If we want big names in the high tech industry to move to Montana- stick with no sales tax, and get away from having any sort of business equipment tax. That’s just some of what I heard during our show with Helena native Dean Roberts, an Army veteran who now works as the Senior Program Manager for Facebook’s Global Logistics Group.
We had a must-hear discussion about Montana jobs, high tech businesses, and what it is like to work at Facebook. (Bottom line: Dean says the movie The Internship looks conservative compared to what it actually looks like at Facebook)
Click here (pt. 1) and here (pt. 2) to listen to the full show on our podcast page.
Joining us in the second half of the show with some live music was Plentywood, Montana native Jason DeShaw. DeShaw is teaming up with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Montana on a statewide concert series promoting mental health awareness.
Incredible show today w/ @Facebook ‘s Dean Roberts (Helena native) & live music w/ Jason DeShaw. #MTPol #MTNews pic.twitter.com/dTNzVdEbCD
— Aaron Flint (@aaronflint) May 1, 2015
Video clip from Jason DeShaw’s appearance on Voices of Montana:
Billings folks, get out and see Plentywood’s Jason DeShaw tonight at West High 7pm. He’s teaming up with Blue Cross & Blue Shield to raise mental health awareness.
Posted by Aaron Flint on Friday, May 1, 2015
Earlier, I also spoke with Don Gimbel, who manages $8 billion out of his Paradise Valley home office. You can find that discussion on our podcast page for a limited time as well.
One of the things that stood out to me as I saw the news that economic growth basically came to a halt in the latest quarter was the impact of the slowdown in the Bakken and the rest of the oil patch across the US.
Then The Wall Street Journal editorial board released this: The Slow-Growth Fed; The economy starts another year with a stall despite near-zero rates.
Business investment was especially disappointing, with nonresidential spending falling 3.4%. The jolt to the oil patch from lower oil prices looks to be a big part of this story. Fixed investment in nonresidential structures—including wells and the like—fell by 23.1%, taking minus-0.75% off growth for the quarter.
This decline underscores how much the shale oil boom has underpinned whatever growth the U.S. has had during the Obama years. Without Texas and North Dakota—their economic output, not electoral votes—the President might never have been re-elected.
But now the economic adjustment to lower prices is spreading from the oil patch at least until supplies ebb, prices go back up, and drilling resumes. If Mr. Obama wants that to happen faster, he’ll use his (legitimate) executive authority to lift the ban on U.S. oil exports. The only reason not to do so is fealty to the anti-fossil-fuel left.