Gov. Perdue is set to sign into law more central planning of our economy – this time ramping up more tax breaks for (among other things) television and movie studios filming in NC. North Carolina was already in the business of granting tax breaks to such companies, this bill will expand the size of the [...]
- Jul01
Civitas Legislative Report – 7/1
Civitas Institute Budget and Tax analyst Brian Balfour discusses new state budget http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iayzbs-rwfw
- Jun28
That Giant Sucking Sound
Coming from your wallet is the Global TransPark. Profiled yesterday nicely in the N&O. So many great lines in the piece like: “a government project long criticized for receiving lots of taxpayers’ money but having little to show for it” or “it was supposed to attract Spirit suppliers and other aerospace companies to the TransPark” [...]
- May12
Bill Socializes Risk; Hold on to Your Wallets!
Today in the General Assembly, the House of Representatives voted unanimously to not consider HB530, the Life Sciences Development Act, on the floor and send it to a conference committee. Do not be fooled, this legislation will be considered in the halls of the General Assembly sooner rather than later and will expose North Carolinians [...]
- Apr16
Gov. Perdue: A Follower, Not a Leader
This article about Gov. Perdue’s attitude toward corporate welfare economic incentives displays an appalling lack of leadership: “I hate incentives,” said Perdue. “I wish none of the states would have them. But as long as other states have them this governor is going to compete with a full toolbox and that includes incentives.” So the [...]
- Apr05
The Truth on the Hewitt Incentives
Brian wrote last week about the Governor’s office announcing a $4 million incentive package for Hewitt Associates to “create” 463 jobs in Charlotte over the next few years. While that made a nice photo op and press release for the governor, we get the truth of the story today from the Charlotte Business Journal. It [...]
- Feb26
Thank You Dell
Graciously, Dell has decided to keep its doors open until July of this year. You remember Dell, the company that the state gave in excess of $250 million worth of tax incentives and promises to in late 2004 to lure into the state. With only five years gone by since Dell opened its doors here [...]
- Feb09
Corporate Welfare Update
From our good friends over at the NC Institute for Constitutional Law. More taxpayer giveaways: $107,170 in tax incentives grants was approved on Monday, February 1, by the Statesville City Council for an unnamed furniture company to expand its local operations. ~ Jim McNally, Statesville Record & Landmark, February 4, 2010 $100,000 to Commonwealth Brands Inc. [...]
- Feb04
More Corporate Welfare Failure
GMAC just announced it will be closing two offices in Charlotte, eliminating 115 jobs less than a year after their opening. Of course, the majority government-owned GMAC received government subsidies in exchange for their promise to “create” 200 jobs in Charlotte (ah yes, the joys of our “free market”). Gov. Perdue naturally attempted to gain positive exposure [...]
- 1Jan26
Speaking of Incentives…
Following up on Chad’s post, check out this new article at nccivitas.org listing North Carolina’s 10 largest corporate welfare deals. When you begin to add up the promised tax breaks and handouts, the numbers become a bit staggering. The Dell deal tops the list with a total state deal of $260 million (how’d that work [...]
- Jan26
Yet More Incentives. . . And More Jobless. . .
Here’s the latest update from the NC Institute of Constitutional Law on the incentives game that has done NOTHING to help NC’s unemployment rate. $5,560,000 in total possible incentives has been granted to Celgard LLC to expand its Charlotte campus into Concord. The Charlotte-based company develops and produces the specialty membranes used in lithium batteries. The [...]
- Nov03
Site Selection Magazine Rebuttal (Again)
Once again the Governor’s office and NC Department of Commerce feel the need to celebrate the state’s ranking as most likely to give out corporate welfare by Site Selection magazine. And once again, I will point the readers to a piece written by our own Brian Balfour that seriously calls into question these supposed rankings [...]
- Jul16
Anyone Surprised?
Is anyone at all surprised that the Department of Commerce appears to have inflated job creation numbers to paint the best light on the Apple incentives deal? The N&O calls them out: The $1 billion Apple data center headed for western North Carolina will create "more than 3,000 jobs in the regional economy." At least, [...]
- Jul10
The Nine Million Dollar Stimulus Tracker
The nice folks here at Red Clay want you to know that we are looking out for you. The fact that $787 billion of your money is being spent by 537 people who have probably never even met you really troubles us. We think you know how to spend that money better then they do. [...]
- Jun29
Another Incentives Failure
Dell, Google, now Inspiration Networks joins the list of unfulfilled incentive promises. Thankfully, this one is South Carolina's problem, not ours. But it is just one more example of the folly of the incentive game. South Carolina pledged $26 million in incentives to Inspiration Networks, a non-profit religious broadcaster, to move its campus from Charlotte [...]
- 2Jun26
Pork for Super Pier Ad
Here is the first glimpse of something I think you will be hearing a lot more about in the near future:
- Jun24
Money for Jets and Billion-Dollar Corporations, Yes. Teachers, No.
The Governor's office announced yesterday another corporate welfare handout to a multi-billion dollar corporation. This is your tax dollars being spent to bribe a manufacturing giant to "create jobs" here in NC. (I'll leave aside for now the economic truism that government can not "create" jobs) So as the Gov. flies around the state on her [...]
- Jun18
A Bigger Giveaway for Google and Apple?
Under the Dome is reporting that the NC Senate has proposed as part of their finance package increase the sales tax on electricity from its current rate of 3% to the sales tax rate of 6.75%. Basically, a $1 billion tax increase on every household and business in North Carolina. But this gets better… As [...]
- Jun12
Perdue Gives $1 Million to “Bank Terrorist”
While the NC House was busy raising your taxes by $780 million, Governor Bev Perdue was in Charlotte yesterday, giving a $1 million grant from the One North Carolina Fund to a group called the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA). The NACA, while billing itself as "a nationwide nonprofit, community advocacy and home ownership [...]
- 1Jun08
Last Hope for Chrysler Bondholders, Possibly the Bond Market
By 4 p.m. today, the U.S. Supreme Court must decide if it will hear a case for some Chrysler bondholders. This last effort by pensions in the state of Indiana may hold the future for the bond market as a whole. Historically, secured bondholders have had very safe investments because they are first in line [...]