But by far the biggest issue is the betrayal of good government: Public officials cannot conduct themselves as if they aren’t accountable to the people, not in a free state.
A new study from Western Carolina University's Center for the Study of Free Enterprise asks "What Do Film Incentives Mean for North Carolina's Economy?" After spending over $404 million, North Carolina's economy was "not improved by its film incentives," and it "might be worse off."
How the state should govern tax revenues coming from and being directed to corporations (i.e., corporate taxes and corporate welfare)? There are four possible policy combinations involved, but only two currently under debate.
The governor's advocacy of high corporate taxes and high corporate welfare may seem hypocritical, but it's one of four policy combinations. Each has a different outcome.
North Carolina is one of only 16 states in the U.S. with a franchise tax, which amounts to a double tax on corporate assets. That doesn't sound very good. It sounds worse the more you read about it.
A year ago we explained that "Gov. Cooper opposes tax cuts for corporations in general, not particular. It’s a fine distinction." Examples abound in even the past three months of press releases from the governor's office.
The governor, his administration, and Wake County commissioners' silence on this is very troubling. Public officials cannot conduct themselves as if they aren't accountable to the people, not in a free state.
These findings make perfect sense. Otherwise, you'd have to think that politicians are (a) better at spotting investment opportunities than professional investors but (b) won't use their own money on these sure-winner investment opportunities because they want the state to reap all the benefits.
