“Why can the new jobs be clean energy jobs? Why can’t manufacturing be solar panels and wind turbines?”

forlorn hope?

Why can the new jobs be clean energy jobs? Why can’t manufacturing be solar panels and wind turbines?

It reminds me of the cell phone industry when they first started. They were all focused on new customers so all the great deals were offered to new customers only. It was the norm that when your cell phone contract ended you switched carriers because it was the only way to get an affordable phone. Finally, they started offering the same deals to current customers as they do with the new customers. We need to do that with our current industries in Ohio. We need to reward our companies that are here more and not penalize them in order to attract new companies. We are seeing that affect now, just like cell phone customers of yore, our industries are leaving to the better deal.

Even if you stop this at a federal level, for cities, counties and states to compete for economic development dollars the businesses will go to whoever is offering the best deal most of the time. While I don’t disagree with you that it’s a problem, how the process as it exists can end knowing that even if we stopped? Others would not is the larger issue. What we can do is make sure that grants, loans, etc., are given to companies who have to put up a portion of their own money and that there is a process in place to make sure they meet the promises made.

It is impossible to prove but not hard to reason out. If we offer tax breaks, incentives, gifts, and/or loans to one company, that money has to come from somewhere. That increases the costs of all other businesses and individuals. Business then move to where it is cheaper to operate and the people will follow, if possible, or just be jobless. Real profit generating companies leave and government handout companies stay. State runs out of money and the state then grows dependant on federal handouts to keep it’s companies alive that survive off handouts.