As I wrote before, Florida is famous for it's Corporate Welfare. Once again, in a small story hidden in a local Tampa Bay area mullet wrapper, we are informed that:
Secretive Telemarketing Firm Seeking Tax Refunds
The (Largo) city commission has proposed a $90,000 tax refund over the next six years for an unidentified firm that has promised to create 300 new jobs in the city paying more than 115 percent of the average income of Pinellas County residents.
City Community Development Director Michael Staffopoulos said Pinellas County would match that sum, giving the new company $180,000 in refunds.
The city planner said the company is exempt from state public records laws to protect business secrets from their competition.
How do you like THAT sweetheart of a deal? And there's no way the local citizens can even find out the name of this company in order to keep them accountable. What sort of assurances are being made? And what happens if or when the company DOESN'T come through with their promise? No one is saying.
Typical.
Why is it that this company and the Largo commissioners can't keep their hands out of the citizen's pockets? And aren't the citizens entitled to know where their hard-earned tax dollars are going? Those 300 jobs will hardly benefit everyone, and it's likely that their impact will be almost unnoticeable.
Meanwhile, small businesses that are struggling to make it are picking up the tab for the large businesses that are able to successfully wrangle a deal out of our gullible governments.
Welcome to Florida: Home of the Corporate Welfare State.
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8 comments:
Wow. Those guys think small! 90 grand is nothing.
Miami-Dade County spent $500,000 on a study to find out how to improve traffic flow on 4 or 5 major roads. One of them happens to be Bird Road, which I live close to. The firm hired is of course a private company. $500,000.
And what was the result? The lights on TURD ROAD are now timed to slow down the flow of traffic. Seriously. By an express way there are 4 lights close together. They cycle in such a way that you get stuck at all of them. You have to go 100 mph to get through them all in one cycle. We paid $500,000 for that.
And then there are the Royal Palm tress. The County spent millions (to Manuel Diaz farms) to buy all these stupid trees and plant them on the side of roads.
One road is SW 97th Ave. - which I live very close to and use very often. They are adding a third lane to this "back road" (it is two lanes now). It has tax payer palms on it. The trees are being removed and ???????????. Nobody knows.
You guys in Tampa think small. I should run for office and show you guys how it is really done! In one year in office I would be a millionaire even though my County Commissioner salary would be whatever it is.
I get the first hand every day right from my office window. I have a beautiful view of what was formerly the Nielsen Media Research building. (They've changed it's name now). Oldsmar gave them a sweetheart deal to build here with the promise of all these high paying jobs. Which they did provide, for a little while. There has been a change of ownership and now there is a blood letting going on over there. Which is okay with me because at least it will lighten up the traffic.
Saur,
I heard that Steve Stanton had worked on this deal before he became Susan Stanton. You just can't trust transgendered folks.
Excellent post.
now, now Saur, YOUR government knows whats best for you. No reason to trouble yourself over these silly little business things...
Yeah, right..sheeeesh
Mal, ;o) Ain't it the truth!
Gator, ;o)
Hans, right there is a typical example of what usually happens.
Lazy, well, Miami always has done things bigger and better than their poor country cousins. :D
You say "corporate welfare", I say "corruption", let's call the whole thing off.
Think about this next time you walk into a walmart.
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