News

An Evaluation of State Government Online Disclosure of Economic Development Subsidies

An increasing number of states are disclosing the names of companies that receive economic
development subsidies, but there is wide variation in the quality of such reporting. A few states
have created exemplary online disclosure systems, while many release recipient information only in
obscure reports tucked away in remote corners of official websites. About a dozen states still keep
taxpayers in the dark on the use of job subsidies, even though they cost taxpayers nationwide tens
of billions of dollars each year in direct outlays and lost tax revenue. These are the broad findings
of an updated review of state economic development transparency conducted by Good Jobs First.

Sunshine is, as the saying goes, the best antiseptic — the cornerstone to reform. Weighing the
costs and benefits of job subsidies is possible only with company-specific recipient information.

Disclosure enables all other analyses: of whether companies are delivering promised jobs; of
fairness among companies and industries; of wages and benefits; of geographic distribution; and of
other measures of accountability and equity.

by
Philip Mattera, Thomas Cafcas, Leigh McIlvaine,
Caitlin Lacy, Elizabeth Williams and Sarah Gutschow

Full Report: http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/sites/default/files/docs/pdf/showusthesubsidiesrpt.pdf

Sorry, we couldn't find any posts. Please try a different search.

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.