Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Governor’s Spokesman Makes Ludicrous Job Claims
The state’s generosity program—where it drops tax dollars on hand-picked projects—continued with an $11 million subsidy to Millcraft developers for revitalization in the Fifth and Forbes corridor. This wasn’t the first grant to the developer (they got $4 million last year) and it likely won’t be the last as there is more to be handed out, likely very close to election time.
It is a campaign issue, with both sides jousting over what the investments mean. The administration’s spokesperson stated that “yes, we make an investment, but we get return in terms of additional jobs”.
Pardon us, but where are the additional jobs? There might be a lot of construction jobs that end once the projects are built, but what are the long-term employment effects? Job counts in the state, the Pittsburgh metro, and Allegheny County have barely budged from 2000 levels and if there is job growth, it is in areas like health and hospitality, not where the state has been doling out development dollars. For as many dollars that have been tossed around in Pennsylvania, one would figure we would be at the top of the country in growth. But we are not. And for the “investments” made by the state, economic development agencies are often unable to track the impacts to see if the leveraging of public dollars did any good at all.
Look at the nonsense of this state investment in Downtown revitalization: the City puts lots of investment to get the now-empty Lazarus building built; the URA plans to sell its properties at a discount; the people who will live Downtown will likely come from other areas of the City or the County; and taxpayers are assisting in the construction of luxury condos and hotel space that the City does not need. What a winner!
It is a campaign issue, with both sides jousting over what the investments mean. The administration’s spokesperson stated that “yes, we make an investment, but we get return in terms of additional jobs”.
Pardon us, but where are the additional jobs? There might be a lot of construction jobs that end once the projects are built, but what are the long-term employment effects? Job counts in the state, the Pittsburgh metro, and Allegheny County have barely budged from 2000 levels and if there is job growth, it is in areas like health and hospitality, not where the state has been doling out development dollars. For as many dollars that have been tossed around in Pennsylvania, one would figure we would be at the top of the country in growth. But we are not. And for the “investments” made by the state, economic development agencies are often unable to track the impacts to see if the leveraging of public dollars did any good at all.
Look at the nonsense of this state investment in Downtown revitalization: the City puts lots of investment to get the now-empty Lazarus building built; the URA plans to sell its properties at a discount; the people who will live Downtown will likely come from other areas of the City or the County; and taxpayers are assisting in the construction of luxury condos and hotel space that the City does not need. What a winner!
