Subsidies Archives - Public Seminar

Sports

Inside the Sports Subsidy Industrial Complex

Phony numbers, huge conflicts of interest, and bad journalism

May 1, 2023 • by Pat Garofalo

And that’s the crux of it: stadium boosters always trot out these outlandish economic impact studies to justify taxpayer investments that never pay off....

Inside the Sports Subsidy Industrial Complex

Corporations

“The Commonwealth of Amazon”

Amazon Web Services holds about 40 percent of the cloud computing market

January 26, 2023 • by Pat Garofalo

As one Virginia resident put it, “Northern Virginia is being overwhelmed by these things. … We may as well start calling ourselves the Commonwealth of Amazon.”...

Corporations

Corporate Subsidies Exposed by Georgia Judge

The state made big promises in a deal with an electric car manufacturer

October 5, 2022 • by Pat Garofalo

Subsidy deals almost always necessitate new obligations on behalf of taxpayers to provide services to the corporation’s physical grounds and its future workers. But the costs of those services — be they increased water and power usage, public safety, infrastructure degradation, environmental costs, or what have you — are not ...

Corporate Subsidies Exposed by Georgia Judge

Corporations

Seriously, What’s the Matter With Kansas?

The new Panasonic and Kansas deal could result in low-pay and no-benefit jobs

August 2, 2022 • by Pat Garofalo

But in any deal, and particularly one of this size, at a bare minimum lawmakers should demand concrete promises on jobs and pay, not vague totals and hopes and prayers that a corporation will hire workers rather than automate its processes. Panasonic could absolutely hit its payroll total with a ...

Seriously, What’s the Matter With Kansas?

Economy

The Las Vegas Raiders and a Raid on Nevada’s Finances

Sports and debt in the desert

June 7, 2021 • by Pat Garofalo

_____ In 2016, the football team now called the Las Vegas Raiders received the largest stadium subsidy in American history — $750 million — to ditch their allegiance to Oakland, California and relocate to Sin City. The state legislature approved the $750 million, which contributed to the $2 billion tab to build the ...