In 2021, when small businesses were still closing en masse and many were unable to afford even rent, large corporations across the country got billions of dollars in tax breaks and other public support. It was a year defined by massive economic development subsidy packages.
It’s hard not to connect the spending spree to the influx of federal pandemic money, designed to help families and small businesses get back on their feet. Through the CARES and the American Rescue Plan acts, states, territories and tribal governments got a combined $500 billion.
Good Jobs First Research Analyst Kasia Tarczynska wrote about why the deals harm communities, and what true economic development includes.
Read it at Public Seminar.