Buffalo--Boom or Bust (New York, Rochester, Amherst: income, best, small business)
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The question to ask is if this was elsewhere in the state like Rochester, would it have done any better? I ask because that is the risk with giving incentives and in many cases, they don't pan out like initially stated anywhere in the country.
This is why I don't support incentives. They are more a political tool, than an economic tool. I do support lower taxes, so all kinds of businesses could pop up, not just the hand chosen, based on their financial contribution. There is, of course some exceptions to that rule, if multiple entities would benefit, for instance, and of course if the project makes sense to start with.
Speaking of Rochester, and as an example of what I'm saying, is I supported the AIM Optics program, for the simple reason that Rochester does have an optics cluster, and has for over 100 years. I don't know what happened, but it should have worked. Second, I supported the Fast Ferry because it served the entire community, and as the original business plan stated 1/3 Rochester, 1/3 the rest of NYS, 1/3 destinations beyond NY.
Other than that, maybe infrastructure improvements, etc, but that's it
This is why I don't support incentives. They are more a political tool, than an economic tool. I do support lower taxes, so all kinds of businesses could pop up, not just the hand chosen, based on their financial contribution. There is, of course some exceptions to that rule, if multiple entities would benefit, for instance, and of course if the project makes sense to start with.
Speaking of Rochester, and as an example of what I'm saying, is I supported the AIM Optics program, for the simple reason that Rochester does have an optics cluster, and has for over 100 years. I don't know what happened, but it should have worked. Second, I supported the Fast Ferry because it served the entire community, and as the original business plan stated 1/3 Rochester, 1/3 the rest of NYS, 1/3 destinations beyond NY.
Other than that, maybe infrastructure improvements, etc, but that's it
That's the thing, companies still want incentives even if the state has lower taxes. So, it makes me wonder that there is more to this "business climate"/incentive thing than taxes.
That's the thing, companies still want incentives even if the state has lower taxes. So, it makes me wonder that there is more to this "business climate"/incentive thing than taxes.
That makes sense. The municipalities have shown their hand. They are willing to wheel and deal, so it's their duty to cut the best deal, whatever that may be. Once again, government failure.
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