Thursday, December 26, 2002
In a bid to reclaim portions of the city overlooked by developers, Charlotte is moving to boost incentives. The City Manager is developing a "toolkit" in an effort to make sure incentives are provided fairly. Read more. Go
Charlotte uses incentives aggressively. According to the city's economic development director, the approach is "the best way to ensure the success of a business."
I don't think so. The best way to insure the success of all businesses in the city is to improve K-14 education. Only 6 in 10 of Charlotte's high school students complete high school. The city should be focusing attention on this problem instead of incentives. Address the K-14 challenge in a meaningful way, and business development will follow. For example, instead of setting aside $100,000 per year in business incentive grants (one component of the Toolkit), set aside $100,000 per year in college incentive grants. Rather than paying incentives to developers to buy land, create incentives for teachers to upgrade their skills. Instead of providing grants to direct development along rail lines, provide grants to build K-14 career paths.
posted by Ed Morrison |
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Charlotte heads down the incentive path
