Incentives for All Business
I was on vacation last week so missed Gov. Easley's announcement that small businesses will now be allowed to apply for grants.
In some ways this is not big news. The government has been handing out money to large businesses for a long time. Dell's $300 million plus package of tax breaks, cash, infrastructure improvements is one that stands out recently. So its more of a shift in scale than philosophy.
But the fact that they are now putting money behind the constant din of speeches saying small business creates the most jobs is significant.
The only problem is that choosing to fund small business does not mean that state and local governments have become any better at picking successful businesses. Dell's recent earnings have fallen and Merck's decision to shutter plants and fire people -- about a year after it received money from the state, point to problems with choosing winners.
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