After getting $824M in state aid, GM to cut 900 jobs at Orion Assembly
michigancapitolconfidential.com
After getting $824M in state aid, GM to cut 900 jobs at Orion Assembly
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Re: After getting $824M in state aid, GM to cut 900 jobs at Orion Assembly
#2I guess its better than a sports stadium...
Re: After getting $824M in state aid, GM to cut 900 jobs at Orion Assembly
#3> Taxpayers spent $600 million to create 4,000 jobs
Taxpayers spent $0. They gave up the potential to make $600 million. And that was only if Orion created the full 4,000 jobs. So they potentially only forwent ~$135 million based on the actual amount of people hired.
But it's ridiculous to frame it this way. If a store gave you a coupon for $20 off your order, no one in their right mind would say the store "spent $20 on a subsidy". Especially if I never even cashed the coupon!
If you don't think corporations should get tax breaks that's totally fine. But framing it as an outlay is misleading.
Re: After getting $824M in state aid, GM to cut 900 jobs at Orion Assembly
#4I wish these stories would describe in more detail whether cash was spent up front (and if it was handed to the company or spent on projects), or if it was e.g. an abatement, that doesn't have an opportunity cost and won't make the company money.
Re: After getting $824M in state aid, GM to cut 900 jobs at Orion Assembly
#5> Taxpayers spent $600 million to create 4,000 jobs Taxpayers spent $0. They gave up the potential to make $600 million. And that was only if Orion created the full 4,000 jobs. So they potentially only forwent ~$135 million based on the actual amount of people hired. But it's ridiculous to frame it this way. If a store gave you a coupon for $20 off your order, no one in their right mind would say the store "spent $20…
> $66.1 million in site readiness
This sounds like cashs spent up front. But you're correct, I don't think it went to GM.
Re: After getting $824M in state aid, GM to cut 900 jobs at Orion Assembly
#6> Taxpayers spent $600 million to create 4,000 jobs Taxpayers spent $0. They gave up the potential to make $600 million. And that was only if Orion created the full 4,000 jobs. So they potentially only forwent ~$135 million based on the actual amount of people hired. But it's ridiculous to frame it this way. If a store gave you a coupon for $20 off your order, no one in their right mind would say the store "spent $20…
> $66.1 million in site readiness This sounds like cashs spent up front. But you're correct, I don't think it went to GM.
It's hard to know exactly what "site readiness" includes, but it usually means putting down roads, traffic control, etc. In this case, it could literally also mean the real estate costs of permitting and clearing the lots for their construction.
But again, these are usually improvements the state gets to keep, or are marketing costs for the land they were trying to develop. So not ideal but not a total loss either.
Re: After getting $824M in state aid, GM to cut 900 jobs at Orion Assembly
#7> Taxpayers spent $600 million to create 4,000 jobs Taxpayers spent $0. They gave up the potential to make $600 million. And that was only if Orion created the full 4,000 jobs. So they potentially only forwent ~$135 million based on the actual amount of people hired. But it's ridiculous to frame it this way. If a store gave you a coupon for $20 off your order, no one in their right mind would say the store "spent $20…
That's a good point, but I wouldn't assume they spent $0.
The direct costs and increases in undesirable externalities do have quantifiable costs.
If the government has been prudent and thorough, most if not all of those costs will be offset by positive direct benefits and externalities.
If not, the activity will be a net negative to the community.
Re: After getting $824M in state aid, GM to cut 900 jobs at Orion Assembly
#8I wish these stories would describe in more detail whether cash was spent up front (and if it was handed to the company or spent on projects), or if it was e.g. an abatement, that doesn't have an opportunity cost and won't make the company money.
This doesn't seem like a great site anyway. The link to the WARN notice at the bottom doesn't work, they use the phrase "corporate welfare" somewhat excessively, i.e. they definitely have an ax to grind, and they don't say if the site is actually shutting down or what proportion of the existing workforce 900 jobs is.
Re: After getting $824M in state aid, GM to cut 900 jobs at Orion Assembly
#9I wish these stories would describe in more detail whether cash was spent up front (and if it was handed to the company or spent on projects), or if it was e.g. an abatement, that doesn't have an opportunity cost and won't make the company money.
The original announcement from January 2022 provides overall details as well as specific bullet points on each dollar amount of the "corporate welfare":
https://www.michiganbusiness.org/press-releases/2022/01/hist...
Re: After getting $824M in state aid, GM to cut 900 jobs at Orion Assembly
#10I wish these stories would describe in more detail whether cash was spent up front (and if it was handed to the company or spent on projects), or if it was e.g. an abatement, that doesn't have an opportunity cost and won't make the company money.
This doesn't seem like a great site anyway. The link to the WARN notice at the bottom doesn't work, they use the phrase "corporate welfare" somewhat excessively, i.e. they definitely have an ax to grind, and they don't say if the site is actually shutting down or what proportion of the existing workforce 900 jobs is.
> Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.
It's weird to me, even as a relatively free-market guy, that a paper dedicated to small government would be so firmly opposed to tax cuts. I wonder if the distinction between "corporate welfare" and "tax cut" is solely down to the administration responsible.