As you may recall, I have written before about BUTS; decision makers who vote for corporate welfare using various excuses prefaced by, well I don?t like them, BUT?my district needs jobs, the money will go somewhere and I?d rather have it in my district, the company might go someplace else, and of course, well, all the other states are doing it.
This afternoon The Charlotte Business Journal reports on a recent poll where most North Carolinians say they support corporate welfare IF other states continue to offer them.
The argument, from those of us who think using taxpayer money to bribe select companies to do business in North Carolina is a big waste and instead, believe resources should be directed towards creating a fair playing field for all businesses to compete and succeed, has always been that North Carolina should be a leader and an example to other states. Just because another state uses bad judgment doesn?t mean North Carolina has to or even should.
Not to suggest that the results of this poll might be weighted in any way but it should be noted that the poll was conducted by economic developers, whose job it is to lure companies to North Carolina with taxpayers? money.
Wonder what the poll would look like if they had asked:
?How much more in taxes are you willing to pay so companies like Dell will get money to come to North Carolina??
How much more in property taxes are you willing to pay so companies like Goodyear don?t have to pay theirs??
?How much more are you willing to pay for your electric bill so companies like Google can get a discount on theirs??
?If you own your own business, how much more in taxes are you willing to pay so the government can give that money to your competitor??
By the way, we?ve done a great series on the Economic Development issue which is well worth a visit. See here.
