Published by FOX Business | June 4, 2022
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte acknowledged there are housing and other challenges that come with growth in population
States like Montana, Idaho and Utah have been growing at a faster rate than much of the rest of the country, which political and business leaders in Montana attributed to both the lifestyle, business environment and politics of the state.
“As people are looking for places to live, they’re looking for a quality of life, but also quality leadership from government officials,” Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., told Fox Business. “They see that in Montana.”
“When you see the increasingly heavy hand of big government in coastal states like California, New York, Washington, the American people are yearning for freedom, they’re yearning for a quality of life as well as quality of leadership,” he added.
According to Pew, Montana was the third-fastest growing state between July 2020 and July 2021, behind Idaho and Utah. Seventeen states saw population decreases over the year, including New York, California, Hawaii and Illinois.
At the “Montana on the Rise” economic summit, co-hosted by Daines and the Montana Chamber of Commerce, Bill Moseley, the CEO of GL Solutions, said that the regulatory policies in Montana are “outstanding,” comparing them to policies in states like Oregon, where they “regulate everything.”
“Montana is open for business with a pro-business policy. We have many entrepreneurs who are moving here. We are removing the friction, we’re lowering the taxes, we’re reducing regulations.”
–Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte
Will Lansing, the CEO of FICO, noted that “pro-business environment is huge, and it is not that way everywhere in the country.”
Growth in states like Montana, though, is not without its pains. Former U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, a Democrat who represented Montana in the U.S. Senate for 35 years, said the feel of the state has somewhat changed.
Gianforte also acknowledged the workforce and housing challenges that have come along with a quickly-growing population.
