OP-ED | Malloy’s Gift Gap Threatens China Trade Efforts
by Heath W. Fahle | Sep 14, 2012 3:39pm
(8) Comments | Commenting has expired
Posted to: Opinion
Gov. Dan Malloy spent the week in China working to build new economic ties between Connecticut and the world’s most populous nation. The success of the mission, however, could be jeopardized by an unlikely threat: The “gift gap” emerging between Gov. Malloy and other American governors.
The Hartford Courant article accompanying Mr. Malloy’s sendoff noted the critical cultural importance of gifts to relationship-building in the Far East.
“Another constant: The ritual exchange of presents. “One thing about China, it’s all about gifts,” Anne Evans of the U.S. Department of Commerce told the Courant.
On Thursday, she informed an airport security officer of the contents of her heavy bag. “Maple syrup. No kidding,” she said. “Yes, I’m carrying the governor’s bag today.”
And chocolate, from Munson’s and Thompson.
Connecticut’s gifts, like our economic climate, seem sufficient until you consider the competition.
When Michigan Governor Rick Synder visited last year, his bag of goodies included “Michigan-made artwork including handmade pottery, clocks, glass sculpture, leather boxes, wood pens, cedar fans, and wearable art.” As if wearable art weren’t enough, Gov. Synder also eliminated the Michigan Business Tax and balanced the budget without tax hikes. Gov. Malloy offers maple syrup and the largest tax increase in state history.
A 2010 trade mission led by Washington Governor Christine Gregoire arrived bearing gifts such as “300 pounds of crab, black cod, smoked salmon and salmon caviar” and several cases of Washington-produced wine. Mixed with the seventh best business tax climate and the nation’s second-cheapest electricity rates, Washington’s salmon caviar surely tastes great to their potential business partners. Munson’s chocolates are delectable, but they don’t offset Connecticut’s #40 ranked business climate or the highest electricity rates in the continental U.S.
The gift gap is widest compared to Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and Utah Governor Gary Herbert. When Daniels visited Zhejiang province in November 2010, he greeted his hosts with “a Peyton Manning jersey and other Colts gear.” Herbert pursued a similar strategy, offering four basketballs signed by the Utah Jazz basketball team. They were a huge hit. ““They loved them,” said Lew Cramer — president and CEO at World Trade Center Utah. “You could have offered them a million dollars and it wouldn’t have had as much impact as a signed Utah Jazz basketball.”
Indiana boasts the country’s fifth-friendliest business climate, is phasing out their inheritance tax, and became a right-to-work state in February 2012. Utah’s economic outlook is the nation’s top-ranked and scores highly in quality of life, cost of living, and infrastructure rankings. Connecticut by contrast is 44th in economic outlook, 48th in cost of living, and 40th in business tax climate.
The gift gap can be closed but unless the economic gap is closed, too, all the Sally’s apizza, Pez dispensers, and UConn basketball jerseys in the world won’t make much difference.
Heath W. Fahle is the Policy Director of the Yankee Institute for Public Policy and a former Executive Director of the Connecticut Republican Party. Contact Heath about this article by visiting www.heathwfahle.com.
Tags: heath w. fahle, Dannel Malloy, China
(8) Comments
posted by: GoatBoyPHD | September 16, 2012 11:28am
Michigan also is home to China’s largest car company: Shanghai GM.
We don’t import the Chinese cars here and we don’t sell the Chinese designed ones in new plants. That’s a battleground issue in Michigan: how to best repatriate Chinese dollars and investment in the US auto industry. Alabama in non-union shops?
Ask Romney and Obama where they stand on this issue. The UAW in Michigan is on life support.
70& of GM’s worldwide vehicles are made overseas largely in China. Soon all The US will export is just a handful of speciality vehicles (Caddilacs and trucks).
The real showdown is during the next Presidency when importing China vehicles and repatriating Chinese dollars to Southern factories becomes an engine for growth at the cost of UAW and Michigan employment.
posted by: SalRomano | September 16, 2012 4:13pm
It’s no surprise. Malloy was never prepared, or capable to be our Governor—but our Democratic majority of voters put him there to continually embarrass our one great State of Connecticut. He continues to embarrass Connecticut and is doing it in China, as well—as a career politician we failed to eliminate in the voting process.
posted by: CT Jim | September 17, 2012 12:28pm
Heath when I saw this I was like that Heath he’s so smart and comparing Malloy to Snyder is brilliant till I did a little fact checking. Snyder balanced the budget ok and it wasn’t painless and he got help from (gasp) the federal government. He cut $12.7 billion from public education decimating budgets of every town in the state causing them to raise property taxes. (want to tell me how thats not a tax increase associated with the Govs policy?) Then he cut the funding for colleges and Universities by 22% but he left a caveat in there if they kept tuition increases to 7% he’d only cut you guess what? Nobody did instead they passed on the costs to students and parents (great job Rick) I guess as a way to keep retirees from moving south the state has for years not taxed pensions. Uhoh they are now taxed. (hows that not a tax?) Then who would have known but Michigan gets money from the federal government not only some but a whopping $400 million a WEEK!!! which is 44% of thier entire budget. So Heath in the future be a little truthful I know this year Republicans are saying the truth sucks so ignore it but it does get a little frustrating when you lie with that smirk on your face. It’s like your the republican candidate for president or something.
posted by: SalRomano | September 17, 2012 2:48pm
CT Jim: Everything you write - ends up in a anti-Republican campaign slur—as you know that Mitt Romney will defeat Barack Obama, and it hurts you deeply. Think about your country before you attack Romney, over the fact that that the Barack Obama Democratic administration has failed our populace badly in less than four years. You can’t defend Obama—so you attack Romney—even though everyone knows our problem is with the failed Obama administration which has put us into $5.2 million dollars of massive federal debt—with nothing t o show for it. Barack Obama is pushing voters to the polls on Nov. 6—to vote for Mitt Romney as the next President of the United States of America.
posted by: GoatBoyPHD | September 17, 2012 3:01pm
On cue, Obama filed a WTO complaint today against China for subsidizing vehicles.
Gotta win those swing states Obama!
Let’s get into one specific case: the Volt, the noted electric failure. The Volt is moving to Chinese Production adn will be rolled nto GM’s new All-China Electric Vehicles program since they get $19,000 of state support for EVs.
Obama complained about the tech transfer (the good, the bad, and the ugly in the case of the Volt. Lots of ugly). Doesn’t matter. Shanghai-GM knows what it has to do to execute its plan.
All of which avoids the real question: when will we repatriate Chinese Dollars into Southern State non-union factories and turn the keys of Shanghai-GM over to China and have the Chinese buy back the US government’s and UAW’s remaining shares?
They hold 49% now of Shanhai GM. Another $20 billion and they own GM America.
posted by: CT Jim | September 17, 2012 5:45pm
And Sal if you watched Rick Santorum at the so called values voters convention this weekend he claimed that the media will never be with them and ya never know he may be right and he also said the smart people would never vote for them and you prove he’s got a point there.
posted by: DrHunterSThompson | September 18, 2012 1:59am
But Malloy is on a state sponsored vacation. Those other governors were there on business forging relationships and partnerships that would benefit their constituency. Malloy is enjoying just a bit more R&R before getting the call from Obama after the election for a job in DC.
GObama!!
HST
posted by: SalRomano | September 18, 2012 2:44pm
Dr.HunterSThompson: Pres. Barack Obama won’t be hiring another loser like Dannel Malloy, after he loses the election on Nov. 6 to Mitt Romney. Your friend Chris Murphy - will also get his walking papers—after he loses the election to Linda McMahon. We really need to clean up our massive deficit spenders like Obama-Murphy, who have spent us into $5.2 trilliom dollar hole—in less that four years—AND ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING.
Perhaps China will give Malloy an offer he can’t refuse—and we can get rid of our not-too-illustrious governor, also.
However, China is too smart, and would not want our “dead-wood.”