Just last week, I blogged about Chiquita’s decision to cut jobs in spite of receiving millions of dollars in state and local government corporate welfare. On a similar note, many of you will likely recall a major corporate welfare deal struck 5 years ago here in NC, in which the Fayetteville Goodyear plant would receive a [...]
Happy Hour for Politicians, Cronies
The latest corporate welfare scheme coming from Asheville should give everyone a case of “bitter-beer face”: Gov. Bev Perdue today announced that New Belgium Brewing, the third largest craft brewer in the country and the maker of Fat Tire Amber Ale, will build its East Coast brewery in Buncombe County. The company plans to create [...]
Hollywood and Political Elites Laughing All the Way to the Bank (at your expense)
This is just all too predictable. The Wilmington Star-News (courtesy of news aggregator Carolina Plott Hound) today features an article discussing how three state legislators who support tax credits for Hollywood production are personally benefiting from the film production in their district. A warehouse on U.S. 421 owned by state Rep. Danny McComas has been [...]
The Bogus Nature of Corporate Welfare “Job Creation” Claims
Today’s Fayetteville Observer includes my article on the faulty methodology used by our state’s Dep’t of Commerce to tout “new job creation” resulting from corporate welfare programs. A sample: As Jane rejoices over the potential to return to work, she quietly says, “Thank goodness for that economic incentives program. Finally, some real opportunities for a [...]
Crony Capitalism: Local Style
Courtesy of the Cape Fear Patriot blog comes this report of Wilmington City Council engaging in a classic case of crony capitalism. Do you have a piece of property outside of the city limits and the county is refusing to meet your zoning demands? No worries. The Wilmington City Council is apparently for sale, happy [...]
