The Journal marks the two-year anniversary of operations at the taxpayer-supported Dell plant. The Journal marked the anniversary at this time last year, and, unfortunately, it appears that not much has changed. Incentives supporters are still wishing and hoping for the jobs to come flocking.
Which is not to say that the other taxpayer-supported shoe isn’t about to drop:
Peter Tourtellot, the managing director of Anderson Bauman Tourtellot Vos & Co., said that the Dell deal so far “has to be viewed as a good deal for all concerned” because it has lived up to its commitment.
“Would Dell have considered the Triad if FedEx was not building a new distribution hub at the airport?” Tourtellot said. “My guess is Dell would not be here if FedEx was someplace else.
“Will Dell influence others to come, and are they coming because of the combination of Dell and FedEx? The early signs are yes, and that combination alone makes investment in Dell worthwhile.”
Then there’s Google, which is eligible for $268 million in incentives for its $600 million data center near Lenoir. Gubernatorial candidate Bob Orr points to the “slippery slope” that greased that deal:
“I can assure you that Google was very much aware of what Dell had received and used it as a benchmark for its negotiations with the state and local economic officials,” Orr said.
Which brings us back to Tuesday’s N&R lead editorial on RF Micro’s decision to expand in Greensboro in spite of Guilford County commissioners’ denial of economic incentives:
The commissioners gambled that Greensboro’s inherent advantages over potential rivals were more important than a million dollars to a local company with $1 billion in 2007 revenues. They put down a winning bet.
But city and state officials weren’t wrong to believe that their offers made a critical difference. If everyone said no, it’s possible RF Micro would have said no, too.
That could have meant losing more than a $103 million investment and 300 jobs, most in skilled manufacturing positions. Rejection would risk alienating an established, good corporate citizen that has thrived in the Greenshoro/Guilford business climate to the point of employing nearly 2,000 workers. The signal, broadcast across the country, maybe around the world, would be that the climate has changed. If RF Micro found better locations for its new operations, other companies considering Guilford County might conclude they should look elsewhere, too.
It’s real easy to turn that argument on its head and say the message being broadcast across the country, maybe around the world (gasp) is ‘come to North Carolina, particularly the Triad, to get economic incentives.’ I’m not sure how much stock people take in the N&R’s opinions, but if they keep buying into “local governments in partnership, using common strategies to produce results that benefit the entire region,” then the slope will keep getting slipperier.
*Yes, that’s a word.
