The Great American Jobs Scam: Corporate Tax Dodging and the Myth of Job Creation

by Greg LeRoy

What do Wal-Mart, Dell, Fidelity Investments, Boeing, and Cabela's have in common? They're all part of a $50 billion a year scam in which--in the name of "job creation"--corporations play states and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1576753158
• ISBN13: 9781576753156
• Release Date: July 2005
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Length: 290 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Buy copies for your state legislators

This is complicated stuff, but LeRoy walks you through it bit by bit in an entertaining way that builds both your understanding and your anger. Without a hint of cynicism, he systematically exposes $50 billion in job scamming and tells how to stop it. It's so clearly written and explained, even state legislators should be able to finally "get it."

An Important and Compelling Book

I hope the people who really need to read this book do read it--the state legislators and local officials who have been seduced by the arguments of the "job scammers," as Greg LeRoy calls them. As an academic economist who has been researching state economic development policy for many years, I know how hard it is to get the attention of policy makers and convince them they are wasting vast sums of tax money on corporate incentives, and in the process harming, not helping, their state's long term growth. I think Greg LeRoy has written the book that can cut through the nonsense in this debate and actually make a difference. Its readable, its colorful, its compelling, yet at the same time it is based on exhaustive, careful research. Here is finally the documentation for what many of us suspected has really been going on in the "incentive wars." My advice: buy a few extra copies and send them to your state representative or city council member. Then call them up a month later and ask them how they liked it.

Exposing Corporate Extortion of Taxpayers

Across the country, state legislatures appropriate millions of taxpayer dollars each year on "corporate jobs incentives" under the guise of "economic development and job creation". Greg LeRoy manages to shed light on the fallacy of these programs, using real life examples to prove that "incentives" are simply corporate welfare schemes that do little more than pad the pockets of hugely profitable corporations - while providing photo ops for politicians. As a longtime advocate for small business owners, who are responsible for the vast majority of new job creation despite their lack of eligibility for taxpayer subsidies, I have been frustrated by the ridiculous and baseless defenses used by lawmakers to justify using taxpayer dollars in this egregious manner. LeRoy narrows down a comprehensive study of the issue into an illuminating and ultimately readable treatise, wading through the many different forms that subsidies take - from outright cash hand-outs to Tax Increment Financing (TIF's) - and ultimately providing ample evidence that the "if you build it, they will come" approach is NOT responsible for new job creation in America. This book is a public policy manual for our time; required reading for elected officials at every level who have voted - or are thinking about voting - for targeted tax subsidies. These lawmakers are creating an escalating "Economic War Between the States" at the expense of lower taxes, fair competition, and improved public services for all. For citizens (and taxpayers), LeRoy will enlist your outrage. For lawmakers who have voted against such disgraceful scams, he provides all the evidence needed to defend that vote in the face of a society which has been brainwashed to believe that "incentives = jobs". Nothing could be further from the truth, and Greg LeRoy proves it.

A well-written book by a real expert

As Greg LeRoy makes abundantly clear through one rich example after another, state and local governments are spending taxpayers' money with abandon in the name of "economic development" and not producing the desired results: more and better jobs. And he puts these examples into context, explaining how the estimated $50 billion a year in business subsidies has resulted in a huge shift in the nation's tax burden - from large corporations to ordinary citizens. For over 20 years, Greg LeRoy has been on the front lines of the effort to make state and local government economic development programs smarter and more accountable. And he and the local leaders and local organizations that he has worked with in various parts of the country have had some notable successes in adding disclosure and evaluation requirements, and job quality standards, to some of these programs. Some states and localities have even adopted money-back-guarantee requirements (frequently called "clawbacks") to deal with the countless number of situations (many good examples of which are given in this book) in which firms take big subsidies from the government and then fail to deliver on their job creation and job retention promises, and sometimes even cut their workforces substantially I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Greg LeRoy since 1994 and I am continually amazed by his mastery of this important subject. In this book, Greg distills his vast knowledge and experience into a well-written and entertaining volume that doesn't just explain what is going on but tells us why and what we can do to change things. Anyone who wants to improve the American economy will benefit from reading this book.

A "Must Read"

This is a quick read primer on what's wrong with the way state and local governments and corporations are selling our communities short. With colorful examples you won't forget, and clear, understandable explanations of tax and public finance policy that put law professors to shame, LeRoy shows the underbelly of the tax giveaway schemes taking place throughout the country. The Great American Jobs Scam is a must read for candidates, elected officials and others (especially voters) who care about the erosion of quality public services in communities across the country. Hopefully some journalists will give it a read and start placing the stories of tax deals for jobs on the crime pages instead of the business hype section.