Attracting the right kind of people

I'm going to take Tom Emmer at his word. Well, I'm going to take at face value two things he's said.

One, that he wants to "attract high-income individuals and businesses to Minnesota."

Two, that "this election is not about [conservative social] issues, this election is about the economy, and it’s about jobs."

What if I told there was an economic development plan that would increase the in-migration of highly skilled, young, and highly educated workers? Keep in mind that the increasing age of Minnesota's population is consistently cited as a long-term drag on our economy.

That this plan wouldn't require any new government spending, that in fact, it would generate revenue for the state directly through increased fees on this group, who would gladly pay them?

That this plan would not only encourage this relatively young, relatively affluent group to relocate here, but that others in this group would visit as tourists, also swelling the state's coffers through increased sales tax receipts and fees?

And that this plan would not only generate revenue directly, but it would also decrease the number of people eligible for public assistance and increase the number of people on private insurance instead of publicly subsidized health insurance?

Not only that, but that a neighboring state has already adopted this economic development plan, and that we're at risk of losing revenue to this neighboring state?

Would Tom Emmer be for it?

I doubt it.

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