How can North Dakota attract business and investment by treating everything "out-of-state" as evil?
Anti-"out-of-state" protectionism is built into the DNA of every North Dakotan, and has been the basis for our politics since statehood. It is also a self-inflicted handicap to economic development.
Anyone who knows the history of North Dakota understands that the state has always had a chip on its shoulder when it comes to suspicion of “out-of-state” interests. It goes way beyond xenophobia because it applies to Americans that just happen to be from out of state.
The original NPL (Non-Partisan League) was created because of a legitimate problem at the time caused by bankers and railroads short-changing our farmers - which led to the creation of the state-owned socialist businesses like the State Bank and the State Mill and Elevator.
Our anti-corporate farming laws and our pharmacy ownership laws are examples of how the state legislature and citizens via initiated measures have created a protectionist environment that makes it very difficult for modern business models to exist and threatened “our way of life”.
Our interest rate limitation laws make it difficult for North Dakota businesses to raise out-of-state venture capital - which results in an ever-growing need for “economic de…
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