Government Bootstrapping Jobs In Rock County

Tweet

It's gotten to point now where nearly every business start-up or big business expansion expects some kind of an entitlement or hand-out from local and state tax collectives. It's not just Wisconsin, it's everywhere.

This story from the Janesville Gazette explains how local and state governments were eager to bootstrap the growth and expansion of several businesses in Rock County with tax payer dollars. One company, without identification or mean's testing, gave only basic details: what they made, what they might bring to the area and most importantly, what they needed.

They got this little package just for the asking:

JG Excerpt:
-- 20 percent in direct developer incentives for 10 years.

-- A $500,000 forgivable development loan from the state Department of Commerce.

-- $510,000 in tax credits from Beloit.

-- A $132,000 Transportation Economic Assistance grant from the Department of Transportation.

-- A $50,000 grant to train new employees at Blackhawk Technical College.

Local government officials seem proud that this one package of "incentives" bootstrapped nearly 100 jobs. But, aren't these precisely the hand-outs that senate candidate Ron Johnson and guber Scott Walker claim that are wrong? Those two candidates in particular swear that government doesn't create jobs. Would those jobs have been created without government intervention? Johnson seems to think so. Have we been duped?

JS Online Excerpt:
At campaign stops on Friday before groups at a Wisconsin Rapids restaurant and later at the Marshfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Johnson said he sees a society that is lurching toward a culture of entitlement dependency.

"People are saying, 'That's my right, give it to me.' That's not the America I recognize. I think we're losing America. That's what's at stake in this election."

Those incentive packages are so routine that many businesses won't make a move without them. They are the new corporate entitlement. Johnson should come down to Beloit or Janesville and ask the business owners and CEO's why they chose to leverage their decision with government hand-outs instead of privately funded investment dollars.

Like he did.

Quote Of the Week

John Casper:
"Sen. Sunspot married 3rdbase and claims he hit a triple."