Government Can't Spur Business Growth

Well, they can by lowering taxes and offering goodies like tax credits. But often what happens is businesses locate here, take the money and then leave a few years down the road because few of them want to deal with the taxes, regulations and unnecessary language burdens that often come with hefty fines. They size up the business model and climate and take off. Much like how they're escaping California.

Instead, what I'm referring to is the notion that city planners can move business like they're pieces on a chess board. Montreal does this better than most cities given its communistic tendencies. Politicians in the city actually believe they are part of the solution when in fact they should step aside. They can't seem to understand few people are gonna calculate putting down capital only to deal with the excessive and coercive arm of bureaucrats.

Whenever they say 'We believe this will lead to more growth' is misleading since bureaucrats don't know the first thing about what drives business; consumer demand, laws of supply and demand etc.

All they know is ham-fisted, one-size fits all planning and regulating.

In order words, people have it exactly backwards. It's not government planning that leads to a healthy business environment, it's a free, entrepreneurial class that does that.