Another day, another bad national ranking …
The state of South Carolina fared poorly on a new national list of the “best and worst states to start a business,” released earlier this month by analysts for WalletHub.
How poorly? The Palmetto State ranked No. 38 out of fifty states on the list, which analyzed more than two dozen metrics in order “to determine the most fertile grounds in which to launch and grow an enterprise.”
“Choosing the right state for a business is … crucial to its success,” WalletHub analysts noted. “A state that provides the ideal conditions for business creation – access to cash, skilled workers and affordable office space, for instance – can help new ventures not only take off but also thrive.”
South Carolina does not provide such conditions, ranking 48th nationally in terms of access to capital and 41st for its business environment.
The only metric where the Palmetto State is competitive? “Business costs,” although this No. 15 ranking only matters if you are able to get your enterprise off of the ground.
Which most South Carolina entrepreneurs are unable to do …
(Click to view)
(Via: FITSNews)
As with other national rankings, South Carolina is struggling while its neighbors are soaring. Georgia ranked No. 3 on the WalletHub business list, while North Carolina ranked No. 14.
The bottom line here is sadly familiar: South Carolina is failing to compete with its neighboring states … and as we have often pointed out, its chronically abysmal economic outcomes are linked directly to action/ inaction on the part of its fiscally irresponsible state government.
What to do?
A total reorientation is in order, in our view: An embrace of market principles as opposed to an ongoing reliance on crony capitalist deal-making and command economic planning.
These top-down approaches have clearly failed the state, and the longer its leaders continue to pursue them … the deeper the hole is going to get for citizens and taxpayers.
Moreover, small businesses all across the country are struggling – having gotten the short end of the stick in connection with U.S. president Donald Trump‘s 2017 tax reforms. Until the playing field is leveled – i.e. until unfair competitive advantages for large corporations are eliminated – expect these struggles to continue.
-FITSNews
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(VIA: GETTY IMAGES)