When you cut through all the political handicapping, sports prognostication, not-so-clever jokes and pictures of scantily-clad babes, this website exists for the basic purpose of protecting your tax dollars.
It’s what we do.
Why? Well, for starters nobody in government, the “business community” or the mainstream media is doing it … as evidenced by the Palmetto state’s sluggish economy, sky-high unemployment and declining income levels.
Anyway, in addition to supporting tax cuts, spending caps and structural reforms aimed at making our state more competitive (as well as backing candidates who support those policies), we also dig into specific economic development deals in an effort to ascertain whether the “juice is worth the squeeze,” so to speak.
Take the deal announced on Thursday by the S.C. Department of Commerce regarding AQT Solar, a California-based start-up company that says it will be locating 1,000 jobs in the Columbia, S.C. metropolitan area over the next three years.
FITS readers already know all about AQT Solar – because we identified the company back in September as the target of an aggressive push on behalf of Midlands, S.C. leaders to land a “major manufacturing facility.” We also noted that the company received taxpayer funding from former Gov. Arnold Shwarzenegger’s Office of Economic Development.
But we’re not taking our “victory lap” because we were able to scoop the mainstream media on an important economic announcement … that happens all the time, and if we took victory laps every time it did, we’d get pretty winded.
No … we’re taking this victory lap because sources familiar with the negotiations that landed AQT say that our story (and a previous article hinting at the deal) helped fundamentally reshape the composition of the final agreement.
You read that right … a friggin’ blog … fundamentally reshaping a major economic development deal …
What did we do, exactly? Well, in identifying AQT four months ago as the economic recruit being targeted by S.C. leaders, we exposed a little-known component of the original deal that would have reportedly required local governments to purchase millions of dollars worth of AQT solar panels.
So in addition to taxpayer-funded incentives, our politicians were reportedly preparing to provide this company with a guaranteed revenue stream.
Our concerns (which were being raised in private by some of the negotiators) apparently gave sufficient amplification to the issue … and sources say that this controversial provision has been stripped out of the deal as a result.
Look, we haven’t read the fine print regarding the AQT agreement yet … so it’s way too early to say whether or not the final incentive deal is in the best interest of the taxpayers. Also, we’re not “hating” on solar. In fact, if it eventually turns out that purchasing solar panels from AQT is the most efficient means of meeting government’s energy needs in the Midlands, then we’re all for it.
Those debates are for another day … as is the proximity of S.C. Rep. James Smith to this deal (he of the solar panel incentive legislation).
All we know now is that the deal state and local leaders ultimately agreed to with AQT is better for the taxpayers than the deal that was originally being proposed … and we apparently had more than a little bit to do with that.
Like Jack Nicholson said (via Aaron Sorkin) in A Few Good Men, you “want us on that wall,” right?
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By WorkingTommyC January 7, 2011 at 10:36 am
Stopped some fascism from being hidden in the fine print, eh?
Good!
Now we need to work to stop the fascism in the large, easy-to-read print as well.