Incentive Watch Saturday, February 12, 2005 A national site selector told EDPros in Arkansas what most people already know: incentives do not make or break big "superdeals". Read more. The Wichita City Council is reconsidering its incentive policies after it provided a package to help a dental insurance company move from downtown. Read more. The Georgia House has touched off a controversy after it passed legislation to shield incentive deals from public disclosure. Read more. An economist in Iowa estimates that jobs must pay at least $28,500 per year, or the state loses money. Lower paying jobs cost more in government services than they return in taxes. Read more. Rhode Island is trying to keep the headquarters of Brown & Sharpe, a venerable machine tool maker, from moving out os state. The management is reviewing the incentive package. Read more. Mississippi is trying to put together a $100 million deal to lure a steel mill. Read more. Controversy continues over whether the Iowa Values Fund wastes taxpayer money. Read more. Dave Swenson from Iowa State provides some insights into the problems with incentives directed at companies. Read more The Washington House of Representatives has passed a bill requiring a state audit of the 500 or so tax breaks that business receives. This type of tax expenditure analysis makes sense, since these tax breaks have the effect of narrowing the tax base and putting upward pressure on rates. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison |		This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. links Some Background on EDPro Weblog The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it. One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information. So, spread the word...Share the knowledge. Tell a friend about EDPro Weblog. If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site: Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber: Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking. Background on Ed Morrison Download some background information on me here.

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