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Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Why do some companies get so big?

Perhaps the answer can be found in the unholy union between state and corporation. Of particular interest in this post is $7.3 million from Summit County to fund Bridgestone Firestone's new research and development center. The county is forcefully taking money out of my pocket, under the threat of violence, and giving it to this multi billion dollar multinational corporation.

As if that isn't bad enough, the county is borrowing money for the project, according to county lawyer Jason Dodson. Which means that my fellow citizens and I will be paying for this plus interest out of our future paychecks. All together, the city of Akron, summit county, and the state of Ohio are contributing $68 million in public financing.

What kind of company is this that feels entitled to taxpayer money? Apparently all they have to do to get more funding from the state is threaten to relocate their facilities to Tennessee. Personally, I couldn't give a rat's ass if they packed up and left. I don't see any possible justification to take money from citizens and give it to these people. This is what we commonly refer to as "corporate welfare".

The least they could do is give me some free tires or something. Alas, no... what will they give me in return for this? Nothing. I will be forced to finance their expansion so state officials won't lose any corporate tax dollars.

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