In The American Conservative, CEA President John C. Mozena warns that the real "dark money" in politics is hiding right in front of us, in the form of politically motivated economic development subsidies that dwarf anything spent by campaigns, PACs or parties: Right now, state and local politicians running for reelection across America are living … Continue reading The American Conservative column: Want To Clean Up Money In Politics? Start With Corporate Welfare
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
Incentive-free economic development: In Michigan, that means auto insurance reform.
We're often asked what we would recommend for alternative economic development policies to the traditional ineffective and costly incentive-and-subsidy model. Our answer is that while the specifics will vary from state to state and city to city, there's an important common thread: Make your community a good place to live and do business. That's obviously … Continue reading Incentive-free economic development: In Michigan, that means auto insurance reform.
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
The Guardian: Amazon faces new headache as Nashville deal enrages locals left and right
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