Business incentives and a race to the bottom
Earlier today, we pointed to an AJC weekend piece that looked at the $96 million cost of attracting NRC Corp. and its 2,120 new jobs to Georgia:
“It looks like a great deal,” said Jeffrey M. Humphreys, director of the University of Georgia’s Selig Center for Economic Growth. Humphreys analyzed the NCR deal at the request of the AJC.
Ed Kilgore over at the Democratic Strategist, a national web site, begs to disagree:
The sad thing is that Georgia used to be very proud of refusing to engage in race-to-the-bottom competitions to thrown public money at high-visibility corporate relocation projects.
When I was working there in the 1980s, state officials scoffed at our neighbors in Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina for trading years and years of revenues for foreign-owned auto plants who demanded massive concessions in multi-state negotiations.
Indeed, the state’s tradition of resisting special-interest tax breaks was symbolized by a sales tax exemption for purchases of crab bait by commercial fishermen–which was famous because it was the only such exemption that had ever gotten through the state fiscal watchdogs in the General Assembly.
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16 comments Add your comment
booger
June 8th, 2009
3:54 pm
Giving someone a temporary tax break is not spending taxpayer money. If they decide not to come to Ga. the 96 million doesn’t exist.
As to the other incentives, If Obama can call his social wishlist an investment, Surely we can call any incentives to NCR an investment. They will actually hire people and pay salaries from money which wasn’t collected via the IRS.
Will Jones
June 8th, 2009
10:18 pm
Well said Mr Booger
Copyleft
June 8th, 2009
10:21 pm
Genius my man just genius statement from booger. And with all the lottery tickets, booze and
other sinful things the NCR people will buy then our state treasury should be overflowing
with monies to spend on more education, roads and tax breaks. Bravo
Lee
June 9th, 2009
6:08 am
Smoke and mirrors. Politicians like to point to shiny new facilities and say “Look what I brought in.” Meanwhile, companies who have been here for decades, who would like to upgrade their facilities, have to factor in the cost of taxes into the equation.
Hundreds of millions, if not BILLIONS, of tax incentives were given to Kia, Hyundai, Honda, and Mercedes Benz to relocate in the south. Meanwhile, Ford and GM close down their Doraville and Hapeville plants.
Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.
If taxes are the deciding factor between getting a company to locate here or not, maybe that should tell these politicians that they are spending too much.
Might want to work on that first.
Copyleft
June 9th, 2009
8:04 am
More namejacking. The man’s positively obsessed with me! What fun to watch another right-wing meltdown….
Turd Ferguson
June 9th, 2009
9:02 am
The detroit rejects moving to Georgia will make a huge increase in the crime rate.
RGB
June 9th, 2009
2:32 pm
Who the heck cares what a “Democratic strategist” has to say about anything doing with business??
This is what Democrats prefer to focus on:
Check this out below from Barack. If you want to read the entire article or don’t believe it check it out here at the official white house site.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential-Proclamation-LGBT-Pride-Month/
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.
BARACK OBAMA
The AMAZING GodHatesTrash, Superstar
June 9th, 2009
2:37 pm
Georgia won the race to the bottom centuries ago.
A state chock full of bottom-feeding trash.
The AMAZING GodHatesTrash, Superstar
June 9th, 2009
2:39 pm
Poor RGB.
Don’t worry – he’ll have a month for you soon.
“Inbred Cretins’ Month”
Copyleft
June 9th, 2009
5:49 pm
And a big shout out to the New York Senate for pulling the power switch on the Repubs. We liberal
socialist don’t want any free elections that go against us!!!!
What a huge meltdown. The biggest meltdown ever in American politics. You know us socialist
always have to spend more and repress more but even obstruct more!
Viva government control!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Copyleft
June 10th, 2009
8:09 am
Sad, namejacker… just sad. You’re so consumed with impotent hate and your utter failure to handle my arguments at an intellectual level that you’re now reduced to childish namejacking.
I chuckle at your frustration and admission of utter defeat. AGAIN.
Are Incentives Smart Business or Race to the Bottom? - Real Time Economics - WSJ
June 13th, 2009
2:40 pm
[...] following the NCR victory, even some Georgians are wondering if doling out $100 million in incentives is the best way to attract business to their [...]
MortgageMods.org » Blog Archive » Are Incentives Smart Business or Race to the Bottom?
June 13th, 2009
3:07 pm
[...] following the NCR victory, even some Georgians are wondering if doling out $100 million in incentives is the best way to attract business to their [...]
NoteMod.org » Blog Archive » Are Incentives Smart Business or Race to the Bottom?
June 13th, 2009
4:37 pm
[...] following the NCR victory, even some Georgians are wondering if doling out $100 million in incentives is the best way to attract business to their [...]
econoblog.info » Are Incentives Smart Business or Race to the Bottom?
June 13th, 2009
5:57 pm
[...] following the NCR victory, even some Georgians are wondering if doling out $100 million in incentives is the best way to attract business to their [...]
jc
June 18th, 2009
9:53 am
Just another worthless southern state paying out the you know what for a northern born and bred company. Keep up the good work you southern losers! Pay out the you know what to net nothing. The fact you still do this shows you are too dumb to build anything from scratch. After all you jackasses have taken from the North, Ohio is still the seventh largest US economy and in the top twenty of the world’s economies. You see, up here, we are educated and we invent things and they become giant companies. Then in fifty years, you will steal a few and we will replace them with new small ones that grow up to be giant companies. My friends, if you had any inteligent people down there, you wouldn’t keep throwing good money away chasing some northern state’s companies. You instead would grow your own. Imagine that, dumb asses.