Wednesday, January 13, 2010

More of the Same . . . .

State focuses on tax credits to create jobs - - -
State officials offer some explanations: The Paterson administration wants to change the way New York businesses get tax breaks amid criticism that the Empire Zone program wastes public money without sufficient return in terms of economic growth.

For Excelsior, there are tax credits for targeted industries – high technology, biotechnology, clean technology, finance and manufacturing.
While tax credits are probably a necessary evil given that other states have similar programs, New York's problem with job creation isn't in its tax credit program . . . It is the way New York does business itself: too expensive, too complicated, too unpredictable.

New York needs to start looking to its competition -- Texas, North Carolina, Tenesee, etc. -- and start bench-marking itself against those states. EG., How does the cost of transportation compare with Tennesee? You can cross TN on a free interstate, but New York charges a toll on its Thruway. That needs to change. Property taxes are probably less than half of ours in North Carolina -- How can New York change that? How does the cost of utilities compare? Why are our costs higher -- especially given our abundance of hydropower?

If New York would make itself only "average" we would be way ahead of where we are now.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

All good points about State difficeincies. Although other states have tax give aways, the real truth is that local taxes are way down the list of industrial recruitment factors companies analyze. The primary cost factors are site availability and labor and utility costs. Labor is #1. Companies have learned all too well how to milk the tax breaks simply because they exist. And, most politicians and boards cannot say no.

Anonymous said...

Yup... our cost of living is REALLY high, and we don't get much for it! I pay 600$ for 2-bedroom apartment with laundry and garage... and you can probably find something comparable in Atlanta... PLUS it wouldn't be a 100+ year old duplex, PLUS you won't be paying outlandish kwh rates... PLUS you don't have leaky insulation making your heating/AC go haywire... PLUS AC during the peak season of the sunshine belt is FAR cheaper than heat during the peak season here...
My last National Grid bill was $220 for this tiny upstairs duplex!!! Tell me how living in Utica is cheaper???
And that's just the housing... take into account transportation! Yes, we have tolls... but don't forget that our gas/Diesel prices aren't exactly the cheapest in the nation... plus we can't just walk anywhere because everything is SO FAR AWAY... and you can't take a bus or train to go to a friend's house or to get to your job around here... plus we have to have all-seasons AND winter tires... and if you want to have any kind of sanity, you're constantly repainting or repairing your car due to salt or other cars hitting you in the snow... And then add on top of that getting a ticket from New Hartford, NY Mills, or Whitesboro from cops that are ON TOP of you for having a muffler that's rotted off because of all the salt...
And there's more... all that, and we get paid WAY TOO LITTLE for what we need to survive... and compare that to many other regions (like the states you've named) and it's a wonder that people could move away at all, seeing how they shouldn't even be able to save enough money to afford a UHaul rental.(I guess the stimulus money from GWBush was good for SOMETHING)