South Carolina transparency headlines
From Sunshine Review
October 29, 2009.
Boeing: Lawmakers Create the Illusion of Economic Growth
South Carolina are lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are patting each other on the back about Boeing's announced plans to build a second plant for 787 jets in North Charleston, SC, but they don’t want you to know the other side of the story, according to the South Carolina Policy Council.[1]
The legislature unanimously passed a bill Wednesday granting Boeing sales tax exemptions for fuel, computers, and construction materials for 10 years. The bill also authorizes up to $170 million in bonds to pay for infrastructure needed for the new manufacturing facility. In all, the incentives package is worth $450 million, according to the Charleston Post and Courier.[2] In return, Boeing must invest at least $750 million dollars over the next ten years for real estate and personal property in a single county and create at least 3,800 jobs.
“Boeing’s decision to expand in South Carolina is good news. Unfortunately, South Carolina taxpayers will have to pay them to do it,” said South Carolina Policy Council President Ashley Landess. “Clearly, legislative leaders misled the public and rank-and-file lawmakers about the purpose of this special session. The sine die resolution they passed in May did not permit them to consider economic development issues. A handful of politicians crafted a secret deal to take money from South Carolina businesses and taxpayers and give it to a billion dollar company.
"There was no substantive economic analysis presented to lawmakers or the public before the vote, and no way to determine the short- or long-term cost to taxpayers, or impact on business or unemployment in the state."
The Boeing deal is bad public policy because it's short sighted, with no guarantee new jobs will go to South Carolinians, non-transparent, as the bill passed by lawmakers was not the original bill passed back in April, and represents another step backward on tax reform.
“For the money we’re paying Boeing, we could come close to eliminating corporate taxes for all South Carolina businesses,” Landess said. “That kind of economic stimulus benefits the entire state and has a real impact on unemployment.”
“Legislative leaders are congratulating themselves for creating jobs. They didn’t. Instead, they increased the cost of government at the expense of already-struggling citizens, who cannot afford the cost of this subsidy.”
External links
- Boeing: Lawmakers Create the Illusion of Economic Growth, South Carolina Policy Council, Oct. 29, 2009
- Lawmakers Offered Lure Worth $450M, Charleston Post and Courier, Oct. 29, 2009
