VinFast Delays Production After North Carolina Seizes Property for Factory Site
North Carolina taxpayers have already spent over $96 million on the site, while state officials have seized multiple private properties.
Subsidies
RFK Jr. Pays Lip Service to the Debt While Pushing Policies That Would Increase It
It's good to hear a candidate actually talk about our spending problem. But his campaign promises would exacerbate it.
The 'Pro-Worker' GOP Is Anti-Worker
The New Right talks a big populist game, but their policies hurt the people they're supposed to help.
Netflix's 'Don't Look Up' Got $46 Million From Massachusetts Taxpayers
According to recently updated figures, more than half of the state's film production credits for 2021 went to just one film, whose two stars collectively earned over $50 million.
Harris Promises Expensive Paid Leave and Child Care Subsidies in First Campaign Speech
Both had been dropped from the Inflation Reduction Act over concerns about the bill's cost and the amount of borrowing needed to pay for them.
Here's How To Pay for Trump's Tax Cuts
There seems to be general bipartisan agreement on keeping a majority of the cuts, which are set to expire. They can be financed by cleaning out the tax code of unfair breaks.
Trump Promises To Get Rid of Bad Regulations. Can He Deliver?
Growth of regulation slowed under former President Trump, but it still increased.
The 2024 GOP Platform Promises To 'Make America Affordable Again.' So Why Are They Embracing Fiscal Insanity?
Although former President Donald Trump's deregulatory agenda would make some positive changes, it's simply not enough.
If You Don't Trust Media Now, Wait Until It's Government-Funded
Subsidies for journalism will divorce reporters from the need to even try to win readers and viewers.
Biden, Trump, and RFK Jr. Are All Anti-Freedom
Those three presidential candidates are making promises that would have bewildered and horrified the Founding Fathers.
N.J. Businessman Indicted for Sopranos-Style Economic Development Racket
George Norcross III's alleged actions are almost cartoonishly corrupt. But for economic development programs, it's not too far off from business as usual.
The Best of Reason: Government Can't Fix America's Baby Bust
The obstacles to having more babies can't be moved by tax incentives or subsidized child care.
Government Can't Fix America's Baby Bust
The obstacles to having more babies can't be moved by tax incentives or subsidized child care.
The Congressional Budget Office's Alternative Scenarios Forecast a Dire Economic Picture
Why aren't politicians on both sides more worried than they seem to be?
Trump Promised To 'Drain the Swamp.' He Did the Opposite.
Total spending under Trump nearly doubled. New programs filled Washington with more bureaucrats.
China Is Doubling Down on Electric Vehicle Subsidies
Electric vehicles are not a bad thing, especially in heavily polluted China. But the market should drive demand, not central planners.
These New York Agencies Benefit From Giving Away Taxpayer Money
A report from Good Jobs First found that 80 percent of state development agency revenue comes from fees: The more tax money they give out, the more they get to keep.
Congress Yet Again Abuses 'Emergency Spending' for Non-Emergency Purposes
Let's just call this what it is: another gimmick for Congress to escape its own budget limits and avoid having a conversation about tradeoffs.
Poll: A Majority of Las Vegas Voters Don't Want To Pay for Athletics' New Stadium
The team's owner, John Fisher, may have overestimated Las Vegas residents' enthusiasm for a new baseball team.
Say No to This: America's Fiscal Norms Are in Decline
Despite their informal nature, those norms have historically constrained U.S. fiscal policy. But they're eroding.
Politicians Are Showering Manufacturing Companies With Crony Subsidies for 'Job Creation.' It Won't Work.
These handouts will flow to businesses—often big and rich—for projects they would likely have taken on anyway.
Biden Is Against Corporate Welfare Except When He's for It
Government officials seek to shape the economy to the liking of politicians.
New Georgia Law Limits Film Tax Credits. But Marvel Would Still Qualify.
While the state senate's bill would cap tax credits at 2.3 percent of the state's budget, any production filming at a big enough studio would be exempt.
America's Drone Industry Is Trying To Ban the Competition
Chinese camera drones are the most popular worldwide. American drone manufacturers argue that's a national security threat.
Federal Handout to Intel Will Cost $283,000 Per Job, and That's Being Generous
And the real kicker is that Intel was probably going to create those jobs without taxpayers funding anything.
The Political Right Has Luxury Beliefs, Too
Support for industrial policy and protectionism are supposed to help the working class. Instead, these ideas elevate the already privileged.
Rivian Pauses Construction at Factory That Costs Georgia Taxpayers $1.5 Billion
The company will now build everything in its existing Illinois factory, pausing construction on the Georgia plant until "later."
If Semiconductor Chip Demand Is High, Why Do We Need More Subsidies?
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says more chip subsidies are needed, even before the Biden administration has distributed $52 billion or measured how effective that spending was.
Biden Pours Out Another $6.5 Billion for the CHIPS Act's Costly Protectionism
It's part of the government's expensive public-private partnership meant to address concerns over a reliance on foreign countries, like China, for semiconductors.
Audit Finds New York's $700 Million Film Tax Credits Make Little Difference
The credit "is at best a break-even proposition and more likely a net cost" for the state.
Michigan Is Spending Millions Trying To Refurbish a Ski-Flying Hill. It's Not Working.
Copper Peak revitalization was pitched as an economic development project for the Upper Peninsula, which already has two working ski jumps.
Georgia Lawmakers Propose Modest Changes to State Film Tax Credits
The credits cost the state over $1.3 billion per year with a 19 percent return on investment. Lawmakers' proposals will do little to change that.
Do Americans Really Only Want Sprawl?
Plus: the House votes for more affordable housing subsidies, Portland tries to fix its "inclusionary housing" program, and is 2024 the year of the granny flat?
Study Funded by Shell Convinced Pennsylvania To Give Shell $1.6 Billion Tax Break
The tax credits currently rank as the largest subsidy in state history.
Argentina, Once One of the Richest Countries, Is Now One of the Poorest. Javier Milei Could Help Fix That.
The new libertarian president believes in free markets and the rule of law. When people have those things, prosperity happens.
The Government Is Better at Picking Losers Than Winners
It's taxpayers who lose when politicians give gifts, grants, and loans to private companies.
St. Louis Schools Lost $260 Million to Economic Development Subsidies
According to a report from Good Jobs First, St. Louis' public schools took the brunt of the loss at nearly 65 percent of the total.
Feds To Spend Hundreds of Millions of Dollars on E.V. Chargers in 'Disadvantaged Communities'
The projects include $1.4 million for a charging station in a remote Alaskan community with barely 2,000 people.
On Economic Issues, the Populist Right and Left Share a Lot of Common Ground
That's bad news for Americans.
How Much Will Taxpayers Pay for Virginia's $2 Billion Arena Plan?
How much public money will be used remains unclear. The consensus answer seems to be "a lot."
State Governments Promised Private Companies More than $10 Billion in Subsidies Last Year
The statistic, compiled by watchdog group Good Jobs First, only takes into account "megadeals" involving at least $50 million in subsidies.
G.M. To Lay Off 1,300 Michigan Workers Despite $824 Million in State Incentives
The bulk of the employees may be able to find work elsewhere within the company, but the state could still be on the hook for the promised cash.
Georgia Taxpayers Lose $160,000 for Every Job Created by Film Tax Credits
The program generates just 19 cents for every dollar spent.
Tesla's Expensive New Cybertruck May Qualify for $7,500 in E.V. Tax Credits
According to a Treasury Department website, two of the three Cybertruck models currently offered would qualify for tax credits.
North Carolina's Bad Billion-Dollar Bet on a Struggling E.V. Company
Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast has lost $5.8 billion in three years, during which time the state of North Carolina pledged $1.2 billion in state incentives.
Everglades Restoration Complicated by Florida Agricultural Interests
Tariffs and sugar subsidies have propped up overvalued land needed to fix the environmental damage.
