On the other hand, they didn’t get a shopping center.
As ludicrous as that sounds, Goodyear has done just that in Akron, Ohio according to a report found on CNSNews.com. Not only is the city of Akron building a high end shopping center to further entice the tire giant to stay put, they are poised to seize twenty private homes by eminent domain if they have to, in order to get the land to do it.
The mayor of Akron is quoted as saying, “One
of the things they (Goodyear) need is a neighborhood that they’re located in – not
just the building itself -but the neighborhood they are located in
that’s one where they can attract people from around the world.”
Goodyear has never said they were leaving (sound familar?), has cut their workforce from 25,000 to 3,000 (okay, per the NC deal they can only reduce their workforce here by 20% but familar enough, right?) and they have made the business decision to spend a bunch of money to upgrade their facility which will benefit their business (again, sound familar to the $200 million promise in Fayetteville?)
In the Ohio deal, we hear the same tired excuses for handing out corporate welfare to these huge international companies we’ve heard in North Carolina: Other companies have left or closed, Goodyear might too; it’s all for economic development/urban renewal/job creation; other states are making offers; this is a new engine for business development. The lame excuses don’t sound any better coming from Ohio.
The North Carolina Great Tire Giveaway was the most egregious misuse of taxpayer money in our state’s history. At least we’re not taking private property away from taxpayers to give it to corporations to build high end shopping centers as part of the deal.
But is that next?
(HT DW)
