States that want to get off the “economic incentives merry-go-round” should look to Ireland for an alternative engine to drive economic growth. Here is a sample of the policies that worked in Ireland from an NRO article you can read here.
To begin, the obvious: In 1986, Ireland slashed spending in areas such
as health expenditures, education, agricultural spending, roads and
housing, and the military, while abolishing agencies such as the
National Social Services Board, the Health Education Bureau, and
regional development organizations. By 1993, government non-interest
spending declined to 41 percent of GNP, down from a high of 55 percent
of GNP in 1985. Subsequently, it significantly lowered corporate tax
rates to 12.5 percent, at a time when the lowest corporate rates in
Europe were 30 percent and U.S. rates stood at 35 percent. Since 2004,
Ireland also has offered a 20 percent tax credit on research and
development.
A similar decrease in NC’s corporate tax rate would be from 6.9 percent to about 2 percent. I wonder how many jobs that would create?
