Synopses & Reviews
Almost every city and state in America has been slammed by a multilevel scandal, one that involves taxes, jobs, and corporate and political accountability. Under the guise of ""economic development,"" big companies have gotten extraordinary tax breaks, from property tax abatements to land write-downs. Promises of job creation in exchange for these tax breaks have proven hollow, with companies continuing to downsize and outsource at record levels. Government officials are no help - they're well compensated major players in this troubling drama. This timely book explores these abuses in depth, but also offers hope with a series of commonsense reforms that would give taxpayers powerful new tools to reverse this situation - and redirect monies in ways that will really pay off. By popularizing these grassroots reforms - which are already taking hold - this book is taking a movement that is percolating in the states and putting it on the national stage.
Synopsis
What do Wal-Mart, Dell, Fidelity Investments, Boeing, and Cabela's have in common? They're all part of a $50 billion a year scam in which--in the name of "job creation"--corporations play states and cities against each other to win hefty taxpayer subsidies that routinely exceed $100,000 per job. But do they provide more jobs, higher wages, or improved living standards in exchange? Greg LeRoy exposes these deals for what they are--no-strings-attached free rides for corporations that rarely create any new jobs. In fact, after securing these packages, many companies lay people off, pay poverty wages, or even relocate to other states.
This is the Great American Jobs Scam: a costly bait-and-switch that swindles communities in more ways than one. They lose jobs--or gain jobs so low-paying they do nothing to help the community--and they lose revenue through massive corporate tax breaks. That means fewer resources for maintaining schools, public services, and infrastructure.
LeRoy exposes corporations' careful orchestration of this scam, dissects government and corporate mumbo-jumbo with plain talk, and offers commonsense reforms that will give taxpayers powerful new tools to protect our communities.
Synopsis
Exploring in depth the abuses of tax breaks by large corporations and government through the ""economic development"" of communities, LeRoy offers a series of commonsense reforms that would give taxpayers powerful new tools to redirect monies in ways that will really pay off.