Tuesday, December 13, 2005
"Is it fair to give taxpayers' money to big corporations that will then use it to help put existing firms out of business?"
Withdrawal of Subsidies for Big-Box Sprawl
Kenneth Stone, an economist at Iowa State University who has studied superstores for years, is appalled at the number of local governments that actually subsidize these operations. In a 2001 study, he asks, "Is it fair to give taxpayers' money to big corporations that will then use it to help put existing firms out of business?" alluding to a "zero sum game" being played by city governments that dole out financial incentives to big-box stores. "The deck is stacked against local merchants. Nobody speaks up for them. "Under its smart growth policy, Maryland has decided it no longer makes sense to force taxpayers to subsidize wasteful and inefficient development, so the state has pulled the plug on subsidies for sprawl. Developers can still build such development, but the state will no longer subsidize the construction of new roads or water and sewer lines to middle-of-nowhere "sprawl sites;" instead, state funds are directed toward designated "Priority Funding Areas," which include existing communities and areas for which new growth is planned by local governments.
kstone@iastate.edu
