#ncga: Emails reveal Gov. Pat’s $45 million giveaway on the ropes in House
Pat McCrory’s North Carolina Competes Act is undergoing a fight for its life in the General Assembly’s lower chamber. 
The House deep-sixed a request from the governor last session for $20 million to pass out to economic development prospects. Apparently, Gov. Pat is doubling down and trying again this session.
According to my Jones Street sources, this column by John Locke’s Becki Gray has plenty of tongues wagging and is causing plenty of folks to run like hell from HB 117. In fact, it got cited by moderate legislator Rick Catlin (R-Wilmington) — who many thought would be a slam-dunk vote FOR this — in his statement of opposition:
To all colleagues,
Out of respect I wanted to let you know that I can not support the Incentive HB 117. The article below from Becki Gray explains my concerns better than I can type this early in the morning.
Also out of respect to our senior citizens who have lost their medical deductions I am obligated to find funding for our loyal citizens paying their own medical costs, (HB 46) before I can support bribes to disloyal corporations.
I understand what the supporters of this bill hope to accomplish, but it’s OK for us not to all agree. I very much respect all we are trying to do and each of us have to do what we believe is right.
Thanks,
Rick
This apparently led to a big gun — in the form of House Appropriations Committee chairman Nelson Dollar (R-Wake) — being hauled out into the discussion:
Members,
This is a very interesting and compelling debate that every state legislature wrestles with. For the purpose of this e-mail I will not debate the points made by Rick and Becki, but I do believe it is important for us to realize the debate on all sides seems to be missing a key element – “a Market.” As a state we can impact tax rates, regulations and infrastructure, but no business big or small and especially small businesses can be created or survive for long if there is no substantial market for their products/services. For some reason this gets lost in the debate. You have to have customers in need of the product or service in order to grow. As you know, the theory behind recruiting a major auto manufacturer is all the myriad of ancillary products & services required – the closest example is the BMW plant in upstate South Carolina with all of its spin offs, suppliers, etc.
Whether for or against incentives or somewhere in between, we do need to be able to explore and explain how doing business in North Carolina puts an enterprise in the best position to market their products and services.
N.
Bribery at its finest~
…..per WRAL:
“38% of 40,000 promised jobs for incentivized investments ’09-’12 materialized—-127 incentivized projects failed to create ONE job of the 17,000 promised”
……”wasted resources could’ve been better directed by the market/business people than by politicians/bureaucrats”
garland tucker III Triangle Capital Corp
francis de luca Civitas Institute
http://bit.ly/1MSiwTu
You see Plebes, here’s how it works, we have the power of the Carolinas Minister of Propaganda (CMOP) working for us. See our partners at work at the link below. We can crank up the flow of ink at will to get what we want. CMOP even coordinates with us to help us elect who we need in key positions to keep ripping you off. It works out well and the sheeple will continue to fund us at the public trough. You Plebes don’t have a CMOP do you? So sorry, you’re SOL. So make sure to keep buying what CMOP’s selling. Its how we stay in business by stealing from you.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/development/article11363273.html
I see what you mean, it looks like McCrory called on his old buddies down at Pravda in Charlotte to fire up an article to shame anyone that doesn’t go along with the incentives scam. What a dirty Democrat that McCrory is shame on him, oh he’s the Republican Governor. Can anyone tell the difference anymore? O-ganized crime from O-li-garchs.
I don’t agree with the idea of doling out incentives, but I get really incensed when the jobs created go to foreign guest workers.
There should not be so much as $1 in incentives given out to a company that is not exclusively hiring Americans, period.
What McCrory has done in prior deals to bring in H-1B outsourcing companies is obscene.
Kathy, Thanks for playing Shug but really we don’t care about the future of the country, you, or those things we talk about at election time that gets the suckers to vote for us. This whole thing has nothing to do with jobs. It all has to do with us getting what we want and the money we can get from our friends by giving them your money. I don’t believe you’re in the small circle of friends. So sorry you don’t factor in try harder and keep funding us.
Excuse me, have you already purchased for yourself a “get-out-quick, in case the shooting war starts” chunk of ocean-front foreign property, complete with large, untraceable bank account, and a phalanx of groundskeepers?
If so, are you in need of a gourmet cook, barber, seamstress, dog walker, bartender, window washer, CPA, and pole dancer, all rolled into one compact, pleasing package who knows how to keep her mouth shut?
Asking for a friend.
” For some reason this gets lost in the debate. You have to have customers in need of the product or service in order to grow.”
*smacks face* Missing…the…point.
The best way to “create markets” is to foster an environment where people – private businesses and individuals – make a gazillion decisions big and small that add up to new companies, services, and goods… government cannot effectively pick and choose “which” businesses can and should be created, like, say, “recruiting a major auto manufacturer”.. That leads to unstable, non-cost effective, subpar outcomes with feeble foundations. It’s folly.
“Whether for or against incentives or somewhere in between, we do need to be able to explore and explain how doing business in North Carolina puts an enterprise in the best position to market their products and services”
Then you do a lot more like what Ms. Gray and Mr. Caitlin were talking about, and not more symbolic but futile payoffs with everybody’s money. 🙂
Isn’t it funny how supposedly conservative legislators forgot that their job is government, not business, not commerce, not “job-creation” but rigidly constitutional government.
Yep, not sure they “forgot” though….I remember thinking it repeatedly back when this current pack came into the majority and I’ve seen little to dissuade me – As a group, their primary differences with the old Democrat guard is more centered around their level of social conservatism, not smaller, limited government principles.
They talk the talk, but walk the walk grudgingly, if at all. Those arent principles they truly hold firmly – I dont get the idea that a lot of them understand the very, very important distinction between being “pro free markets” and being “pro business” – cause they ain’t the same. 🙂
Corrupt corporate welfare slush funds set up with taxpayer money just create corrupt crony capitalism instead of free enterprise. What is being proposed is something I would call Putin Politics.
Raph, of course this shit is illegal, using public money to bribe and reward our friends but whose going to catch us? We make the laws and if it ever goes before a judge, well we own them too. They’re not going to turn down a hefty sack of cha-ching to finger one of their own bretheren. Hell no. Its a tidy system that benefits us, you Plebes, not so much. Law abiding is for chumps, be a winner, get in on the political gravy train. You think I’m shitin?There’s good money to be made here and we’re going to keep right on doing it and you’re going to keep right on electing us to do you with your own money.
Yep… make government bigger to “deal with” whatever societal ill you think needs fixing… but all you’re essentially doing is making a more attractive product for others to purchase or simply warp to their own benefit.
One of the many, many reasons having a smaller government with less influence is a preferable default situation one should think hard about moving from.
Ultimately, though… it’s a problem solved only by the voters changing their mindset – freedom requires vigilance too, which reminds me of that Mencken quote that apparently is one of my favs since I recall it so often… “Democracy…is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” 🙂
Just look to the success of the GTP and Spirit Aero.
Spirit Aero incentives were in the range of $240 million with the first check of $100 million coming from the Golden Leaf Slush Fund.
All this talk of incentives is ridiculous. Just have Easley’s former budget writer simply write a check on that fat Golden Leaf bank balance.
Funny how when an economic incentive package is put together and all the promises made……….then it goes all quiet as to how the poor NC taxpayer is coming out on the deal.
As sad as it is, this is the way the “Game of Jobs” is played. If NC doesn’t offer these incentives to these companies, they will simply take their business, money, jobs and careers to another state that does.
It is not the Government’s role to create jobs, but mearly foster an environment favorable to job creation by citizens and companies, and then stay the Hell out of the way. This Republican Governor and Legislature has started the ball rolling by lowering taxes, but that alone isn’t enough. They need the incentives to offer these companies to make NC competitive. The Governor is trying to do his job by using a tool in his tool bag that is known to work.
What we need is some federal legislation to deal with this corrupt practice. I would suggest a federal tax on all corporate welfare received by any company at a rate of 99.9%. That should put a stop to it! Heck make it 101% if necessary.
Another thing the Governor needs to do to make the climate better for companies to move here is to push the legislature to repeal the Renewable Energy Mandate, which forces utilities to buy expensive and unreliable green energy, whose extra cost is then passed on to consumers, including business consumers. We need to get rid of this corrupt Democrat crony capitalist boondoggle to keep our electric costs down.