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Someone has to build the roads, run the schools, pump the water, etc. A tax cut for Samsung is effectively a tax hike for everyone else.

arcanus 6y ago
> A tax cut for Samsung is effectively a tax hike for everyone else. That is a remarkably zero sum way to think about it.
- f430 6y ago
  zero sum implies everyone loses in the long run. Samsung benefits. Texas state benefits. Workers benefit. Community benefits.
  - specialist 6y ago
    Please enumerate all the ways the community benefits. Be mindful to include externalities in your ledger.
    - mywittyname 6y ago
      These business can act as anchors to attract skilled talent to the region. If that happens, then a small no-name town can really prosper. But the reality is that companies don't really want to be the ones anchoring a small town. The sacrifice is too great in terms of limited talent pool, and lack of amenities necessary to attract talented people. Maybe after 20 years, the town grows into something significant, but at that point, the market has shifted so much that it probably doesn't matter. In this situation, the decision is made, regardless of tax incentives. Samsung can't just plop one of these plants anywhere. The plant needs to be in a place that has a large enough pool of talent, the amenities (schools, restaurants, housing, etc) that attract new talent (ideally without Samsung having to pay for relocation), and have the logistics infrastructure to support business. I've seen plenty of large companies negotiate for aggressive tax breaks locally, only to up and move to places like NYC, LA, or another high-tax locale a few years later because they either can't attract talent, or senior executives don't like living in cheap midwestern cities.
- specialist 6y ago
  Negative sum. Corruption destroys wealth. The vast majority loses a lot so that a few can benefit a little. The difference between creating wealth and merely transferring wealth (aka theft, grift).
tooltalk 6y ago
Companies can and do build their own roads -- we aren't exactly talking about building interstate highways. Schools would be paid for by SAS employees and contractors' paycheck and additional local property taxes (for those who have to relocate from another place). I highly doubt that SAS is going to get free water.
- sgarland 6y ago
  Parmer Lane, the road that SAS sits off of, is a parking lot in the morning and evening. I have to think that Austin is planning on expansion eventually if yet more people are driving on it, because that's what Texas does - build wider and wider roads, public transportation be damned.

arcanus 6y ago

> A tax cut for Samsung is effectively a tax hike for everyone else. That is a remarkably zero sum way to think about it.

f430 6y ago
zero sum implies everyone loses in the long run. Samsung benefits. Texas state benefits. Workers benefit. Community benefits.
- specialist 6y ago
  Please enumerate all the ways the community benefits. Be mindful to include externalities in your ledger.
  - mywittyname 6y ago
    These business can act as anchors to attract skilled talent to the region. If that happens, then a small no-name town can really prosper. But the reality is that companies don't really want to be the ones anchoring a small town. The sacrifice is too great in terms of limited talent pool, and lack of amenities necessary to attract talented people. Maybe after 20 years, the town grows into something significant, but at that point, the market has shifted so much that it probably doesn't matter. In this situation, the decision is made, regardless of tax incentives. Samsung can't just plop one of these plants anywhere. The plant needs to be in a place that has a large enough pool of talent, the amenities (schools, restaurants, housing, etc) that attract new talent (ideally without Samsung having to pay for relocation), and have the logistics infrastructure to support business. I've seen plenty of large companies negotiate for aggressive tax breaks locally, only to up and move to places like NYC, LA, or another high-tax locale a few years later because they either can't attract talent, or senior executives don't like living in cheap midwestern cities.
specialist 6y ago
Negative sum. Corruption destroys wealth. The vast majority loses a lot so that a few can benefit a little. The difference between creating wealth and merely transferring wealth (aka theft, grift).

tooltalk 6y ago

Companies can and do build their own roads -- we aren't exactly talking about building interstate highways. Schools would be paid for by SAS employees and contractors' paycheck and additional local property taxes (for those who have to relocate from another place). I highly doubt that SAS is going to get free water.

sgarland 6y ago
Parmer Lane, the road that SAS sits off of, is a parking lot in the morning and evening. I have to think that Austin is planning on expansion eventually if yet more people are driving on it, because that's what Texas does - build wider and wider roads, public transportation be damned.