Global Foundries - Economic Development?

Wearing my business owner’s hat, I just have to ask … “How can I get me some of that free taxpayer money that AMD/Global Foundries is getting from New York State?” They are receiving a cash and pilot subsidy package amounting to between $800,000 and $1,500,000 per job (depending on which job projections you feel are most accurate).

I’m just kidding, of course. I don’t actually desire public money to run my private business. In fact, as with most business owners, I would never even think of demanding that the public support my for-profit business. That’s the very nature of being in business; you ask the public to support you by voting with their dollars, buying your product or service but I see it as completely indefensible to force the public to support you no matter how prevalent the practice or how acceptable your golfing buddies may find it to be.

Is there really no pride left in corporate America at all?

There are services our government is supposed to perform. They are supposed to do things like fix roads and make sure our elections are fair (and I think many of us see them as being incapable of handling these relatively simple tasks at times). Should they really also be deciding for us which entities are worthy of massive corporate welfare benefits and which are not? I feel that business has absolutely no right to suckle at the public’s teat, especially without said public’s permission.

These lines have been seriously muddied over the last several decades as occasional, support-oriented, economic aid has given way to massive and regular entitlement. The welfare recipient corporations have attuned themselves to a system requiring them to compete with each for “economic development” packages on one level or another. We citizens have to start putting our collective foot down. The time for such nonsense is over. We are in a serious recession. We do need jobs but we need sustainable jobs, not ones paid for with the equivalent of counterfeit money, money we will be expected to pay back with interest.

Simple math dictates that AMD’s original projection of 800 jobs divided into a $1.2 billion dollar subsidy equals over a million and a half dollars per job and that is just ridiculous! I have some questions for the conspirators in our state government who are intending to get away with this.

1. AMD is losing substantial money every quarter. Given that, would any bank in the world lend them this kind of money, never mind just give it to them with basically no strings attached?
2. Even considering secondary and tertiary development, what exact formula has been used to determine that this plant will be worth $1.5 million per projected job? While others may trust what consultants have to say on the matter, I want to see the actual numbers that lowed our elected officials to see this “investment” as justifiable.
3. This entire deal is based on microchips made in the USA competing successfully against similar chips being produced in China and India. How will AMD be competitive, post-NAFTA, against what amounts to wage slavery in the developing world?

When these questions are answered perhaps I can stop being such a Pollyanna. Until then, I will continue to see this as yet one more egregious cash grab made by people who obviously don’t care who they hurt, using taxpayer funds to enrich themselves and their cronies.