The City of Greensboro is ponying up considering incentives for Honda Aircraft. Next up Guilford County commissioners, where Billy Yow says he will vote against even holding a public hearing:
“I think HondaJet is a very viable company and they’re an appreciated company in this area,” Yow said. “But they’re going to put this here anyway. They’re so invested right now in Guilford County that it wouldn’t be feasible for them to leave and do it somewhere else.”
Yow said if Honda does create more than 400 jobs, it’s unlikely many would go to locals.
“Local businesses are shutting down, but we’re talking about giving money to these big corporations to bring in people from somewhere else,” Yow said.
Yow said he’s generally against incentives, but he especially doesn’t like companies that have already received incentives coming back for more.
The N&R editorializes, saying “during its relatively brief tenure in Greensboro, Honda has been nothing less than impressive,” adding “like the workforce. They like the proximity to the FedEx hub and PTI Airport. And they like the room to grow here.”
I guess what bothers me about these incentives deals is the mainstream media and some public officials portray make it out to be some sort of love affair between the area and the company.
Yet Honda sure doesn’t mind playing Greensboro off other cities, which it refuses to reveal. And is it any coincidence that they had a big media tour of its aircraft plant a week before making its incentives request?
