Our friend Jeanette Doran of the NC Institute for Constitutional Law penned this op-ed in the N&O on the issue of North Carolina’s economic incentives, and Gov. McCrory’s still vague plan to turn over the state’s incentives programs to a “private non-profit.” Among Doran’s concerns is the issue of transparency: Records of the negotiations aren’t [...]
New Report Shows How Unequal NC’s Tax Code is Structured
The N&O’s Under the Dome provides a quick overview of a report produced by the state legislature’s Fiscal Research Division detailing the state’s “economic development inventory.” The report actually catalogs the estimated amount of tax dollars not collected due to special tax rates granted to certain activities, targeted tax credit programs, General Fund expenditures on “economic [...]
We Got Met, Who Pays?
The old Met Life insurance commercials used to feature the tag line, “Get Met, It Pays.” Yesterday came the announcement that North Carolina landed Met Life expansion projects to be located in Cary and Charlotte – but who pays? Taxpayers, of course. According to reports, Met Life was bribed to the tune of $94 million [...]
About Those Chiquita Jobs Coming to Charlotte….
Courtesy of news aggregator Carolina Plott Hound, we learn that Chiquita Brands International is planning to change their CEO and cut jobs in the wake of falling revenue. Many of you should remember that Chiquita received about $22 million worth of state and local corporate welfare handouts to relocate their headquarters to Charlotte, as a [...]
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 [...]
