urbanSTL

According to this story on KMOX (http://goo.gl/cp8Ed) and the Wikipedia page for The China Daily, this publication is regarded as the English-language advocate for the government and is often used as a guide to official policy. As such, this officially throws the strong support of the PRC government behind the China Hub Initiative in St. Louis, despite the Missouri state legislature not being able to pass the tax incentives (although it still could happen).

OK, I have to read this guys book just on his comments about Mid-America. I still believe for all intents and purposes that Mid-America was sold as a reliever airport but built to save Scotts Air Force Base by local politicians and a few savy congressmen. Mid-America is an absolute positively a smashing success if you take the fact that Scotts AFB went from being on a BRAC short list on the firt go around to what it is now and the amount of activity, economic growth, and likes is absolutely amazing. Yes, its Federal DOD dollars driving it but it was going to be spent and could have easily been spent anywhere else in the country. Lindsey, like many in my opinion completely ignore the Air Force Base next door.

Ok, done with my rant.

Nice write up on the history of public-private partnerships to promote trade in STL.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/ar ... 1b83d.html

bonwich wrote:

Roger Wyoming wrote:I wonder if any of the innovative Chicago restaurants will go China and upscale this fish... its almost an endless supply of this troublesome beast.

"Shanghai Bass"

I eat a good deal of seafood and would love to try the Asian carp. Do you know of any local restaurants serving it?

I’m confused. Is he seriously asking whether the Chinese government (China Daily is a mouthpiece for the central government) or these aviation industry analysts are more knowledgeable about the policy goals and expectations of the Chinese government? Maybe he thinks that Mike Jones controls Chinese state-owned media. Short of flying Hu Jintao over here to sing “I Got You, Babe” with Francis Slay at a karaoke bar, we couldn’t have asked for a stronger indication of their commitment to the initiative. The RFT actually pays this guy?
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyr ... eports.php

I'd write a reply, but I have to finish an amicus brief by tomorrow, and I really don't even know where to begin
Count (the limited Dutch I learned during the year I studied in Leiden leads me to believe you are Degraaf), if you decide to write another piece on the trade hub, you should really be able to knock it out of the park with this China Daily piece.

By the way, I have the correct Greg Lindsay this time, and it turns out he is the editor of FedEx's PR publication. FedEx would suffer most from a successful trade hub at Lambert involving China Eastern, so I'm just throwing it out there: http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topic ... 5252BOPEN)

"Republican House Speaker Steve Tilley is one of those leading the fight for a special session in September. Tilley says interested parties are still talking.

“Since that time the House and Senate leadership has been meeting to try to bridge the gap and we’ve made a lot of progress, I will tell you we’re very close and so my hope is we can get it done.”

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2011/07/19/ ... b-at-risk/

Perhaps related, perhaps not:

"Word from the state capitol this morning; Gov. Jay Nixon will deliver a major policy address on business development on Thursday in St. Louis."

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2011/07/19/ ... -thursday/

Kingb4 wrote:

"Republican House Speaker Steve Tilley is one of those leading the fight for a special session in September. Tilley says interested parties are still talking.

“Since that time the House and Senate leadership has been meeting to try to bridge the gap and we’ve made a lot of progress, I will tell you we’re very close and so my hope is we can get it done.”

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2011/07/19/ ... b-at-risk/

Perhaps related, perhaps not:

"Word from the state capitol this morning; Gov. Jay Nixon will deliver a major policy address on business development on Thursday in St. Louis."

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2011/07/19/ ... -thursday/

OK, meainingful reporting

DaronDierkes wrote:Pan American cargo airline founder with Lambert deal arrested for child porn
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news ... under.html

Meaningless reporting. Maybe it was easier to copy off the AP wire and get a quick quote from Lamberter after recovering from a U2 concert

dredger wrote:

Kingb4 wrote:

"Republican House Speaker Steve Tilley is one of those leading the fight for a special session in September. Tilley says interested parties are still talking.

“Since that time the House and Senate leadership has been meeting to try to bridge the gap and we’ve made a lot of progress, I will tell you we’re very close and so my hope is we can get it done.”

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2011/07/19/ ... b-at-risk/

Perhaps related, perhaps not:

"Word from the state capitol this morning; Gov. Jay Nixon will deliver a major policy address on business development on Thursday in St. Louis."

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2011/07/19/ ... -thursday/

OK, meainingful reporting

DaronDierkes wrote:Pan American cargo airline founder with Lambert deal arrested for child porn
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news ... under.html

Meaningless reporting. Maybe it was easier to copy off the AP wire and get a quick quote from Lamberter after recovering from a U2 concert

Is it just me, or does the level of "meaning" correspond pretty well with how much you like the news being reported? Because really, all three are essentially stenography.

The first is "stick a microphone in front of a politician" journalism. The second is "paraphrase a press release" journalism. The third is "rewrite someone else's story" journalism. All are common forms.

IMO, they're each valid as minor news items - they tell you things you didn't already know - but little more. I'll grant the Tilley piece is most significant - even if it skirts the broader context of his strong support for other tax credit programs. The Pan Am thing probably announces the death of any Lambert deal with Hedrick - which has been hyped on here in the past. The Nixon bit? We'll see what he says.

None of these, though, add any great insight to the broader question of whether we should spend $300+ million trying to build a cargo hub. That's "meaning." That's also a much harder question to answer.

stlwriterman wrote: None of these, though, add any great insight to the broader question of whether we should spend $300+ million trying to build a cargo hub. That's "meaning." That's also a much harder question to answer.

"We" won't be spending anything to build anything. When someone else builds it, they will pay "us" back less in taxes. Which is still 10000000000% more than $0 "we're" collecting now.

DaronDierkes wrote:You don't think the arrest of the guy heading up a $50 million dollar investment in Lambert is meaningful news?

Daron, maybne not completely meaningless. I should have elaborated as Count summed up the relationship that Lambert has with him, it is a memorandum and letter of understanding with absolutely no contractual basis or committment.

ricke002 wrote:

stlwriterman wrote: None of these, though, add any great insight to the broader question of whether we should spend $300+ million trying to build a cargo hub. That's "meaning." That's also a much harder question to answer.

"We" won't be spending anything to build anything. When someone else builds it, they will pay "us" back less in taxes. Which is still 10000000000% more than $0 "we're" collecting now.

This is a very common misconception. I don't understand why folks always think the money is coming straight from the treasury coffers.

moorlander wrote:

ricke002 wrote:

stlwriterman wrote: None of these, though, add any great insight to the broader question of whether we should spend $300+ million trying to build a cargo hub. That's "meaning." That's also a much harder question to answer.

"We" won't be spending anything to build anything. When someone else builds it, they will pay "us" back less in taxes. Which is still 10000000000% more than $0 "we're" collecting now.

This is a very common misconception. I don't understand why folks always think the money is coming straight from the treasury coffers.

I know how tax credits work. The fact that they're future spending, contingent on certain activity, doesn't mean they're not spending. Call it investment if you'd rather. Either way, this is not without cost. Those dollars can't be used for anything else.

^But, and correct me if I am wrong, the money is not going to be there to "spend" without the credits. No business = NO taxes. I would rather have: new business + some taxes (although less than what they "should" be paying).

Isn't this just effectively lowering or eliminating the future taxes a business is going to spend? In the case of a Walmart, the future dollars argument works, as they are going to be in the market regardless and are going to be paying taxes, but in a case of a non-existent business, wouldn't this be the preferable alternative to having nothing there in the future?

newstl2020 wrote:^But, and correct me if I am wrong, the money is not going to be there to "spend" without the credits. No business = NO taxes. I would rather have: new business + some taxes (although less than what they "should" be paying).

That's true, if the business really won't come without the credits. In this case, that seems hard to know one way or the other.

Latest on Gov Nixon, proposes another trip to China as reported on KWMU's website. I wonder if he will have meaningful to say on Thursday as another trip and delegation to China doesn't seem to forward the cause unless he something to come to the table with.

Tue July 19, 2011

Letter: Delegation headed by Mo. Gov. Nixon to visit China

By Kelsey Proud

http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/let ... isit-china

On a different note but an AP story posted on KWMU's website is Nixon's plan for rebuilding homes in Joplin. Indirectly, changing the game in tax credits one or another impacts a tax credit deal that might be in the works.

http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/nix ... -joplin-mo

Tim Logan of the Post-Dispatch is in Jeff City. His Twitter feed is talking about the Mo. tax credits, alludes to an imminent China Cargo Hub decision.

http://twitter.com/#!/@tlwriter

If true, color me surprised. It seemed like the tide of public opinion and the interests of the State Govt. were moving away from the whole thing.