Not to make this a weekly awards thing, but special recognition goes out this week to High Point City Councilman Mike Pugh, who fought valiantly against giving away more than $3 million in city money (and another $6.57 million in state money) for a corporate welfare project.
In reference to the awarding of welfare to TransTech Pharma of High Point, Councilman Pugh is quoted:
“I know it’s vital to get new industries started and to have them in
your city, but I don’t believe in extortion,” Pugh said. “When
multimillion dollar companies come to us while small businesses are
suffering and say, ‘Give us money or we’ll leave or we won’t come at
all,’ well, I think sometimes you just have to call their bluff.”
So, cheers to Councilman Pugh for standing up for economic integrity. I raise my glass of holiday beverage to you! May there be more like him coming to understand that corporate welfare penalizes all other businesses for the benefit of one.
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