Peoria, according to PP, is trying to snag some European aeronautics operation.
With 70 communities "lobbying" to be the site for this thing, you can be
sure there's a whole bunch of tax incentives and other freebies being offered.
The payoff would be all the jobs this thing would create.
As we all learned through the Diamond Star fiasco in
Bloomington/Normal, these companies are willing to take all the incentives the
taxpayers can offer, then will close the plant at a moment's notice if they get
a better deal elsewhere, or when some pencil pusher decides there's a great tax
break to be had by shuttering a factory and moving the jobs elsewhere.
I've completely given up hope that federal, state and local politicians
will ever realize that the best thing they can do to develop the economy is
provide a generally low tax rate, good schools for a well-trained work force and
a clean, safe and healthy environment into which business executives would want
to locate. Such things also tend to encourage entrepreneurial growth as well,
not just plant relocation.
That's absolutely right.
Well, I do have one minor quibble. I'm not sure what he means by "generally low taxes" but "good schools for a well-trained work force and a clean, safe and healthy environment" aren't cheap and a good deal of tax money is usually required. I don't mean outrageously high tax rates, but a significant public investment into a community's infrastructure is required to attain this job drawing nirvana.
I only make this point because taxes are so vilified that people often forget that there can be a real benefit to public investment in one's community. Yes, there is often waste (although from my experience, a lot of what is and isn't waste is somewhat subjective) but there are simply some things that are best done by the public sector.
Now, "generally low taxes" leaves a lot of wiggle room so I'm not sure what that means, but be sure there is no getting a top notch community for nothing.
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