Skybus announced Friday night that it was ending operations.
Loved this quote: "Their business plan had no chance of survival," said Michael Boyd, the
president of The Boyd Group Inc., an aviation-consulting company in
Evergreen, Colo. "If oil prices were half where they were, it would
have just prolonged the inevitable."
Oh, great. Good thing us taxpayers only sank a few million dollars into a business model that had "no chance of survival."
We need to use the Skybus incentives debacle to change the secretive system of handing out taxpayer money:
1. More transparency on what deals are in the works so the public can have input
2. Have someone other than bureaucrats determine if a business has a viable business model and is worthy of investment by taxpayer dollars
3. Increased clawback provisions so government can get a seat at the table in bankruptcy court to get back the money we used to subsidize them.
4. Elect a governor (any of the 8 running) who will actively recruit business and not just show up for the ribbon cutting
or, my preference:
5. End the use of corporate welfare
So – are you saying that government officials are not very good when they try to pick the winners and losers? Knock me over with a feather!
Here are a few recent losers that North Carolina government officials have bet our tax money on:
Skybus
The Randy Parton Theater
The Global Transpark
I am sure that we can think of some others without too much trouble.
I say that we need to get totally out of the incentives business.
I think by definition, any business that requires government subsidies has “no chance of survival” in the marketplace.
So as the dust settles on the Skybus debacle, let’s sum up just how effective government is at “creating jobs.”
Millions of taxpayer dollars sucked from the private economy to subsidize a politically connected business = loss of countless jobs that otherwise would have been created.
Allegiant Air goes under largely because of the unfair competition created by said government subsidies = loss of hundreds of jobs.
And now, Skybus inevitably goes under = loss of hundreds of jobs.
Great work, planners!