Every corporate welfare package is a little different.  Each one has it’s own little quirks.  This one, as reported by Triangle Business Journal, is particularly clever.

Initially, this sounds pretty typical.  Corning Optical is getting a little over $3 million in various state and local grants to expand an existing facility and add 100 jobs.  That’s bad, but not unusual.  I’ve written about similar situations in Durham, Burlington, Vance County, Forsyth County, Kannapolis

But here’s where it gets almost laughable.  According to that same TBJ piece:

In this case, Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) is giving back to Hickory after deciding earlier this year to relocate its Optical Communications headquarters to Charlotte from Catawba County. That move, which is expected to be carried out by the end of 2018, means Charlotte will get 650 headquarters jobs, 500 of which will come from Hickory.

So Corning is going to move 500 corporate jobs out of Hickory, and it’s getting $3 million to replace them with 100 jobs at their production facility.  Really?