North Carolina Escapes Microsoft Drain on Economy

Looks like Virginia’s bribe to Microsoft was better than North Carolina’s bribe to Microsoft:

..late last month, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell announced that Microsoft will invest up to $499 million to locate the data center in Southern Virginia. The project will only create about 50 new jobs, but still represents economic bragging rights for the state.

…

To win Microsoft, Virginia officials promised incentives worth nearly $7 million, and Mecklenburg (Va.) officials will reimburse Microsoft nearly all its property taxes for 20 years.

Microsoft spurned North Carolina, despite our lawmakers’ attempts at bribing them with our tax dollars:

In July, North Carolina lawmakers approved a new package of economic incentives, including one aimed at attracting more data centers to the state.

The bill passed partly because officials were hoping to lure Microsoft, which was looking for a spot to build a massive data center.

North Carolina’s loss is actually North Carolina’s gain. Let Microsoft be Virginia’s burden. Basically Virginia will consume an additional $7 million  plus millions more in reimbursed property taxes in order to prop up the Microsoft facility. The basis for wealth creation is to consume fewer resources while producing goods and services, not more.

Moreover, the Microsoft deal also serves to shift more power over the state’s economy into the hands of the privileged, elite political class.

Some “economic bragging rights.”