48•
ON THE PVF PULSE PVF Pulse (Continued from page 46.) Science, mathematics and engineer-
ing degrees will represent the best fu- ture opportunities for successful job placement and promotion in the ever- expanding technological economy forthcoming in the emerging and devel- oping world sectors alike. Although many observers are waiting
for China’s miraculous growth to col- lapse, it continues to surge unabated at a near double digit annual growth rate. With the world’s odds-on leading sur- plus of financial liquidity, its current and growing 5% inflation is no surprise but
Most surprising is North Dakota’s attraction of high tech
graduates, due to the success of Great Plains
Software...also located in the state are such
biotech firms as Aldevron, which manufactures protein for bio-medical research. Others are also starting to proliferate.
neither is the fact that its highly efficient, if amoral, capitalism, is not burdened by lobbyists, law suits and the constant po- litical infighting that has become the in- creasing hallmark of the developed world, especially the U.S. The best ad- vice for future educational success un- equivocally dictates the acquisition of technical and creative skills for students and teachers alike.
North Dakota — exemplar of a realistic U.S. future It would seem curious to most that
one of America’s most barren and un- derpopulated states (672,000) would become the exemplar of what’s most impressive in today’s Obamacratic- dominated United States. In a superbly-crafted Wall street Jour-
nal article by writer Joel Kotkin, the sta- tistics speak for themselves loud and clear. Key to the unlikely surge of afflu- ence being enjoyed by the state’s fulfilled inhabitants is the largest land-based oil potential, recently developed — the in- creasingly publicized Bakken Belt. It is centered around a small-sized commu- nity, Williston, which has seen more mo-
bile vans than homes lately to accommo- date the necessary employment pool. This belt of shale oil, increasingly prof- itable at today’s prices, also extends into Montana and the provinces of Alberta and Manitoba in Canada. As a result of such intense energy de-
velopment activity, unemployment is down to an incredible 3.8% level, af- fording North Dakota the best job mar- ket potential in this country. As if the blessing of such new oil
wealth were not enough, the state en- compasses heavy coal supplies and ranks ninth in the country in wind-gen- erated electricity. With coal benefitting from worldwide demand, this former farm-dominated state is also experienc- ing record agricultural export sales but now employs only 7.2% of its work- force in that once dominant sector. Most surprising is North Dakota’s at-
traction of high tech graduates, due to the success of Great Plains Software, founded in the 1980s and sold to Mi- crosoft in 2001 for $1.1 billion. The firm now employs 1,000 persons. Also located in the state are such biotech firms as Aldevron, which manufactures
•THE WHOLESALER® — JUNE 2011
protein for bio-medical research. Oth- ers are also starting to proliferate. In addition to all the supplemental
benefits of such largesse, North Dakota enjoys one of the nation’s highest me- dian incomes and business activity at the wholesale and retail level that would be the envy of just about any of the other states in the Union. The entrepreneurial drive that is
springing up in all corners of North Dakota in a multitude of sectors could be a promising forerunner of such states as Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsyl- vania, whose government leadership is now concentrating on the development of new entrepreneurial businesses to displace the vacuum left by the shrink- ing of the once huge automotive and construction sectors. By the way, North Dakota is a right-
to-work state, with low taxes and a minimum of government interference, either from federal or state agencies.n
Morris R. Beschloss, a 55-year vet-
eran of the pipe, valve and fitting indus- try, is PVF and economic analyst emeritus for The WholesaleR.
See contact information on page 86 • Be sure to visit
www.thewholesaler.com for web exclusive articles and videos! •
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