Survey finds Kansas most business-friendly

The Kansas Department of Commerce and Kansas communities have a new tool to encourage the location and expansion of businesses in Kansas.

A new survey shows Kansas is the most business-friendly state in the nation. The Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, based in San Francisco, conducted the survey for Forbes magazine. The study will be published in the August issue of Forbes.

To capitalize on the news, the Kansas Department of Commerce is sending the Pacific Research Institute study to site-selection consultants throughout the country who help businesses make decisions about where to expand or establish new facilities.

Kansas’ No. 1 ranking is based on a comparison of 143 variables, including tax rates, state spending, income redistribution, tort laws, right-to-work and wage laws, occupational licensing, environmental regulations and the number of government agencies.

Technology

Spam entices a few

We all profess to despise spam, but some Americans have a dirty little secret about junk e-mail: It works on them.

According to a Yahoo! Mail global survey of about 37,000 Internet users in 11 countries, 20 percent of U.S. residents admit buying products from spam purveyors. About 78 percent said they deleted spam.

In Japan, by contrast, people deluged with junk e-mail are more active. Almost half of e-mail users said they send spammers angry replies to express their displeasure.

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