Business is booming in Texas. Here’s how Fort Worth plays a major role

Gov. Abbott: Business is booming in Texas. Here’s how Fort Worth plays a major role

By Gov. Greg Abbott in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

When choosing to relocate its corporate global headquarters from California to Fort Worth, Wesco Aircraft Hardware Corp. recognized the competitive business advantages found only in Texas. And it is in good company.

Texas has earned the Best State for Business title for a record 17 years in a row in an annual survey of chief executives. The nation’s leading CEOs cite our pro-growth economic policies — with no corporate income tax and no personal income tax — along with our young, growing, and diverse workforce, easy access to global markets, robust infrastructure and predictable regulations.

It’s no surprise, then, that four Texas cities, including Fort Worth, are among the nation’s top 10 best cities to start a business.

The business advantages found only in Texas grow more than the bottom line. Freedom from the stranglehold of over-taxation and runaway regulation allows new ideas to flourish here.

As I talk to innovative job creators each week, they point to that freedom and our welcoming business climate as the Texas advantages that allow their companies to grow and their employees to succeed, afford a home and enjoy a high quality of life.

Those unmatched advantages are why “Made in Texas” is such a powerful global brand. Texas has been the top exporting state for 19 years in row and the top tech-exporting state for eight — beating second-place California in both.

Those unique Texas advantages are why the Lone Star State also leads the nation in attracting capital investments and relocation and expansion projects, including 212 new corporate headquarters since 2015. More were announced this year than in any other — and more are yet to come.

And those advantages are why Texas is growing while states such as California, New York and Illinois lost population last year. People vote with their feet, and Texas is a talent magnet.

We’re at 29 million Texans and counting, and almost half of our growth is newly born Texans. They represent a continuing strong workforce, as Texas is by far the stickiest state: More than 8 in 10 born in Texas stay here.

Fort Worth is among the fastest-growing big cities in the U.S. Businesses are drawn to the growing talent pool in North Texas, including the state’s largest concentration of aerospace manufacturing workers.

Wesco is a leader in aerospace supply-chain management now operating as Incora. It joins American Airlines, Bell, Boeing’s Global Services Unit, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, and Southwest Airlines in making its home in Dallas-Fort Worth.

The added presence of Blue Origin, SpaceX, Raytheon and others creates a massive aerospace, aviation and defense hub, with close links to other concentrations in Houston, San Antonio, and Austin.

From aerospace to manufacturing and healthcare, diverse industries are thriving in Fort Worth. Global businesses are attracted by the logistic, economic and workforce advantages of Texas, along with the city’s pro-business leadership and ample room for businesses of all sizes to grow — and succeed.

Across every region of Texas, innovative startups are growing alongside the world’s biggest brands, including nearly 50 Fortune 500 corporate headquarters.

We are seeing increasing business investments in our urban centers as well as our smaller communities. And our local, regional and statewide economic development teams continue to partner to develop existing local business, attract new companies and retain the talent that fuels continuing economic expansion.

There are more than 29 million reasons why Texas works. And one Texas advantage tops them all: We want businesses to do well in Texas because when businesses succeed, all Texans succeed.

https://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/other-voices/article255746291.html