Another day, another six-figure payment to a company in the name of "economic incentives." This time it’s to Ply Gem Industries in Cary, who plan to add 100 jobs over the next four years.
In exchange, Governor Easley has granted them $100,000 from the One North Carolina Fund.
Now here’s the kicker… The One North Carolina Fund requires a local match. So Cary or Wake County or a combination of the two will also have to kick in an additional $100,000. That’s $100,000 less that those governments will have to build schools, hire police or pay for the additional growth that 100 new employees and their families will bring.
So not only do we pay to bring the jobs, the opportunity cost of that money being used somewhere else (perhaps somewhere more needed) is also lost. Thus, the true cost to us taxpayers is actually much higher.
Wake County residents, remember this next year when the County Commissioners come begging for a transfer tax or another $1 billion school bond to "pay for growth." They are using your tax dollars to buy more growth and not using your tax dollars to pay for the growth already here.
And another thing… I thought Cary was putting a stop to the growth, or at least that’s why they elected Harold Weinbrecht as Mayor. When you add 100 jobs, where exactly do they expect these people to live and their kids to go to school?
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