The guy who runs America's favorite gas station empire basically told blue states they're not worth his time.
Arch "Beaver" Aplin III, the founder and CEO of Buc-ee's, showed up to cut the ribbon on his company's brand new Arkansas location in Benton last week and dropped a line so brutal it should come with a warning label. As USA Journal reported, Aplin told the crowd, "I'm starting to realize life's too short to try to build in places that people don't appreciate what you're bringing." That's the CEO equivalent of blocking someone's number and moving on.
Aplin also laid out his expansion strategy with the subtlety of a beaver gnawing through a California redwood. He said he looks for "a conservative, business-friendly state with a phenomenal workforce." So basically the opposite of whatever Sacramento has going on.
For those unfamiliar, Buc-ee's isn't your grandma's gas station. This place has become such an American landmark that a German soccer tourist literally went viral losing his mind over it. The company compensates workers between $17 and $22 per hour depending on position, offers health benefits, and somehow transformed a fuel stop into a full blown tourist destination. They pulled this off without union requirements, without taxpayer handouts, and without cramming corporate buzzwords into their earnings calls.
Meanwhile, California would apparently have them filling out permit applications until the sun burns out. Arkansas? The governor personally celebrated the opening on social media. One state rolls out red tape. The other rolls out the red carpet. Real tough decision there.
And Buc-ee's isn't exactly pioneering this trail alone. The corporate migration from blue states to red ones has become a full on parade. Tesla packed its bags. Oracle bounced. Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Charles Schwab, Chevron, and SpaceX all relocated. Red state incomes have reportedly climbed 40 percent faster than blue state incomes since the year 2000. Every company that leaves makes it easier for the next one to follow, because the available talent pool grows with each departure. It's like a snowball rolling downhill, except the snowball pays $20 an hour and has the cleanest restrooms in North America.
Here's where the comedy writes itself. Gavin Newsom is currently running for president while touting his California track record. The same California that Buc-ee's looked at and essentially said, "Nah, we're good." That's not partisan spin. That's a businessman whose only job is growing a profitable company doing basic math and picking Arkansas.
Aplin called it a simple cost benefit calculation. When the expense of operating in states that treat private enterprise like a nuisance outweighs the advantage of accessing their customers, you go where you're wanted.
"Life's too short." Three words that summarize an entire economic trend. Somewhere in Sacramento, a bureaucrat is reading this while standing in line at a regular gas station with one working pump and no beef jerky wall.
Read more conservative news commentary at: USA Journal News
