What the crap?!!  What is going to take to keep these jobs in Iowa?

Lower the corporate tax rate.

more corporate wellfare. and lots of it

this is a really complex issue.  while the corp tax rate here is terrible, the sales tax is not.  go enjoy lower corp taxes in another state and you'll enjoy 10% sales tax.  those two in nearly all states go hand in hand.  so while we get dinged for a more hostile corp environment, corporations know that none of them operate without people and the people have a lesser burden in state like iowa.  it doesn't completely offset, but it does balance overall.

we have a two prong employee problem.  the first is long standing with union 'never give an inch' mentality and frankly, when times are tough you need to bleed a little bit together.  both the corp fat cats and the button pusher on the line that rolled up on his new harley for work should take part in this, but that rarely happens...  the other thing we're facing is just as bad, if not worse...  our iowa work force of smart, hard working, dedicated folks is being slowly watered down.  this is symptomatic of our culture and folks don't want to actually work as much, along with the fact we're having more folks move in that aren't interested in work.  so we've got home grown lazy asses and imported lazy asses.  neither are good...

i can remember driving by maytag in newton while all those guys cried like babies to get a monster slice of the piece each year and seeing row after row of beautiful bikes...  it was like it was a daily v twin rally around there...  the whole time i couldn't for the life of me figure out why they said they had it so bad when i knew it'd be ten years before i'd ever be able to buy a bike like that...  i worked longer, more hours, and at a less desirable job, yet i didn't bawl like a bottle calf over it...  

work efficiency, productivity, $$$, etc. can all be overcome, but if your single most important resource (your employees) aren't genuine, you can't run a business with success.  say what you want about mexican cheap labor.  you'd be right...  but they show up for work in mexico and if they don't there is a line a block long to take that spot...

It's not always about lean times or even lazy workers.
The workers and union were informed about this on Monday.

Labor cost are only a small part of the issue.
Health care, taxes, and other factors also play a role.


Lennox International Reports Record Quarterly Profit in Second Quarter
Revenue up 9%, led by 16% growth in Residential

Adjusted EPS from continuing operations of $1.31, up 34%

GAAP EPS from continuing operations of $1.26, up 31%

Raising 2013 revenue growth guidance range from 3-6% to 6-8%

Raising 2013 adjusted EPS from continuing operations guidance range from $3.25-$3.55 to $3.45-$3.75


http://www.lennoxinternational.com/

Also seer rating requirements are changing with the north having higher  standards while the lower seer rated furnace can be produced and sold in the south.

Under the agreement (see Attachment 1), the U.S. is divided into 3 regions: (1) the north, comprising states with population-weighted heating degree days (HDD) equal to or greater than 5000; (2) the south, comprising states with population-weighted HDD less than 5000; and the southwest (see Attachment 2). The proposed consensus federal minimum energy efficiency standards are shown in Table 1. In the north, most furnaces will be required to have an efficiency of 90%. This is a change from the current national standard of 78%.