The Forest Jobs and Recreation Act

Montanans Overwhelmingly Support Tester’s Forest Bill, Poll Shows

The Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, landmark legislation introduced last month by Montana Sen. Jon Tester, enjoys strong support from Montanans in nearly all walks of life, according to a new statewide poll.

The poll, conducted in late July by Boulder, Colorado-based Harstad Strategic Research (HSR), found that 7 in 10
Montanans support the new bill, which focuses on job creation, forest management, clean water protections, and issues relating to wilderness and the economy.

Revisiting an August Speech on Banks: Failure Teaches the Right Lessons

Tomorrow in Chicago, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank president Gary Stern will give an updated version of his speech called "Repercussions from the Financial Shock" in which he argued that banks should be allowed to fail, so managers will learn the harsh lessons only failure can teach.

The text of the new speech at the Council of Institutional Investors won't be made available. Perhaps the subject matter is too close to a critique of the daily money matters rocking the financial world and the world economy. Not that anything should be read into his decision. Stern is a private Fed president. He speaks less than most others, said Minneapolis Fed spokeswoman Patti Lorenzen, and it's fairly standard for him to keep the text of his speeches to himself.

The upshot is that unless you're planning to attend the meeting in Chicago tomorrow, you'll miss the words of this influential and smart guy. That's why I thought it would be a good idea to point you to this story I wrote about Stern's earlier version of this same speech, given in Three Forks in mid-August.

In light of recent events, I might re-write the headline as follows: Fed Reserve Branch Head Says Let Banks Fail.

Got an Extra Million? Have I Got a Seminar for You!

Come One, Come All (Capitalists and Others)… to Invest in Missoula

One of the leaders of a Flathead-area capital investor group has renewed a push to build an angel investment network in Missoula with an all-day seminar at the Doubletree Hotel on Sept. 25 geared toward possible investors and led by long-time capital investor Bill Payne.

A seminar may seem like a funny way to get rich people to come forward as potential backers of potential businesses, but that's the trick with building an angel network, said Liz Marchi. Other partners in Marchi's effort include the Governor's Office of Economic Development and umpteen local economic development groups, including Montana Community Development Corp. Most of the groups, excluding MCDC, have little or no actual experience in fostering real startup companies and spurring them to grow.

Words on the National Economy

Fed President: Hard Knocks Help, Recovery Will Be Slow

The Federal Reserve Bank should allow banks to fail -- to teach managers the right tough lessons -- said Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank president Gary Stern in Three Forks this afternoon. He also suggested the U.S. economy today was similar in many ways to that of 1990 and 1991, although he noted a few significant differences.

Montana Community Development Corp.

Nonprofit Offers a Chance to Invest Locally

A Missoula-based nonprofit bank offers investors a double return: your retirement account can help grow businesses in your community.

The nonprofit bank is the Montana Community Development Corp. It loans money and offers consulting and other services to startups and established businesses. The nonprofit's central account is the 4-year-old, $8 million Montana Fund. Director Rosalie Cates has a goal for the fund of $15 million.

Against the Laws

Oil Price Off the Rails

The convergence of record high gas prices ($3.60 a gallon average across the U.S.), a presidential campaign, obscenely high earnings reports from Big Oil, and the prospect of $4 gas during the summer driving season has led to some rampant silliness, including the proposed “gas-tax holiday” being backed by candidates Hillary Clinton and John McCain. Congress plans to get into the act, pledging to bring forth legislation to offer low-income Americans relief from high prices at the pump – legislation that President Bush will almost certainly veto.

The price surge is also leading to an alarming question: has the oil industry jumped the rails of basic economic laws?

According to economics, soaring prices would, in normal times, lead to increased output of oil, reduced demand and a subsequent reduction (or at least a flattening) in prices. But prices haven’t followed suit.

In other energy news: Colorado Wildlife Commission weighs in on oil and gas production; Xcel plans to shutter coal plants opposed by consumer-protection agency; and Colorado will study the economic effects of new oil and gas regulations on the industry.

NewWest.Net Conferences

Designing the New West

The Designing the New West: Architecture and Landscape in the Mountain West Conference is wrapping up here in Bozeman at the historic Gallatin Gateway Inn. Put on by NewWest.Net and sponsored by the Sonoran Institute, the conference brought together designers from all over the country to explore innovative design ideas, identify best practices, and better understand how to bridge the gap between good architectural theory and sometimes-messy building practices in the fastest growing region in the nation.

A mix of presentations and engaging panel discussions tackled pressing Western issues like sustainable development, land design and the special challenges of urban, rural and resort design, historic preservation and affordable housing.

Click on the photo or here for a slideshow of the days' events. Click "more" for a recap of the conference.

Across State Lines as a regional whole

Turning On the Off-Season: A Yellowstone-Teton Economic Report

The 25 counties that comprise of the Yellowstone-Teton region of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana may be separated by state lines, but all share common amenities: high-quality natural areas, extensive amount of public lands, large wildlife populations and plentiful outdoor recreation.

But this also subjects the region’s economy to seasonal fluctuation — a shared challenge between both the rural and urban centers. How does this region, which shares similar environment and economic drives, understand and coordinate with each other in order to turn on the off-season?

The Yellowstone Business Partnership recently completed the first phase of a research project to characterize and analyze off-season assets and economic opportunities in the region. Therefore, local businesses and governments can grasp the regional growth trends and build an understanding across jurisdictional boundaries and vast geography. The recently completed report can be found here.

Politics: Guest Opinion

Idaho Big Business Wins, Taxpayers Lose - Again

Idaho legislators say the state can't afford to phase out the sales tax on groceries but they are getting ready to pass a business tax cut that will ultimately cost $120 million a year in state revenue.

This means that more millions in taxes will be shifted to individual taxpayers.

This will be another step in a 30-year pattern of legislative policy: raising the taxes paid mostly by individual taxpayers and using the added tax revenue to give tax cuts to business.

The big winners with the $120 million tax cut will be the major corporations and utilities that run the industry lobby, the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry. IACI lobbied for the sales tax increase and is the primary sponsor of the bill to phase out the personal property tax.

Why is business property tax relief a higher priority than grocery tax relief?