State employees go to Paris

[RecycleMichael]

AP Exclusive: Oklahoma spends $84,000 on Paris Air Show

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press
Published: 10/5/2011 

OKLAHOMA CITY — As Oklahoma wrapped up a fiscal year that saw deep budget cuts, four state officials were sent to the Paris Air Show for a week this summer to promote Oklahoma's aviation industry — and it cost taxpayers $84,000, records show.


Oklahoma taxpayers footed the bill for $400-a-night hotel rooms at a luxury Paris hotel, $188 daily meal per diems and more than $3,000 in air fare, according to a review of receipts obtained by The Associated Press through an open records request. Oklahoma was one of at least 14 states represented at the show, which was promoted as the world's premier event for the aerospace industry.

Gov. Mary Fallin did not attend the show but defended Oklahoma's participation, calling it a "legitimate investment" because of the state's burgeoning aerospace industry and the associated potential for economic development.

"It's costly, certainly, to go to an international travel show and to participate, but it is one of the most prestigious aerospace industry shows in the world," Fallin said. "The aerospace industry is very important to Oklahoma's economy, and it's been one of our leading industries for a long time. It generates $11 billion of economic output to the state."

But critics questioned why the state would spend any taxpayer money on a trip to Paris, especially at a time when state coffers had been decimated by the national recession. "I think it's nonsense for the state of Oklahoma to have to go and promote capitalism," said state Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City. "If aerospace is big to Oklahoma, I would think it would be important for those particular companies that represent aerospace in Oklahoma to go to the Paris Air Show and send their employees, instead of sending employees of the state of Oklahoma."

While it's not uncommon for state commerce officials to send delegations to trade shows across the country, or even international events, such junkets invariably raise eyebrows given the state's tough fiscal climate in which public funding has been slashed for education, health care and public safety. This was the first time in 10 years that Oklahoma had sent a delegation to the Paris Air Show, according to a Department of Commerce spokesman.

"There's no doubt it's a cost, but we'd like to look at it in terms of an investment, because we're expecting a result in return," said Oklahoma's Secretary of Commerce Dave Lopez, who did not attend the event but sent three of his employees on the trip.
"Even though the $84,000 investment on this air show is considerable, if we determine that it brings even a few dozen jobs to Oklahoma, it will be worthwhile."

Oklahoma's four-person state delegation included three Department of Commerce employees and Fallin's Secretary of Technology, Stephen McKeever, who also serves as vice president for research and technology transfer at Oklahoma State University. McKeever, who spent five days in Paris, also traveled to the United Kingdom for several days after the show in his role as director of the university's Multispectral Lab. Several private Oklahoma-based aerospace companies, along with a delegation from chambers of commerce in Ardmore and Oklahoma City, also participated in the show and reimbursed the state for nearly half of the $154,000 total cost.

Some of the costs included $65,000 for the construction of a booth and space at the event, $25,000 to "develop leads" and $13,500 for marketing materials such as banners and brochures.

Records show that the four state employees spent about $400 each night at the luxurious Le Meridien Etoile Hotel in the heart of Paris and were reimbursed $188 each day for meals in the city, which has one of the highest foreign per diem rates in the world.

Although the Oklahoma delegation scheduled a total of 35 meetings with "potential investors" and hosted a reception with nearly 75 industry leaders, the Department of Commerce could provide no direct evidence that the state's participation in the show resulted in the creation of new jobs in Oklahoma. "It's hard to point to any one event and say that closes a deal," Lopez said. "You make initial contacts. You exchange information. It's not the kind of thing where there's an immediate cause and effect."

Aerospace in Oklahoma is responsible for 150,000 jobs connected to the industry, and includes Tinker Air Force Base — the state's largest single-site employer — and the American Airlines Maintenance and Engineering Center in Tulsa, which employs 7,000 people, according to the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission.

Another 5,000 workers are employed at the Federal Aviation Administration's Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City. Despite the important impact of the industry on Oklahoma's economy, many policy makers reject the idea that the state has a role in creating jobs.

"The government's role is to leave people alone so that they can get to work, through less regulation and reasonable taxation, and to reward incentive and not punish manufacturing and innovation," said state Sen. Steve Russell, R-Oklahoma City. "When the government sees its role as somehow being a CEO of hiring, I think we begin to lose our way.

"It seems to me that much of this could be privately funded rather than put it on the state itself to pay for it."

[RecycleMichael]

65 thousand dollars to construct a booth and 13.5 thousand dollars for banners and brochures?

4 employees cost us 84 thousand dollars...

How can anyone justify that much money?

[Townsend]

65 thousand dollars to construct a booth and 13.5 thousand dollars for banners and brochures?

4 employees cost us 84 thousand dollars...

How can anyone justify that much money?

Prob thought they could hide it.

I like the $400.00 a night hotel rooms.

[Conan71]

Oh, I thought we paid $84,000 to see Paris Hilton naked.  I was really going to be outraged since you can see that for free on the interwebs.

[Gaspar]

Well, we do have the only Unmanned Aerial Systems training facility in the country, and we build drones.  Perhaps that was of interest to the dozens of other delegations present.  We will have to see what the payoff is. 

We've made these same marketing investments several times before.  They are hit and miss. 

Too soon to see if this was a bomb (no pun).

With our new international notoriety for vaporizing people with unmanned aircraft, we may have been the bell of the ball!

[Gaspar]

Interesting special on channel 6 about this last night.  Apparently the trip has so-far returned a $1 million dollar contract to an Oklahoma City aerospace manufacturing firm, and a similar contract to a Tulsa firm called Southwest United Industries, Inc.

. . .and there are more contracts in the works.

Looks like it was a good investment.


Seems far better than when Gov. Henry went to China. 

[DTowner]

Prob thought they could hide it.

I like the $400.00 a night hotel rooms.

That's really not close to the high end for a Paris hotel.

[Townsend]

That's really not close to the high end for a Paris hotel.

We just got back a few months ago.  Ours weren't $400 and they were nice rooms.

[DTowner]

This type of story is always good to rouse the rabble, but then the rabble complain when governtment isn't doing enough to "create jobs."  Usually the success of such promotional efforts are hard to quantify, but it sounds like some direct success came from it.  I was more disturbed that it does not a appear anyone from Tulsa's Chamber of Commerce was part of the delegation.

[DTowner]

We just got back a few months ago.  Ours weren't $400 and they were nice rooms.

So, if these 4 people had only spent $300 a night for hotel rooms you would be ok with the trip?

[Townsend]

So, if these 4 people had only spent $300 a night for hotel rooms you would be ok with the trip?

That's how you perceived the comment?

Did I outline it with "Other than that, I'm cool with it?"

What's your point?

[Townsend]

This type of story is always good to rouse the rabble, but then the rabble complain when governtment isn't doing enough to "create jobs."  Usually the success of such promotional efforts are hard to quantify, but it sounds like some direct success came from it.  I was more disturbed that it does not a appear anyone from Tulsa's Chamber of Commerce was part of the delegation.

Who has proof that the "success" came directly from their efforts?

I agree things should be tried but $84,000 seems excessive.

[DTowner]

That's how you perceived the comment?

Did I outline it with "Other than that, I'm cool with it?"

What's your point?

It was a question.  You highlighted the nightly hotel charge.  I simply observed that hotels in Paris can be expensive and noted, at least by implication, that the hotel costs were a pretty small fraction of the overall cost.  

[Townsend]

It was a question.  You highlighted the nightly hotel charge.  I simply observed that hotels in Paris can be expensive and noted, at least by implication, that the hotel costs were a pretty small fraction of the overall cost.  

It was an example of something easily made cheaper.

[DTowner]

Who has proof that the "success" came directly from their efforts?

I agree things should be tried but $84,000 seems excessive.

I was referring to Gaspar's comment that some contracts had already been landed.  And no, I don't think, and thought I made clear, that marketing/promotional efforts can usually be tied to success with absolute certainty.  However a lot of companies must think it works as billions of dollars are spent each year promoting products.  I have no idea if $84,000 was excessive or if Oklahoma could have gotten an equal result by only spending $42,000.  I'm all for holding the politicos accountable, but this is a rounding error in government spending that at least was trying to bring more business to our state.  I'd rather see sharper scrutiny directed at the numerous tax credits awarded ove the years that don't seem to be generating any economic benefit to Okla.