Outside Twin Cities, suffering in new product creation, exporting, job creation
Minnesota’s Poor Business Climate is Hurting Small Biz
Minnesota legislators are failing
some of the state’s small businesses.
Businesses outside of the Twin
Cities metro area are not doing as well as their urban counterparts in a number
of areas, according to a new study from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.
These businesses trail those in more
metropolitan areas in job creation, exports, and the creation of new products,
the Star Tribune reported last month.
Fifty-two percent of metro area
businesses have created jobs since 2011, but only 37 percent of the outstate
businesses have done so. Over the past 12 months, 34 percent of metropolitan
businesses exported compared with only 22 percent of outstate businesses. And
finally, 76 percent of Twin Cities business innovated new products compared
with 65 percent of businesses outside of that area.
The culprit for these lagging
businesses: a poor business climate. Taxes, minimum wage increases,
regulations, and health-care costs are among the top concerns of business
owners throughout the state, which makes many of them feel hesitant about
taking risks with their business, according to the Star Tribune.
“Why am
I paying among the highest taxes in the United States? Why am I waiting 100
days to get a permit that I can get in Nebraska in 30 days,” Bill Blazar, a
Chamber vice president, told the Star Tribune.
