Gwinnett Buzz: YesVideo a Good `Investment`
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Derek at GwinnettBuzz.com argues that the county’s waiver of about $3,000 in permitting fees to `encourage` YesVideo to open a new facility in Norcross is a good investment in the local economy:
We often hear liberals decry “corporate welfare” but the incentives for YesVideo provide an excellent example of well-advised government “investment.” I would much prefer to see government seeking to stimulate job creation by helping people develop long-term marketable job skills and supporting businesses that seek to provide goods and services demanded by the market.
Donald Valtman, a regular contributor to the TalkGwinnett discussion forums, sees the deal a little differently:
Bringing 300 jobs, whose starting pay is $9/hour, to Gwinnett County will do nothing but INCREASE the County’s welfare costs and TURN the Gwinnett Hospital System into another Grady Hospital.
The $3K that won’t be paid by YesVideo is, arguably, a fee to cover an actual “cost of government” and, if it isn’t paid by YesVideo it must be satisfied by someone else, possibly in higher property taxes. Conversely, the cost to the county will be more than matched by the increase in tax revenue when YesVideo renovates its new home.
What do you think? Should Gwinnett County offer incentives to bring new business to the county, even if it means that you and I might pay more in property taxes?
Gwinnett Buzz » Blog Archive » YesVideo to bring new facility, jobs to Norcross
With the state of the economy, I’d say any employer offering 300 jobs to our citizens is an asset to Gwinnett County. With so many out of work and underemployed–both Democrats and Republicans–how can that be bad? Having said that, I’m wondering if YesVideo really needed a $3000 incentive to choose to do business here. It’s really not that much money. Were there other incentives as well? I’m not Paul Krugman, the nobel prize winning economist, but I gander to say the jobs are worth more to the county than a 3K tax deficit, if you can even call it that.