Introduction to Idaho Investment Guide

The Idaho Investment Guide is an 82-page document ostensibly designed to showcase Idaho's business environment and economic opportunities for all. However, a thorough analysis of all 20 sections reveals a stark and alarming bias towards attracting and supporting large, out-of-state corporations while completely ignoring the needs and contributions of small businesses, particularly those with fewer than 20 employees.

This comprehensive document, produced by the state's leading economic development officials, serves as a damming indictment of Idaho's economic development strategy. Throughout its approximately 25,000 words, the guide consistently and unambiguously prioritizes the interests of large corporations over those of small businesses, which form the backbone of Idaho's economy and employ a significant portion of its workforce.

The opening statement of the document claims to address questions from both employers and employees about career advancement and workforce development. However, this claim is revealed to be deeply misleading as the content unfolds. The guide's relentless focus on attracting large, out-of-state corporations and supporting the expansion of existing big businesses in Idaho stands in stark contrast to the complete absence of any meaningful discussion about small business development or support.

This bias is particularly concerning given the economic reality of Idaho. Small businesses under 20 employees constitute 97.6% of all businesses in the state and account for approximately 54.9% of all private-sector employment. By ignoring this crucial sector, the Idaho Investment Guide effectively disregards half of the state's workforce and the majority of its business establishments.

What's particularly striking about this oversight is how easily it could have been avoided. As our analysis will show, there are numerous straightforward ways to include and support small businesses in economic development strategies. Many of these suggestions don't require significant financial investment but rather a shift in perspective and recognition of small businesses' vital role in the state's economy. The fact that these simple inclusions are absent from such an extensive document suggests a deeply ingrained bias in the state's economic development mindset.

This bias is not limited to the unnamed authors of the document. Strikingly, in the interviews with Governor Brad Little (approximately 1,000 words), Commerce Director Tom Kealey (about 800 words), and various mayors (totaling around 2,000 words), there is not a single mention of small businesses or their role in Idaho's economy. These direct statements from elected officials and appointed leaders demonstrate that the neglect of small businesses extends to the highest levels of state and local government. Even the mayors, who might be expected to champion their local small businesses, align with the state-level focus on big business attraction and retention.

This "Investment Guide" paradoxically fails to consider investment in over half of Idaho's economy. The absence of even cursory mentions of small business support or local economic development strategies in such a lengthy and comprehensive document is not just an oversight – it's a glaring indictment of the state's economic priorities. This document, and by extension the state's economic development strategy, appears to operate under the misguided assumption that what's good for big business is automatically good for all business.

The following analysis of each of the 20 sections of the guide provides irrefutable evidence of this extreme bias. It demonstrates how the state's top leadership, including Governor Brad Little and Commerce Director Tom Kealey, are setting a tone and direction for economic development in Idaho that prioritizes big business interests at the expense of small, local enterprises.