CEA President John C. Mozena will be speaking to the Detroit chapter of America’s Future Foundation on February 20. His talk will be entitled, “The Real Deal: The Cost of Development Subsidies & Incentives:”
Detroit and hundreds of other cities offered Amazon billions of dollars in subsidies and incentives, before the company selected New York and Virginia for its highly-publicized new facilities. This “HQ2” process was the latest escalation in an economic development industry that’s tripled in size since just 1990, transferring more than $70 billion per year from city and state budgets to selected private businesses in the name of economic growth and job creation. Does this work? Does it make sense? And as research-based evidence continues to mount against these deals, why do politicians keep making them? Join AFF-Detroit as John C. Mozena, president of the Center for Economic Accountability, explains what’s going on behind this growing intersection of big business and big government, what it means for our communities, and shares some ideas for beginning to bring it under control.
The event (which includes a light dinner and a cash bar with a complimentary first drink) is free and open to all, but RSVPs are requested. Registration and more information is available here.