Time for Public Outrage Over Delaware's Corporate Welfare

[TexasTowelie]

By Representative John Kowalko

IS DELAWARE WILLING TO GIVE AND TAKE AT YOUR EXPENSE?

Delaware taxpayers are once again being asked to close their collective minds and open their collective wallets. Another grotesque giveaway to another wealthy corporation has been proposed. Instigated, orchestrated and supported by the Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, Delaware’s State Department, the Administration and a vast number of corporate shills that occupy the General Assembly we are once again being cajoled to give millions of dollars to a profitable company under the guise of economic development. In the past 9 years these corporate welfare policies have cost the Delaware taxpayers well over $250 million most of which was funneled into the coffers the richest corporations in the world. There has been little to no economic development or sustainable job growth resulting from this corporate extortion racket. This number does not include the more than $80 million forfeited to wealthy corporations with the recent passage of the Delaware Competes Acts and Delaware Innovates Acts.

The similarities in some of these arrangements often show an utter disregard for economic prudence and justice. The recent Sallie Mae request for more than $2 million in taxpayer funds connotes an attitude of entitlement and greed which is reinforced when we consider the recent report of over $70 million in 2nd quarter earnings declared by Sallie Mae. This causes me to reflect on the $10 million requested and granted to JP Morgan Inc. after they declared a record $24 Billion in profits. These are not isolated incidents but rather common occurrences resulting from Delaware’s policies of unbounded enthusiasm to finance corporate welfare.

When you reflect on the actual economic circumstances challenging Delaware’s residents and taxpayers such as over $30 million in cuts to public education, elimination of the $2.5 million “Pharmaceutical Assistance Program” which served the neediest elderly and disabled citizens of Delaware (forcing them to choose between life-saving medications or life-giving food) no one should cast blind eye on such economic cruelty.

Historically there has been a certain consistency to the course plotted for Delaware’s economy. It seems to willfully avoid the needs of its citizens and small business community and instead focus almost entirely on ensuring a robust investment in the wealthier corporate world. Sadly such an investment of taxpayer money seldom results in any significant job growth or return on investment. The Bloom project is a prime example of government wasteful spending on private, special interests.

Read more: http://www.delawareliberal.net/2017/07/25/kowalko-oped-time-for-public-outrage-over-delawares-corporate-welfare/