[Vision2020] Boise's Dominance: Micron, HP

[Mark Solomon]

Ted makes an excellent point. In a long ago lifetime I was a 
conservation lobbyist in Boise when JR Simplot, Micron founder and 
majority shareholder (among other things), made his first ever visit 
to the Statehouse. The Legislature literally shut down their 
chambers, rolled out a red carpet (I'm not kidding) and assembled to 
hear JR speak to them about the need for improving engineering 
education in Idaho. That was 1995. Micron's influence on state 
politics through their simple presence in Boise has only increased 
since then. Remember the state budget crash of three years ago? That 
was largely precipitated by lower corporate tax returns (Micron) due 
to the worldwide recession lowering demand for their product.

Mark

At 11:37 AM -0700 6/3/06, Ted Moffett wrote:
>All:
>
>One major reason Boise and Boise State have gained advantages over 
>North Idaho, Moscow and the U of I can be summed up in one word: 
>computers.
>
>Micron is Idaho's largest private employer, employing around 10,000 
>in the Boise area alone, with HP adding another 4000 jobs to the 
>Boise area.
>
>According to a 2005 economic analysis, Micron alone accounts for 3.7 
>percent of Idaho's economic activity, employs 24,000 statewide 
>(these are not low paying service sector Wal-Mart/McDonalds jobs), 
>and contributes one billion (as in 1,000,000,000 $) dollars in 
>personal income to Idaho.
>
>Read data here:
>
><http://download.micron.com/pdf/presentations/idahoimpact/micronimpact.pdf>http://download.micron.com/pdf/presentations/idahoimpact/micronimpact.pdf.
>
>Many times around Moscow when I ask someone who is Idaho's largest 
>private employer I get an answer that ignores Idaho's high tech 
>economy.
>
>Take away just Micron and HP from Boise, and this subtraction of 
>economic power would shift some of the influence of Boise/Boise 
>State back to North Idaho and the U of I:
>
><http://www.boisechamber.org/ec_dev/employers.htm>http://www.boisechamber.org/ec_dev/employers.htm
>
>
>EMPLOYER NAME
>
>TOTAL JOBS (01/01/05)
>
>
>
>Micron Technology, Inc.  
>
>
>
>9,500  
>
>Mountain Home Air Force Base
>
>5,250**
>
>Saint Luke's Regional Medical Center
>
>4,300
>
>Boise School District
>
>4,000*
>
>Hewlett-Packard Company
>
>4,000
>
>-----------------
>
>This impacts the influence of Boise State:
>
><http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060505/NEWS0202/605050367/1029/NEWS02>http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060505/NEWS0202/605050367/1029/NEWS02
>
>
>Micron gives $5 million for BSU doctoral program
>
>The Micron Technology Foundation said Thursday that it will donate 
>$5 million to help Boise State University develop its new Ph.D. 
>program in electrical and computer engineering.
>
>The doctoral program is a big step toward making BSU a metropolitan 
>research university with a national reputation, university President 
>Bob Kustra said. Science and technology officials agreed.
>
>"We have lost our professors in the past to other states because 
>they had better grants for research," said Jason Crawforth, 
>president and chief executive officer of Boise-based TreeTop 
>Technologies and a member of the Governor's Science and Technology 
>Advisory Council. "If you think about it, money is what drives the 
>best professors to do the best research, and if you have better 
>professors, you have better students."
>Last year, BSU told the State Board of Education it needed about $5 
>million over the next three years to start the program, and then the 
>school could keep it funded through research grants. Micron will 
>spread $3 million of its gift over the next four years and use the 
>remaining $2 million to match other donations that BSU receives for 
>the program.
>The engineering school plans to use the money to add two or three 
>new faculty positions, offer competitive stipends to its doctoral 
>students and renovate its laboratories, said Cheryl Schrader, dean 
>of the College of Engineering.
>
>-------------
>
>And it looks like Micron is maintaining its economic power on the 
>global chip market, despite the slowdowns and layoffs that happened 
>during the high tech collapse after the Clinton years economic boom 
>bubble burst:
>
><http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060518/NEWS0202/605180320/1029/NEWS02>http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060518/NEWS0202/605180320/1029/NEWS02
>
>
>Micron smiles for the camera
>Chip maker ready to unveil new technology that will allow it to 
>expand presence in digital camera market
>
>Micron Technology will unveil a new imaging chip today that could 
>help the company expand into the digital camera market.
>
>Micron, Idaho's largest private employer, already dominates the 
>mobile phone market. Its CMOS - complementary metal-oxide 
>semiconductor - image sensors are used in one-third of the camera 
>phones on the market.
>
>-------------
>
>Ted Moffett
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20060603/00068481/attachment.htm