Nothing New about the New Markets Job Act
ANOTHER IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME AND GONE “Public-private partnerships” with innocuous-sounding names have become extremely popular in South Carolina over the last decade. The latest endeavor in the trend doesn’t look any more promising than the others. The South Carolina New Markets Jobs Act, or NMJA (S.892), would have expanded the role of government-backed […]
“Creating Jobs” Isn’t the Point
THE CREATION OF VALUE IS Although the role of government would appear to be a controversial topic in the political sphere, there’s one role commentators on both the left and the right seem to agree on: Government should provide jobs. It’s hard to avoid political rhetoric underpinned by the assumption that government should create jobs, […]
Liberty, Equality … and Corporate Welfare
HOW ECONOMIC INCENTIVES COMPROMISE AMERICA’S MOST IMPORTANT VALUE Equality and liberty are not always compatible and in some cases directly opposed, but there is one notion of equality that is a necessary component of liberty, and that is “equality of opportunity.” Although this term is used differently on opposite sides of the political spectrum, advocates […]
Boeing Bond Deal Needs Explanation
WHY THE RUSH TO PUT FUTURE TAXPAYERS 120,000,000 MORE DOLLARS INTO DEBT? The news broke this week that Boeing plans to expand its existing North Charleston campus to include an information technology “center of excellence.” The expansion, according to a company spokesman, will create 2,000 jobs. State lawmakers quickly announced plans to issue $120 million […]
Wanted: A New Approach to Economic Development
WHY KEEP TRYING TO ‘COMPETE’ ON OUR COMPETITORS’ TERMS? For generations, South Carolina lawmakers of both parties have shown an unwavering commitment to the idea that special tax incentives encourage economic growth – the idea, in other words, that lawmakers can effectively spur economic vitality by offering tax credits, exemptions, and deductions to specific companies […]
