[CPEO-BIF] Subsidies

[Lenny Siegel]

Long before I ever heard the word Brownfields, I worked with community 
groups around the Southwestern U.S. challenging the way that their local 
government were offering subsidies to high-tech companies to locate in 
their communities.

We argued that it is possible to attract investment by investing public 
resources in education, infrastructure, housing, and even environmental 
protection. Companies that have a choice where to locate need those 
investments, not only because they directly benefit, but because they 
need to recruit employees from a global workforce, and those potential 
employees look at the qualify of life in areas where they might move.

While direct funding or tax abatement may indeed be useful, it should be 
viewed within the context of a full range of public investments designed 
to promote economic development. The advantage of spending money on 
education, infrastructure, housing, and even environmental protection is 
that it benefits existing residents, too.

Lenny


-- 
Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org