The NY Times reports that city councils and county commissions that are “short on tools to fact-check what companies tell them” are nevertheless cutting deals with multinational corporations in a desperate bid to create jobs. These companies exploit fears held by our own local leaders that without tax incentives, they will locate elsewhere and in Oregon poor communities like Coos Bay are giving away a staggering $665 million annually in property tax abatement alone with no method of tracking the payoff to the taxpayer.
A Times investigation has examined and tallied thousands of local incentives granted nationwide and has found that states, counties and cities are giving up more than $80 billion each year to companies. The beneficiaries come from virtually every corner of the corporate world, encompassing oil and coal conglomerates, technology and entertainment companies, banks and big-box retail chains.
The cost of the awards is certainly far higher. A full accounting, The Times discovered, is not possible because the incentives are granted by thousands of government agencies and officials, and many do not know the value of all their awards. Nor do they know if the money was worth it because they rarely track how many jobs are created. Even where officials do track incentives, they acknowledge that it is impossible to know whether the jobs would have been created without the aid.
“How can you even talk about rationalizing what you’re doing when you don’t even know what you’re doing?” said Timothy J. Bartik, a senior economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo, Mich.
US taxpayers finance companies to the tune of $80 billion annually and in Oregon we pay $226 per person to fund property tax exemptions, $190 million in corporate tax credits and $7 million in cash grants for a total $865 million annually in the name of economic development and job creation. Oregon actually receives more revenue from lottery funds than corporate income tax.
Texas, number one on Al Pettit’s list of business friendly states, gives away $19.1 billion each year but has a higher poverty rate and more dismal jobs record than Oregon. States with high incentive programs simply do not show the results to justify their continued existence and yet the mythos that jobs are created through this type of taxpayer investment continues and no where stronger than in Coos County.
ORC is one of those companies that promised long term jobs in exchange for tax benefits. According to the Coos County Assessors office, the Oregon Department of Revenue assigned a real market value to the processing equipment, that multistory structure on Mullen Lane, of $65,429,860 but because of an enterprise zone tax exemption the company only paid taxes on $422,710. The company was billed $4,354.45 or $10.30 per $1,000 and using that same valuation on the actual value of the equipment should have paid $674,011 just for 2012. That is almost $15K apiece taxpayers contributed to the 45 jobs the company just terminated due to cash flow problems.
ORC_Tax_2012_equipment
ORC_Tax_assessment_equipment
A The World editorial yesterday discussing the surface use lease that allows ORC access to 459 acres of county forest valued at over $1 million for a yearly rent of $2 per acre, finished with this line. “Even if the company eventually fails, the county won’t have lost anything by signing”. That remains to be seen but I would argue that Coos County taxpayers have already lost.
“Don’t reply, I am out of here, another State that has a population with educated people.”
Wow, just Wow.
Great bumper sticker.
“Is something better then nothing?”
Hell no.
You and your lousy corporation just proved the answer to your dumb-ass question.
Don’t like them thar edjekated peeple? don’t let the door hit your dumb- arse on the way out.
I’m ready to “Tar and Feather” Mr. Knudson What a jerk! I think that law needs to be rescinded and I believe Arnie Roblan should do this with some kind of letter of apology from Senior Senator JoAnne Verger and he. I think they might investigate further instead of just “jumping on the bandwagon” of a particularly influential business man here. If there are questions it might be a good thing to “investigate first” and then enact a law. I am disappointed by these two folks who I’ve held in the highest regard as law makers. They need to act now to right this wrong. Heaven knows we don’t need any more jobs leaving the area! This is a good lesson for anyone. They need to own it and go on to make certain citizens are well represented by folks who can, if need be, swallow their pride. Come on JoAnne and Arnie – check it out and then do what is appropriate in this case.
God, could not resist reading the stupidity I new would be on this one….
Do you idiots not know how States attract businesses?….And how cutting some taxes as incentive leads to more tax’s on other things?
Is something better then nothing?
States compete, to get out of debt and bring in business, because bringing in business brings in money. They compete the same way stores compete to get customers, they lower the prices…
Jesus Christ, no wonder Oregon is near the damn bottom…
You idiots really do not get it, how much weed do you all smoke while reading and posting this crap.
Don’t reply, I am out of here, another State that has a population with educated people.
It is all good anyway, this site has what, 6 or 7 people that reply…
And what is with the donation request for the site?…Do you need people to bail you out?….You want other people to pay for your site?…..
What a double standard……..What a joke.
Hey Chester the Roblester… Just curious, do you wear knee pads at work?
And this from ORC supporters:
wparsons – December 05, 2012 10:48 am
The way forward for ORC is relatively simple. Coos regulators, officials, private land owners and agencies need to work alongside ORC management in order to create a package for would be investors. In this manner the doers in this community will help unlock enough reserves to entice the necessary capital to finish the process. Cooperation and collaboration is strategically the only way forward and the sooner this can happen the better for Coos County. It should start tomorrow.
HEY NUMBNUTS, SINCE WHEN DO COOS COUNTY TAXPAYERS HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO DRUM UP BUSINESS FOR A FOREIGN, LOUSY=ASSED CORPORATION to MAKE MONEY? B.S.
ORC? You snake oil salesmen sucked millions from the poor people of Coos County, then you piss all over them because you can’t run a winning company and have gone tits up? Ha, Welfare Queens from Australia, whining because they want more welfare, and somehow believe We The People owe them a living. Unbelievable ignorance and arrogance. My humble opinion only, with history to back it up. Whining bunch of freeloaders aided and abetted by Clark Walworth and his band of children.
And ORC and it’s sychophants still point fingers at US? Hell, if they can spin it with the only “news”paper in town, the under-informed reader, the ones left, will never hear the truth, unless they come here. This county is the arse of the Northwest for a very good reason. The industrial cabal that controls the money stream into Coos County know what they’re doing, a couple thousand here, a couple thousand there, promise here , promise there and you can put a forty year competetor out of business. Or hand Coos County over to Waste Management, put how many out of work locally, right in front of our eyes with the deplorable behavior of The World “news”paper’s help, and voila’. Who knows what has been promised, and by whom, but many of us are watching to see. And Clark Walworth pimps the Rusted Train To Nowhere yesterday again on his front page, and the under informed shoopie, “just as long as it’s not public money”, they chortle. Hell, it’s ALL public money folks, but The World will never tell you that. Never. So it continues.
Follow the money.
Dale Sause and Knutson, with no competition, member? Fine upstanding fellows these two are. And they have their way with Coos County, thanks to the ignorance Clark Walworthless rains down upon Coos County.
Remember that this august (not) local governemnet body even gave significant tax relief to Bandon Dunes who did not seek same.
Walworth publishes the worst excuse for a newspaper and survives. The World parent Lee Enterprises certainly has not been an example of how to run a profiable company. And the leader survives – she was even recently apppointed to lead AP. The editor has ben a real newspaperman for a year. Prior to that he was writing free lance articles about chocolate and how to repair the wheels on your skateboard. The World newspaper expert in US politics is a New Zealander (possible dual citizenship as his mommie was a Messerle Sumner neighbor at one time) who has been in the US about a year. Certainly should explain why such crap flows from the World paper spigot. The county lawyer has been a lawyerman for 14 months. The lawyer who has been around the track a few times told us what a crappy deal that lease was. Just prepare yourself for the next controversy – it’s coming soon.