After the Detroit News ran a column promoting business tax credits in Michigan, the CEA's John Mozena responded a letter to the editor pointing out the fundamental flaw in the original column's argument: Howes writes that "incentives are built on a crucial assumption: that new jobs create new tax revenue." However, that's not the truly … Continue reading Detroit News Letter to the Editor: Tax credits don’t change business realities
Column in The Hill – States: Stop subsidizing these 3 dumb things
There are a lot of things states do in the name of "economic development that don't make much sense. But out of all the bad deals out there, there's three popular kinds of subsidized project that are especially bad for the communities that make them: Stadiums, data centers and distribution centers. In The Hill, CEA … Continue reading Column in The Hill – States: Stop subsidizing these 3 dumb things
St. Louis Post-Dispatch column: Emotion defeats common sense in St. Louis’s MLS stadium deal
Politicians love it when they can benefit from the emotional connection Americans have with our sports teams. Unfortunately, one of the ways they do that is by handing out subsidies and incentives to pro sports team stadiums, despite all the evidence that they're usually a terrible deal for the community. As the CEA's John Mozena … Continue reading St. Louis Post-Dispatch column: Emotion defeats common sense in St. Louis’s MLS stadium deal
Des Moines Register Column: Iowans deserve tax credit transparency
Iowa's massive tax credit system costs the state as much every year as all of its state and local government agencies combined spend on mental health and disability services for some of its most vulnerable residents. Is that a good trade-off? Unfortunately, there's no way for Iowa's taxpayers to know for sure, thanks to the … Continue reading Des Moines Register Column: Iowans deserve tax credit transparency
Albany Times-Union column: NY needs new leadership to lure businesses to the state
New York's Empire State Development Corporation is beginning a search for a new CEO, and as the CEA's John Mozena writes in the Albany Times-Union, it's "an opportunity for New York to end its participation in the nationwide economic development race to the bottom." Obviously, simply putting a more forward-looking individual in the CEO's chair … Continue reading Albany Times-Union column: NY needs new leadership to lure businesses to the state