Climate Index that ranks North Dakota 26th in the nation - middle of the road? ...while South Dakota is ranked 2nd, Wyoming is ranked 1st, and Montana is ranked 6th.

Do we look at CNBC's ranking of the states which ranks North Dakota 31st for "access to capital", or 41st for "technology and innovation", and 25th for "cost of doing business"?

Do we look at Forbes Magazine ranking that ranks North Dakota 36th for "quality of life"?

Whose rankings are right and whose are wrong?

What justification does North Dakota have to say it is business friendly?

Is it just something that we believe because it is our state?

There are many metrics to look at, but what should be taken above all else is the way our laws treat businesses - and how our elected officials treat the businesses using those laws.

Last week's news stories about Angel Funds highlighted that many Republican legislators have seep-seeded anti-business tendencies that are based on their own guilt more than anything.

As we pointed out last week, the legislature has a tendency to want to pick winners and losers with special, targeted tax incentives in order to take credit for business ventures they like. That desire to see businesses succeed ends as soon as the person taking those incentives decides to get into politics and challenge the status-quo.

North Dakota Republicans honored Doug Burgum by putting an actual painting of him in the hall of the state capital and inducting him in the Roughrider Hall of Fame; now they are acting like he is the devil for using the Angel Fund Program they created for people like him to use.

When it comes to "tax incentive" programs from the state or local governments it is all part of what is called "corporate welfare".

It is all created to benefit a select few businesses and investors who can take advantage of those programs.

When Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem is quoted as saying: "I still think that there is a moral obligation to use those tax credits for the purpose of jobs in North Dakota," he is right in principle.

But "principles" went out the window long ago and this discussion today is all about politics.

North Dakota Republicans honored Doug Burgum by putting an actual painting of him in the hall of the state capital and inducting him in the Roughrider Hall of Fame; now they are acting like he is the devil for using the Angel Fund Program system they created for people like him to use.

All business owners with political aspirations should know that Republican economic development programs are a trap to keep you under the thumb of the central planners calling themselves "conservative". Take their candy now, and they will destroy you if you challenge their rule.

Should Doug Burgum have needed these programs to do business?

No.

But the legislature created those programs for people just like Doug Burgum, specifically because they wanted to take credit for his future financial success.

The greed of politicians to take credit for business success is actually a sign of North Dakota's Anti-Business tendencies.

Using the programs those very same Republicans created against the business owners they were trying help is duplicitous and childish.

-Dustin Gawrylow, Managing Director

North Dakota Watchdog Network