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These are long-term strategies and they're not very exciting which is why politicians don't engage in them. My mid-sized Midwestern city also has a contingent (
by frgtpsswrdlame 8y ago
These are long-term strategies and they're not very exciting which is why politicians don't engage in them. My mid-sized Midwestern city also has a contingent (which in my estimation is a vocal minority but I could be wrong) of people who want to be like the metropolises - NYC, LA, Chicago - and they seem to have a strong influence on local politicians which drives those politicians to engage in these give-aways to prominent companies.
It also seems articles like these are really talking around the issue when the answer is right in front of us. Let's just ban cities and states from handing out these tax-breaks.
- zazen 8y ago> Let's just ban It's rarely that simple. I don't know exactly how local government works in the USA, but I presume the federal government can't just summarily revoke powers from cities and states?
- DannyBee 8y agoNo it can't. This person has not read the part of the US constitution that says "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
- tomdell 8y agoPolitician mind: You've just got to find some passage of the Constitution that can be construed as somehow giving the federal government that power, though - or push an amendment through.
- jldugger 8y agoFederal politicans don't care about other state's problems; and certainly don't typically want to restrict their own state legislature's powers. You're better off going the Uniform States Code route, as demonstrated by UCC. Publish a recommended law, then lobby state governments to adopt it. Maybe using a 'when 30 other states also ratify it' language similar to the NPVIC https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Popular_Vote_Intersta... The chief problem here is convincing states that cities poaching their neighbor's businesses is harmful.
- ggg9990 8y agoLike that has ever stopped the federal government before. All they have to do is say that “we won’t purchase anything from companies receiving tax breaks.” Done.
- TheCoelacanth 8y agoCities giving away incentives to lure companies from other states fits under the definition of interstate commerce much more easily than many of the things that SCOTUS has already decided fit under the definition of interstate commerce.
- dredmorbius 8y agoCommerce clause has deep reach.
- DannyBee 8y agoDepends which set of justices you ask :)
- gbrown 8y ago> Let's just ban cities and states from handing out these tax-breaks. Wait, but then they'd have to invest in infrastructure and human capital... we can't have that sort of tax and spend socialism!