Economic development policy is an area where free-market advocates like ourselves often share a great deal of common cause with left-wing progressives. We may start with different principles and have a different view of the appropriate roles of businesses and government in a healthy society, but we can all agree that the way big business … Continue reading The Guardian: Amazon faces new headache as Nashville deal enrages locals left and right
Op-ed in The Tennessean: Nashville didn’t need to make a deal with Amazon
With some of the highest economic growth and lowest unemployment in the nation, Nashville's leaders should be focusing on how to manage the economic activity they have rather than throwing $100 million at Amazon to locate a new facility there. In the Tennessean, CEA President John Mozena raised the question of whose interests were truly … Continue reading Op-ed in The Tennessean: Nashville didn’t need to make a deal with Amazon
Indianapolis Star op-ed: Proposed soccer stadium deal unfriendly to taxpayers
Indianapolis is proposing what its mayor calls a "taxpayer friendly" deal to help fund a stadium for a soccer team. But as CEA President John C. Mozena explains in an op-ed in the Indianapolis Star, "Even if no new taxes are immediately proposed to fund the deal, these kinds of deals impose very real costs … Continue reading Indianapolis Star op-ed: Proposed soccer stadium deal unfriendly to taxpayers
Mayors and Economic Development
The following op-ed was drafted too late for publication before Election Day this year, but we thought it might have some future value for anyone else whose municipality is considering changing from a council-manager system to a strong-mayor model, or vice versa. (Clearwater's voters rejected the referenced ballot proposal, and the city remains under its … Continue reading Mayors and Economic Development
Op-ed in The Oakland Press: Demand honesty on state’s economic development subsidies
The Oakland Press in suburban Detroit ran an op-ed from CEA President John Mozena, talking about one local company's decision to renounce brownfield development incentives it had been awarded by the state. "Whether intentional or not, a deal like this that should never have been made is a clear sign that there’s a need … Continue reading Op-ed in The Oakland Press: Demand honesty on state’s economic development subsidies