Wednesday, October 19, 2011

$290 million taxpayer's monies = 300 Jobs - Have You Checked How Much More You Are Paying In Additional State Taxes?

Let me try to understand more fully the Jackson Labs welfare deal with the state of Connecticut. Jackson Labs are supposedly going to raise $800 million from other sources (there will be apparently taxpayers monies coming from federal sources) and the state will subsidize them with an additional $290 million of taxpayers monies to have them move here. 300 jobs will supposedly be created from this. Apparently also these same 300 jobs will create trickle down economic growth from homes being bought, more children to be educated in taxpayer funded public schools, more groceries being sold at the local Big Y, etc.
But what will be the actual economic reality? It will take a great deal of time for the facility to be built. The facility will have cost overruns as what normally happens in deals like this. The company can not guarantee that economic issues will arise in the future and thus they shut down as has happened in prior deals that the state has agreed upon.
The costs of corporate welfare are enormous in our economy. The state could have pursued for years a business friendly environment with low taxes, low electric rates, low workers compensation costs, a functional transportation system and a normal non combative, non anti business Attorney General. Businesses would have wanted to locate in Connecticut. Instead we have had a severe anti business climate in our state since the Weicker Administration.
$290 million dollars of taxpayers monies can be better spent. I agree with Senator Suzio, stop this plan. Start forgiving state taxpayers who must burden this ridiculous corporate welfare system.

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