Missouri Sen. Jason Crowell (R-Cape Girardeau) also deserves kudos for his wise words:
- “A lot of people understand that things in this bill don’t smell right.”
- “I don’t think there is evidence that tax credits create a lot of jobs,” she said, adding that businesses often threaten not to come to a region or state unless they are promised some kind of incentives.
- “The words I use to describe this is mafia capitalism.”
“Developers know this will not be a financial success,” Crowell writes. “Otherwise they would move forward with Aerotropolis without government subsidies.”Finally, Sen. Kurt Bahr (R-O'Fallon) points out the peculiar logic of using money saved from doing away with ineffective state tax credit programs to finance a new tax credit program.
Let's hope that the good sense exhibited by these representatives of ours in Jefferson City is common enough to improve state economic development policies.