Bacon's Rebellion

CNBC Top-States-for-Business Ranking Is Worthless

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by

James A. Bacon
in

CNBC shows alarming consistency in down-ranking COSTS in their methodology.

Costs.

Cost of Living ranked dead last again while losing 25 points of value and Cost of Doing Business (#1 in 2021) loses 55 possible points of value dropping to #3 in their rankings. This might have actually helped Virginia’s ranking since we have also been consistently mediocre/poor in those areas. Shhh….don’t tell policy makers.

It’s called housing costs and a reason why young professionals with college degrees leave with their subsidized education/skills in hand.

Smart.

If there was ever a year in which costs matter MORE – that year is 2022. But marketing departments weren’t selling that last year so…

*checks news feed*

Oh, look – inflation at 9.1% in June. NINE POINT ONE. Thankfully it’s just “transitory.” (Seriously, Joe – just fire ANYONE at this stage of the game) Makes you wonder just when CNBC puts together all this “stuff.” Maybe it was based on early last year’s marketing decisions?

Look, I was unimpressed last year with CNBC’s rankings but this year?
Meanwhile in 2021 these states ranked as the top states for people LEAVING according to Forbes via USPS:

1. California
2. New York
3. Illinois
4. Pennsylvania
5. Massachusetts
6. Washington (CNBC’s #2 state for business) *ahem*. New slogan “Business is so good here, people left!” Starbucks did close five stores in Seattle due to crime concerns. Branding opportunity!
7. Colorado (CNBC’s #4 state for business) Can you say Cannabis metric? Nah…
8. Indiana
9. Michigan
10. Wisconsin

Top Ten states to which people are moving?
1. Texas
2. Florida
3. South Carolina
4. North Carolina
5. Georgia
6. Tennessee
7. Nevada
8. Maine
9. Delaware
10. Idaho

My advice to  CNBC if they want some credibility on their rankings? Go to a biennial review and stop chasing trends.

Chris Saxman is the executive director of Virginia FREE. This column has been republished with permission from The Intersection.

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30 responses to “CNBC Top-States-for-Business Ranking Is Worthless”

  1. James A. Bacon Avatar
    James A. Bacon

    Hey, at least Virginia isn’t one of the Top 10 States for Outmigration!

    There’s still a long way to fall.

    1. energyNOW_Fan Avatar
      energyNOW_Fan

      Are we tied with New Joisey? Both Va. and NJ in the middle pack

      1. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
        James Wyatt Whitehead

        Thats Virjersy. That is what is what we are fast becoming.

        1. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          Based soley on out-of-state enrolled students, uh yep.

  2. James A. Bacon Avatar
    James A. Bacon

    Hey, at least Virginia isn’t one of the Top 10 States for Outmigration!

    There’s still a long way to fall.

  3. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    CNBC not the only game in town:

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/105e2b0345211251635739672343535226a9f32edcfeb992c1ca498dccf20b56.jpg

    https://chiefexecutive.net/texas-tops-2022-best-worst-states-for-business-survey-of-ceos/

  4. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    CNBC not the only game in town:

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/105e2b0345211251635739672343535226a9f32edcfeb992c1ca498dccf20b56.jpg

    https://chiefexecutive.net/texas-tops-2022-best-worst-states-for-business-survey-of-ceos/

  5. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    CNBC not the only game in town:

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/105e2b0345211251635739672343535226a9f32edcfeb992c1ca498dccf20b56.jpg

    https://chiefexecutive.net/texas-tops-2022-best-worst-states-for-business-survey-of-ceos/

  6. James McCarthy Avatar
    James McCarthy

    It surely matters to some Virginians the state’s national ranking by rating entities. Unless it can be demonstrated that the Commonwealth’s reputation was damaged, where’s the beef? An article parsing and criticizing CNBC’s rating methodology contributes little to outcomes. Waste of print.

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      Hey, if you’re going to reject subjective results based on heartaches with definitions, crieria, and methodologies then why stop here?

      There’s no inflation. I don’t agree with the consumables selected for the index.

      There’s no recession. I don’t agree with either one of the two top measures. What care I if growth is negative two consecutive quarters?

      1. WayneS Avatar
        WayneS

        Does CNBC determine the inflation rate?

        1. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          Somebody does… who?

          1. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            Somebody does… who?

            Some guy who lives in a small, dingy, office in the basement of the Whitehouse. They never let him out. He’s been there so long that no one knows his name or what he looks like. When they need to determine the inflation rate, they print the relevant economic data, as well as some irrelevant data, on ledger-sized sheets of high-cotton-content paper, and then slide it under his door.

            Using a slide-rule, an abacus, a box of green & yellow marbles, and a Chinese checkers board, he performs a series of complicated computations which he and only he understands. A few hours later, Presto!’, we have our inflation rate.

            NOTE: This same guy also determines the pre-season top 25 rankings for college football and basketball. Surprisingly, or maybe not, he uses a lot of the same formulas…

          2. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            Somebody does… who?

            Some guy who lives in a small, dingy, office in the basement of the Whitehouse. They never let him out. He’s been there so long that no one knows his name or what he looks like. When they need to determine the inflation rate, they print the relevant economic data, as well as some irrelevant data, on ledger-sized sheets of high-cotton-content paper, and then slide it under his door.

            Using a slide-rule, an abacus, a box of green & yellow marbles, and a Chinese checkers board, he performs a series of complicated computations which he and only he understands. A few hours later, Presto!’, we have our inflation rate.

            NOTE: This same guy also determines the pre-season top 25 rankings for college football and basketball. Surprisingly, or maybe not, he uses a lot of the same formulas…

          3. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            Somebody does… who?

            Some guy who lives in a small, dingy, office in the basement of the Whitehouse. They never let him out. He’s been there so long that no one knows his name or what he looks like. When they need to determine the inflation rate, they print the relevant economic data, as well as some irrelevant data, on ledger-sized sheets of high-cotton-content paper, and then slide it under his door.

            Using a slide-rule, an abacus, a box of green & yellow marbles, and a Chinese checkers board, he performs a series of complicated computations which he and only he understands. A few hours later, Presto!’, we have our inflation rate.

            NOTE: This same guy also determines the pre-season top 25 rankings for college football and basketball. Surprisingly, or maybe not, he uses a lot of the same formulas…

          4. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            Somebody does… who?

            Some guy who lives in a small, dingy, office in the basement of the Whitehouse. They never let him out. He’s been there so long that no one knows his name or what he looks like. When they need to determine the inflation rate, they print the relevant economic data, as well as some irrelevant data, on ledger-sized sheets of high-cotton-content paper, and then slide it under his door.

            Using a slide-rule, an abacus, a box of green & yellow marbles, and a Chinese checkers board, he performs a series of complicated computations which he and only he understands. A few hours later, Presto!’, we have our inflation rate.

            NOTE: This same guy also determines the pre-season top 25 rankings for college football and basketball. Surprisingly, or maybe not, he uses a lot of the same formulas…

          5. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            Somebody does… who?

            Some guy who lives in a small, dingy, office in the basement of the Whitehouse. They never let him out. He’s been there so long that no one knows his name or what he looks like. When they need to determine the inflation rate, they print the relevant economic data, as well as some irrelevant data, on ledger-sized sheets of high-cotton-content paper, and then slide it under his door.

            Using a slide-rule, an abacus, a box of green & yellow marbles, and a Chinese checkers board, he performs a series of complicated computations which he and only he understands. A few hours later, Presto!’, we have our inflation rate.

            NOTE: This same guy also determines the pre-season top 25 rankings for college football and basketball. Surprisingly, or maybe not, he uses a lot of the same formulas…

          6. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            Somebody does… who?

            Some guy who lives in a small, dingy, office in the basement of the Whitehouse. They never let him out. He’s been there so long that no one knows his name or what he looks like. When they need to determine the inflation rate, they print the relevant economic data, as well as some irrelevant data, on ledger-sized sheets of high-cotton-content paper, and then slide it under his door.

            Using a slide-rule, an abacus, a box of green & yellow marbles, and a Chinese checkers board, he performs a series of complicated computations which he and only he understands. A few hours later, ‘Presto!’, we have our inflation rate.

            NOTE: This same guy also determines the pre-season top 25 rankings for college football and basketball. Surprisingly, or maybe not, he uses a lot of the same formulas…

          7. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            Can’t fool me! That’s an old Twilight Zone episode. The guy was played by Burgess Meridith.

          8. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            Okay, you got me…

  7. Stephen Haner Avatar
    Stephen Haner

    So here is Saxman with the business group Virginia FREE pointing out these issues. As the former VP for Government Affairs at the Chamber of Commerce, I fully agree. I watched the run up to this on the network (my go to channel most mornings) and was appalled when they started talking about the new metrics. It’s show biz, not serious.

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      I like Shepard Smith. He claims, “all news, no analysis,” but he really has difficulty controlling his facial expressions, twitches, and eye rolls.

      1. Stephen Haner Avatar
        Stephen Haner

        I like Squawk Box’s practice of putting newsmakers or experts on air and letting them go for five to eight minutes, getting into real detail. When really good the anchors shut up and let the folks roll.

        1. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          Absolutely. But then, they gotta ask some pointed questions. Becky’s good, and so’s Joe, but he tends to drift off sometimes, questionless.

    2. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      I like Shepard Smith. He claims, “all news, no analysis,” but he really has difficulty controlling his facial expressions, twitches, and eye rolls.

  8. vicnicholls Avatar
    vicnicholls

    Great article. Thanks for posting.

  9. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Another glass of wine, Reynard?

    Funny how that #1 spot keeps following nonculture wars Democrat governors, especially those capable of reigning in the misanthropic tendencies of their GOP legislatures.

    By your thinking, the US Military should be an all female fighting force. That way, if they should be defeated, you can always say, “Yeah, but who’d you beat?”

  10. WayneS Avatar
    WayneS

    CNBC Top-States-for-Business Ranking Is Worthless.

    Fixed it!

  11. WayneS Avatar
    WayneS

    If they start deducting points for “Number of North Atlantic Right Whales Killed, Confused or Disoriented” our ranking could take a serious hit in the next few years…

  12. Old Matt Avatar
    Old Matt

    Ya got owned! As soon the Party of Rape Babies takes over Virginia starts circling the drain. Totally foreseeable based on all of human history.

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