Posted on 04/14/2008 6:52:53 AM PDT by bobconfer
CONFER: Why your loved ones have left NY
The chances are very good that you know someone who has left New York. According to the US Census Bureau, from July 2006 to July 2007 the Buffalo-Niagara region lost 5,166 people and since 2000 the Rochester area has lost over 7,300 of its residents.
The numbers are staggering but they tell little of the toll on our society. Emotionally, it can be quite taxing for families to be torn apart by this mass exodus with many older parents and grandparents wondering if they’ll ever see their children and grandchildren again. Socially, this loss of loved ones accounts for broken family units and a dampening of traditional values. For many of us, growing up with our extended families was the norm; most kin held to their roots and found a home in the area. Now, strong extended families have become a quant rarity, people abandoning their roots and, in their new homes, suffering from the lack of family members who were always there to lean on in times of need or to share special times with. Worse yet, their children grow up lacking the important guidance and loving care of grandparents, aunts, and uncles that many of us took for granted.
The underlying question of all this heartbreak and decay is a simple: “why?”
The answer is always the same: these people left WNY because there’s nothing here for them. Long gone are the days when a long-term job that provided a decent wage and benefits could be readily found in the region. Unable to find such careers, workers have no choice but to find their American Dream elsewhere, typically in a far-away state where economies are healthy and their urban areas are growing at amazing rates.
To truly understand why this happening, the questioning should be taken one step further. People need to ask: “why have the jobs gone?”
The answer to this is that the great, large companies that once dominated our landscape have either closed shop or moved on to other states because through the years our elected officials have made it incredibly difficult to own and operate a business in the Empire State and be competitive. Thanks to high taxes, foolish regulations, a worsening energy crisis and an ever-growing government, the cost of doing business in New York is the second highest in the United States, second only to Hawaii, figuratively and literally an island unto themselves.
Last week I conducted my annual study of Confer Plastics’ financials to determine just how much money it lost by having its operations based solely in NY. I looked at seven key cost factors that our elected officials have control of or impact upon: electricity, natural gas, workers compensation, health insurance, auto insurance, gasoline, and property taxes.
With every one of those factors, New York state is much more expensive than the states which offer my greatest competition (Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania). Comp insurance costs 43 percent more here. They pay only 56 percent of what we do for property taxes. The one cost, though, that stands out the most is power since electricity is our third highest expense behind material and labor. Our foes pay exactly half of what we do. This is unbelievably frustrating since we have a natural dynamo — the Niagara River — right in our own backyard.
Taken in total, the seven factors amounted to a loss of revenues of $740,000 for my company versus what my competition pays. That means that the cost of doing business in NY (as a decrease in existing revenues) is 4 percent. This number is not unique to the plastics industry because the same cost factors are shared by any manufacturer regardless if it might specialize in metals, chemicals or automotive manufacturing. Competitively, this 4 percent mark-down is significant. Assume that a NY manufacturer makes a part that he could sell to a client for $100. His competition would come in at $96. If this is a high-volume part the client would definitely say “no!” to the NY manufacturer.
The businesses that stay here and try to compete under such circumstances face an uphill battle every minute of every day, looking for ways to cut costs while attempting to develop new technologies and processes without the monetary edge that our competitors have.
Many other business owners don’t have ties or roots as strong as mine and choose instead to wisely move to another state, one where it’s cheaper to do business. That’s why your loved ones left you. It was no fault of their own. They only sought what was best — despite the heartbreaks — and followed those businesses to prosperity, a place far away from New York and our sorry political/economic climate.
Bob Confer is a Gasport resident and vice president of Confer Plastics Inc. in North Tonawanda. E-mail him at bobconfer@juno.com.
Perhaps they have talked to friends that moved to NC and DON’T pay $10k a year in property taxes. We transferred workers from NY and they were stunned to find out that their property taxes were only about $1200. They would complain that our schools were underfunded compared to Ny schools which always made me ask “If your schools were so good up North, why did all of you send your kids to private schools?”.
East coast socialism and the accompanying rampant environmental nonsense, should open grand growth opportunities in the more intelligent and sane, free market-oriented states in the south and midwest.
That is, if the citizenry of those states are able to keep the least among them, that being their elected “leaders”, from creeping toward destructive socialism and big government entitlements themselves.
now multiply this company by 10,000 times and over 40 years....I left in 83 and never looked back
The proletariat fleeing the Peoples Republic of New York. Beware concrete wall construction activities.
Still waiting for the 200,000 jobs Hillary Clinton promised.
The Left has been destroying America with their “Good Intentions” since the 1950’s.
The teachers unions OWN ALL the politicians. It’s not uncommon for folks to pay $10,000 a year JUST for the school tax portion of local property taxes.
Imagine that...if the Gov-MENT raises the
cost of doing business the affected companies pick up and relocate
somewhere else to be more profitable! I guess anywhere else
this news would be shocking but at FR its a well established
FACT!
Wonder when the Rats and RINO’S are gonna figure this out.
For me I guess I will grab my gun and go to Church.
Dittoes, can’t argue with any of the points made in your article. The article should definitely leave a mark on any who read it, both those in the positions of power and those who elected them (and their ilk) over the years to get NY in the described high-tax, high-cost situation.
I am from Rochester NY. The job market is terrible here. Kodak and Xerox are shedding jobs quicker than Obama is shedding decency. Thanks Hillary Clinton and those 1000K jobs you promised for upstate NY, you b1tch!
Upstate NY is actually very conservative, except the cities of Rochester and Buffalo.
I'm one. Shall I count the reasons?
- Property taxes. Moving to GA, I got 3x the house for 1/2 the taxes.
- "Revenue enhancement" traffic laws. A relative got a very normal speeding ticket (a traffic-flow-consistent 11 MPH over the insuitably low posted limit), which over three years was repeatedly & retroactively enhanced to a cumulative $500.
- Disarmament. Ever-increasing pressure to disarm, which just facilitates criminals. AWB, ballistic fingerprinting, NY CCW invalid in NYC, etc. just keep adding up.
- Toll road abuse. Tolls were to be eliminated ("we promise!") when the Thruway was paid for ... when finally achieved, rates went up significantly.
- Thousand-cuts legislation. Everything is regulated, presume you're violating something somehow.
- Meaningless votes. If you're outside NYC, your vote statisitcally doesn't matter.
- Business suppression. Between taxes and late governor & AG Spitzer's "protection racket" approach to business, what's the point of businesses staying?
- Obselescence. Buffalo is rusting into oblivion. Rochester's anchor companies (Kodak, Xerox, B&L) are fading away, far from their glorious heydays. Albany is little more than gov't. NYC hardly acknowledges the rest of the state exists. The writing is on the wall.
And that's just for starters. "Empire State" indeed.
So how come HILLARY hasn’t been dealing with this issue while she’s been a NY Senator ??? Easy for her to trounce around the country telling other States what she plans to do to help their businesses and job market. How come she hasn’t been concerned about her own “home” State ?? Geeesshhh.
It will leave a mark on neither group. The politicians could care less, since they are virtually guaranteed re-election from the dopey masses that keep putting them into office. As for the voters, there are many clueless people living in this area. They know what they know, and that is about it. Their main concern is how much beer they'll consume on the weekend. They have an innate distrust of business and capitalism, and will always vote Democrat because of this distrust. WNY is a sorry joke, and I can't wait to leave it.
The largest sector of the economy in the Buffalo-Niagara Area is the government and the largest single employer is now SUNY Buffalo.
I understand your perspective that it does seem hopeless and that perhaps the best solution is the one decried in the article. The economy here in OK is going well, might want to consider it when choosing your next home.
BTW, I am in full agreement with you sig-line!!
Thanks to high taxes, foolish regulations, a worsening energy crisis and an ever-growing government, the cost of doing business in New York is the second highest in the United States,
Obviously what is needed is a tax on former NY residents to continue to support infrastructure and social programs. It’s not fair for young people to avail themselves of free education and social services while growing up and stating families, and then fleeing the state when it comes time for them to pay their fair share of taxes.
Think things are bad in NY? When IBM was debating where to build their new fab they chose NY because building it here in VT the permitting would have taken at least 10 years.
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