[Vision2020] Boise's Dominance: Micron, HP

[Jeff Harkins]

Hi Debbie,

Thanks for weighing in.  You might want to visit the Regional 
Economic Income System (REIS) - there is a mirror site at WSU.

Don't forget, UI funding is largely a state subsidy - about $115 - 
$120 million a year.  Also, don't forget the subsidy for K-12.

Also, it is kinda sneaky - but most of the revenues derived by 
Gritman Hospital are a result of medicare, medicaid and insurance 
payments.  Since we don't have a local insurance company housed in 
Latah County, medical payments for personal insurance get moved over 
to providers - in essence a transfer payment.

My numbers are hard and the results are troubling.

Oh yea - all our public school teachers, UI and WSU professors, staff 
persons get their checks as a result of a state subsidy.  It's not 
that we don't earn it, but we don't get to pass it on to a customer 
outside our local economy.  If we could sell the value added to 
students - well, you know, we just can't do that.  Even the fees paid 
to doctors for medical treatment are, in effect, mostly covered by 
federal and state transfers (medicaid, medicare) and local insurance premiums.

At 10:08 PM 6/3/2006, you wrote:
>regarding transfer payments:
>
>According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis data available at the
>Northwest Area Foundation Indicator Website I've mentioned before, the
>breakdown of income for latah county is as follows:
>
>Individuals and households get their income from three main sources:
>-net earnings;
>-dividends, interest, and rent;
>-and transfer payments (for example, Social Security and Unemployment
>Compensation).
>
>Among Latah County residents in 2004. . .
>
>-net earnings made up 69 percent of personal income, compared to 75
>percent in 1970;
>
>-dividends, interest and rent - income from investments - made up 17
>percent of personal income, compared to 16 percent in 1970;
>
>-transfer payments made up 14 percent of personal income, compared to 9
>percent in 1970.
>
>http://www.indicators.nwaf.org/DrawRegion.aspx?RegionID=16057&IndicatorID=8
>
>I am not certain what you mean by subsidies but the figure of 66% doesn't
>seem representative of actual income receipts. The U.S. and Idaho average
>is 15% from transfer payments.
>
>Debbie
>
>
>On Sat, 3 Jun 2006, Jeff Harkins wrote:
>
> > Actually Ted, since Latah County derives about
> > 66% of its regional income from subsidies and
> > transfer payments (yes, we are in effect a
> > welfare county), if Boise were to suffer
> > significant economic decline, we would feel the
> > effect rather quickly (lower subsidies).
> >
> > Since we don't have a robust export-based
> > economy, we will never have economic power.  To
> > have economic power, you first, have to pay your own way - we don't.
> >