Brian Balfour exposes the folly of NC corporate welfare programs for Chapel Hill readers. Here’s a money passage:
A classic example of the mindset that government should be in the business of "saving jobs" through targeted incentives is N.C. Rep. Pryor Gibson (D-Anson). Gibson recently declared, "I’m positive it’s in our best interest to keep XYZ company with 1,000 jobs, even if they’re making buggy whips." Buggy whips? What Gibson really means is "It’s in my best interest to keep XYZ company with 1,000 jobs so they can vote for me come election time."
Propping up businesses that no longer produce a product or service that society values is the perfect recipe to halt innovation and economic growth. I suppose Gibson’s home is full of 8-track tape players and Beta Max recorders because of his desire to "save" those jobs.
The economy is a huge, dynamic entity often shaped by unforeseeable events, changing values and shifting priorities. A small group of lawmakers can never predict the flux and flow of changing consumer desires in an economy better than the millions of individual actors that comprise the market. Shouldn’t consumers decide which businesses succeed or fail?
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