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There are some small economic kickbacks for local economies, but realistically I would guess that it's probably small-scale bribery. That or local governments

There are some small economic kickbacks for local economies, but realistically I would guess that it's probably small-scale bribery. That or local governments are just really bad at math. Do they really think a business starting in their community is going to give back more than the billions in breaks they're giving?

TangoTrotFox 8y ago
Remember government is really just a collection of individuals. You can't discount the basic human motivations in things like this. Competing is fun, competing and winning is much more fun. Getting a big company/sport/etc to sign on to your city means you beat everybody else they were negotiating with, and those were all big players. That's a big win. It also helps build your legacy. The guy who brings "The SportsTeamers" to a city is going to be remembered for exactly that, not the net economic effect. And yeah that does no doubt open the door to 'consulting positions' after leaving office though I do not think that's a primary driver in the deals, just icing.
defertoreptar 8y ago
It depends on how many billions, how many jobs, how much tax revenue, how much projected population growth and average wage growth and how the local economy will respond to that growth, etc.
LeftTurnSignal 8y ago
Wisconsin is going to find out: http://money.cnn.com/2018/06/28/technology/foxconn-wisconsin-plant/index.html http://money.cnn.com/2018/06/28/technology/foxconn-wisconsin...