Daily Archives: September 4, 2021

The Colorado Independent Redistricting Commission has released their first staff maps of both the Congressional and Legislative districts. Colorado Farm Bureau submitted comments to the commissions and included their own maps for discussion and guidance as they advocate for the states agriculture industry and rural communities.

The Congressional map will determine the districts represented by U.S. House Representatives, and the Legislative map will determine the districts represented by state legislators. With the passage of amendments Y and Z, which were supported by CFB, the new redistricting body was created, and the passage required maps to be drawn to align communities of interest and to increase competitiveness.

In the groups submitted comments, president Carlyle Currier told the commissions it is important to recognize that rural Colorado is distinct and it is different from urban and suburban areas for the way it uses land, its sparse population, its transportation and infrastructure needs, and its agricultural and natural resource-based economy.

One of the new criteria for amendments Y and Z is competition. According to CFB vice president of advocacy Shawn Martini, is competition between districts so power could potentially be shifted between parties. It also requires that communities of interest be grouped together.

For rural Colorado, that could be agriculture, as rural economy is a distinct community of interest, Martini said. That was one thing we appreciated in the preliminary draft of the Congressional map specifically was two rural-dominated districts that werent encompassing of Front Range communities that dont share that agriculture and rural economy base that would water down that representation.

That watered down representation is currently seen in the 4th district which included Douglas County, an area that doesnt share a particular nexus with the remainder of the district. Martini said that leaves representatives like, for example, Ken Buck, attempting to be servants to two masters.

To aid the commission, CFB submitted their own versions of the maps as part of the public comment period. Those maps, Martini said, stay true to the spirit of the amendments but also recognize agriculture and rural Colorado as specific communities of interest. The maps also took into account the early stages of public comment submitted to the commission, making the maps responsive to those concerns as well. He said one of the main concerns was the splitting of counties making one county represented by two different districts.

When you begin to draw the maps, thats a hard thing to do to make them balance with all the other considerations, he said. I think we were pretty successful with only three counties in the two legislative maps that are split and most of the counties that have multiple districts warranted by population dont have districts that extend beyond the county boundary.

In the letter CFB sent to the commission, Currier pointed out the broad disconnect between the wider population and the people that make up the industry that feeds it.

This separation from the farm and ranch means that 99 percent of the population does not understand how agriculture can be impacted by monetary policy, employment regulations, federal nutrition programs, environmental laws, international trade, land-use policies, wildlife management, public lands administration, banking regulations, transportation infrastructure, tax policy, public and higher education, accounting standards, wireless and broadband construction, national monument designations, the Endangered Species Act, oil and natural gas production, and even congressional and legislative redistricting, just to name a few, Currier wrote, This is just a short list of a much larger panoply of policy areas that impact agriculture. These stark differences often require specialist legislators who understand this and can help mitigate it.

Former state Sen. Greg Brophy said the proposed Congressional map is a good start, in that it treats rural Colorado as well as he said possible.

I like the concept of having a seat that all of eastern Colorado is in, that doesnt have any part of suburban or exurban parts of the metro area attached, he said.

Brophy said the draft also keeps western Colorado together for a rural district as well. The Legislative maps, he said, were rougher. The committee is forced to make one of two decisions with regard to the state legislative map. The map can either give one large single Senate seat that covers all of eastern Colorado that excludes any exurban areas along the Front Range, or two can be drawn as was done on the staff drawn map that splits eastern Colorado but goes to I-25. This option would likely result in both seats going to legislators along the Front Range.

The same goes for the state House, he said. Do you go for three rural Colorado-influenced seats or two fully eastern Colorado seats?

The district maps are redrawn every 10 years. Brophy said for the past 20 years, the state legislative maps have been gerrymandered to fit Democrats and have been recognized as some of the most heavily gerrymandered maps in the nation.

There have been multiple times since 2001 where Republican candidates for the state House have garnered well over 50% of the total votes statewide but did not achieve 50% plus one of the seats in the legislature, he said. Thats how you know the map is terribly gerrymandered.

For example, under the new commission and amendments, a county like Douglas should not be grouped with eastern Colorado counties, as it doesnt share the economic interests of oil and gas or agriculture.

The Commissions final rounds of virtual public hearings begin Sept. 7-10 for the Congressional Commission and Sept. 17-18 for the Legislative Commission. More information is available at redistricting.colorado.gov.

Read the rest here:

Redrawing the lines: CFB submits maps with ag and amendments top of mind - Fence Post

Ive come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies:1. Anything that is in the world when youre born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.2. Anything thats invented between when youre 15 and 35 is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.3. Anything invented after youre 35 is against the natural order of things.Douglas Adams

For Jill Tipping, that observation by late science fiction author Adams gets at the urgent need to shift our thinking about the B.C. economy and its future.

Tipping is president and CEO of the BC Tech Association, which recently published A New Economic Narrative for British Columbia. The reports thesis: Our economy isnt what we tell ourselves it is. We still cling to the 20th-century image of B.C. as mostly an exporter of natural resources. But in fact, over the past three decades, weve become a knowledge and service-driven economy.

How I would describe the call to action in this report is that its no longer enough to describe that were experiencing economic growth, Tipping says. We actually need to understand the why so that we can understand if its sustainable or not.

The report presents B.C. as a small, open economy at an inflection point in a rapidly changing world. If physical assets drove economic growth, resilience and competitiveness during the previous century, the service economy of the 21st century hinges on intangible assets such as data and intellectual property.

Just look at B.C., where services now account for 75 percent of gross domestic product, 80 percent of jobs and 50 percent of exports. To plan for the future, we have to understand where we came from, but weve got to get our feet grounded in where we are today, Tipping says. I think the conversation continues to be dominated by things that were true 30 years ago but actually arent true today and definitely wont be true tomorrow.

Despite growing affluence in North America, COVID has been a reality check for the world, Tipping notes. So have the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the 2016 election of Donald Trump, which could signal the end of the expansionist, globalist era, she says.

I think today, were sort of at a place of, oh, I dont know, maybe theres more tension in the world than I thought there was, and perhaps the climate crisis is more serious than I thought, and the transition off oil and gas is sooner than I thought, Tipping says.

Economic growth is a good thing, but economic growth that doesnt drive increased shared prosperity is going to be a challenging thing, she adds. And economic growth thats based on industries that might be grandfathering or not growing as fast as they once did isnt as good as economic growth thats driven by industries that are globally growing and going to be sustainable sources of economic growth for the next 30 to 50 years.

On that note, Tipping sees opportunity for B.C., whose technology industry keeps spilling over into other sectors. Adjacent industries are becoming tech industries, and every industry is becoming tech, she says. As a consequence of that, its going to be a growing share of jobs.

The provincial government projects that from 2019 through 2029, professional, scientific and technical services will see 2.5-percent annual job growth. But based on recent member surveys, BC Tech expects that category to expand by 10 to 15 percent annually during the same periodgenerating 88,000 more jobs than the government forecast of 98,800.

Thats good news, but when it comes to measuring the economic impact of the tech sector, were still using 20th-century methods, the report maintains. For example, the current North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) doesnt separate technology and digital businesses from professional, scientific and technical services. At the same, time theres little provincial and federal data on B.C. services exports.

Talking to civil servants at both levels of government, Tipping has found them interested in gathering better data. Its a challenge to find the time and the money and the teams to invest in the new, she says. But I do think theres a shared understanding of the challenge and the need to adjust to this question.

To help shape the new economic narrative, BC Tech lays out three steps. First and foremost is to really embrace data, Tipping says. Lets understand todays economy, because we dont have enough information is what is driving 80 percent of our economy.

With that in mind, Tipping would like to see the provincial government make use of her organizations report as it develops a new economic plan due this fall. Were hoping to be influential as part of that on the kinds of questions that need to be asked and answered, and specifically with a focus on the data capture piece.

But her bigger ambition is to change the conversation, so that hopefully, three years from now, it isnt the case that 80 percent of the jobs get 5 percent of the conversation, she says. Thats something thats a longer-term play, but even the way the report has been received so far and the conversations weve had so far, I am pleasantly surprised by the interest that were getting within government as well as in wider society.

Step 2: Face reality. Lets just understand that technology innovation isnt a choice, it isnt an option anymore. Its a fact, and its been a fact for 20 years, and its what is driving prosperity and growth globally, she says. Sometimes I think in B.C., its seen as icing on the cakeor, If we have time for that, we will. Its the cake, OK? Its become the cake.

And Step 3? There are three priorities in this new economic narrative, and they are talent, talent and talent, Tipping says. We must stop seeing people as a cost or an afterthought. Theyre the fundamental unit and driver of wealth, of prosperity, of growth. And if we invest in people, whether thats through education or infrastructure or their ideas or their entrepreneurship or their innovation about new ways to create value for old industries, whether its in B.C. or elsewhere, its the easiest money you could possibly make.

Having previously spent several years with energy multinational Schneider Electric as VP operations and CFO of its solar business, Tipping knows about making money the hard way. It is a really tough business, she says. Its constantly focused on taking costs out. You will win in the energy business if you have the lowest-cost, most consistently efficient supplier.

The drivers of the talent economy are completely different, Tipping notes. You will win in the talent economy if you enable creativity and innovation and fast business cycles, and constant nourishment and enrichment and bringing in new ideas and products.

Working in that new economy is more enjoyable, too, she says. Its more fun to earn your living in something thats sustainably profitable and constantly interested in new ideas.

The BC Tech report also highlights the changing nature of economic competitiveness, which sees taxes play a smaller role than intangible assets, innovation and investment in people.

I would say weve moved from a time when capital was constrained to a time when talent is constrained, Tipping says. In other words, human labour and talent have become the scarce resource. If you optimize for that resource, you will be a winner and a success in todays economy and the future.

Given its strong education and health-care systems, and the fact that generally speaking, its a safe and welcoming society, B.C. should be far ahead in that department, Tipping reckons. Its a bit hokey to say it, but if we can get as good as mining whats in peoples minds as we were at mining whats in the ground, thats the source of value for the future.

For Tipping, it comes back to what she calls the infrastructure of the people economyeducation and re-skilling, but also affordable housing and good public transit.

Its important to have a stable and predictable environment, she says. But maybe thats not the most important thing anymore. The most important thingand this is certainly what I believeis to be a great place for human talent to thrive. And if you are optimized for that, then industry and post-secondaries and governments and all players in the economy will find themselves with the wind at their backs.

Originally posted here:

The B.C. economy has fundamentally changed. Are we ready for tomorrow? - BCBusiness

Investing In Our Greatest Resource

By Governor Pete Ricketts

August 31, 2021

Governors official photohere.

Over the past year, Nebraskas economy has been booming, creating more and more great opportunities here in the Good Life. We currently have the lowest unemployment rate in the nation at 2.3%. That equals our states lowest rate ever and is less than half of the national unemployment rate of 5.4%. According to Local Area Unemployment Statistics from the Nebraska Department of Labor, 92 of our 93 counties have an unemployment rate at or below 2.7%. Statewide, our manufacturing employment is above pre-pandemic levels and has reached its highest point since the Great Recession (October 2008).

Job opportunities abound. The States job site (NEworks.nebraska.gov) listed over 49,000 open positions on August 29th. WalletHub recently ranked Nebraska as the #2 state in the U.S. to find a job, and it named Lincoln and Omaha as the top two cities in the nation bouncing back the strongest from coronavirus. While this strong growth has led to plenty of opportunities, it also presents a challenge for businesses that are looking to grow. Companies are having difficulty hiring people to fill all of the jobs theyre creating.

To address this, were taking steps to help Nebraskans get the skills and education needed to take the great-paying jobs being created in our state. Were approaching this in a strategic way by building a talent pipeline to help prepare students for high-wage, high-demand careers here in Nebraska. Our pipeline starts in middle school with the Developing Youth Talent Initiative (DYTI), which familiarizes kids with jobs in fields like engineering or manufacturing. This summer, we awarded our latest round of DYTI grants to Behlen Manufacturing Company in Columbus and Great Plains Health in North Platte.

After participating in DYTI, students can take part in a career academy at the high school level. These academies provide hands-on learning experiences, job shadowing, and mentoring to further prepare students for professional life. High school graduates can then apply for Nebraska Career Scholarships. These scholarships help offset tuition for college students in fields of study, such as engineering and IT, where theres a big need for skilled professionals. Earlier this year, I worked with the Legislature to expand the Career Scholarship program to private colleges and universities. This brings the total number of career scholarships to at least 2,110 by 2023.

In addition to these programs, were partnering with local companies to offer a variety of apprenticeships to studentsboth in high school and college. Since January 2020, the number of Registered Apprenticeships has grown by 14 percent with 1,511 new apprentices enrolled. These apprenticeships give students the opportunity to gain on-the-job skills, while simultaneously earning income and coursework credits. Earlier this month, I joined CLAAS for the grand opening of their innovative new training academy, which offers German-style apprenticeships in west Omaha. Its part of the Industry Consortium for Advanced Technical Training (ICATT) program created by the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest. Based on the German dual-education philosophy, ICATT apprentices gain valuable workplace knowledge while studying for industry certifications and an associate degree in their chosen field.

Some companies are blending a variety of strategies to recruit the next generation of Nebraskans to work for them. Reinke Manufacturing in Deshler is a great example of a Nebraska business that has proactively invested locally to build its workforce. A two-time DYTI award recipient, Reinke has used the grants to educate students on coding and robotics. Before working with DYTI, Reinke launched a welding program at Deshler High School and donated the equipment used to train students over a decade ago. The manufacturer has also funded scholarships at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture (NTCA) and contributed a GPS-equipped center pivot for use in NTCAs field laboratory. This long-term engagement with area schools is exactly whats needed for companies to meet their demand for talent.

As we work to recruit and retain the talent businesses need to grow, we are also pursuing strategies beyond the classroom. Military service members have valuable skills they learned while on active duty, and they add immense value to our businesses and nonprofits as they pursue a new career in civilian life. In recent years, weve taken a number of steps to make Nebraska a more attractive home for them and for their families. This year, I successfully worked with the Legislature to pass LB 387, which provides a 100% tax exemption on military retirement benefits. In April, we announced the Veterans SkillBridge. Overseen by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, the program creates connections between Nebraska employers and military members during their final 180 days of service, giving participants a chance to explore the best fit for their specific talents and interests after transitioning out of military service. This spring, we also launched the Military Spouse Transition Program to help military spouses moving to Nebraska identify job opportunities in state government. Additionally, I signed legislation this year to make it quicker and easier for military spouses licensed in another state to obtain a teaching permit after moving to Nebraska. These are just a few of the steps we have taken.

To keep our growth going, we will find innovative ways to develop our people so they can take some of the thousands of great-paying jobs right here in Nebraska. If you have questions about the States workforce initiatives, or any other matter, please email pete.ricketts@nebraska.gov or call 402-471-2244. The Good Life is powered by the hard work of our people, and well continue to provide the tools and training Nebraskans need to achieve their dreams.

###

More here:

Investing In Our Greatest Resource | Office of Governor Pete Ricketts - Governor Pete Ricketts