Posted on 04/12/2015 8:27:01 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Anyone who spends time in or around the state of New York and has access to a television is familiar with the nearly endless advertisements which clutter the airwaves touting the accomplishments of Governor Andrew Cuomo. It’s a rather strange phenomena considering the fact that he’s not up for election again until 2018, assuming he even bothers to run at all. One of his greatest “accomplishments” in turning around the dismal prospects of the state is the START-UP NY program which was ostensibly designed to attract businesses to the state, promote the creation of new businesses and boost employment. All of this advertising isn’t cheap, nor is the associated support network to run the operation. So how well has that been working after more than a year of non-stop publicity? Well, it’s just been fabulous.
Youve seen Andrew Cuomos TV commercials, the ones that say, The new New York is open. Open to innovation. Open to ambition. Open to bold ideas. The spot is promoting the Start-Up NY program.
Now the results are starting to come in: 76 jobs so far.
In the entire state. From a program that has spent $28 million advertising its own existence.
Thats $368,000 per job.
Start-Up NY sounds great on its face. Its a tax cut. Who could argue with that? The problem is that its a very, very narrow tax cut. Its only for certain kinds of businesses that do certain kinds of things in certain areas of the state. Surprise: Its had very narrow effects.
Those 76 jobs are just a tad bit shy of the program’s initial goals, which were rather, er… modest to begin with.
Start-Up NYs professed goal? Creating 2,100 jobs. Over five years. Points for modesty.
In a state in which there are 7,775,000 jobs, thats projected job growth of 0.005% a year. Touting this as economic development is like saying youre going to fight hunger in India by sending Mumbai one box of Minute Rice.
This plan and a variety of others like it are failing to either attract businesses from other states or help any significant number of serious entrepreneurs get a new enterprise off the ground. The reason for this is fairly simple and revolves around the fact that most people who are smart enough to succeed in the business world are not dumb enough to fall for a scam. The program is little more than a gimmick which seeks to mask New York’s status as one of the worst business environments and high tax quagmires in the nation. In order to make things look a bit less horrible than they are, the program offers a discount tax rate to new businesses and a variety of other investment incentives. The main problem with this scheme is that these benefits are very much temporary, and assuming your business does manage to somehow survive for a few years you are lumped right back in with everyone else after that and pay the crippling state rate. Further, the smaller communities which “benefit” from these programs see only a handful of jobs out of it (as noted above) while having to make up the shortfall in their local budgets by taxing the residents all the harder.
At some point the voters need to ask where that $28M could have been better spent than in a marketing ploy which created 76 jobs which may or may not last until the next election. Given the state’s current population figures, the Governor could have just handed everyone in New York $3.50. If nothing else we’d have all been able to get one of those new breakfast wraps from Taco Bell.
Uh, actually it’s MUCH worse then that....
New York spent a Billion to create 76 jobs...
New York State Creates 76 Jobs, at a Cost of $13,157,894 Each
Those 76 are probably the staff of the program
The tax dollars of NEW YORK CITIZENS are tied up in the New York State Retirement Fund [NY State Public Employees` pension FUND] which has about $176.8 billion, of which ONLY $100 million is allocated by Nov. 2013 mandate[LAW} to be invested in NY State businesses.
But the NY State Pension Fund Doesn't invest in startups!!
THEY HAVE INVESTED IN 24 COMPANIES THAT WERE ALREADY MAKING BUCKS.
So all the tax monies never go into new cutting edge-
They want you to make some $ 1 million money first on your own- then they will come in with another investOR that you have to find by yourself.
That`s why the startup-NY has nothing to do with startups and nether does the phony baloney "Innovate NY Fund program' which IS a bunch of bullsht.
All Albany state govt is a bunch of crooks- They have 40 employees in the STATE "economic development depts." and NOT ONE OF THEM HAS EVER RUN A CORPORATION. The crooks in Albany suck up all your money and they pocket it for themselves.
Arrest `em all and throw away the key.
This $28 million was the ad cost, not the project cost also.
Right .. but that is just the advertizing cost.
Now add in the Tax Forgiveness/ Credit for 10 years (taxes lost)
and you will see the total cost of $53 Million, or around $765,000 for each of those jobs created.
If states like New York have to offer huge temporary tax cuts to attract businesses, perhaps the taxes in the state are simply too high. Imagine if instead of these temporary tax cuts for new businesses, the state just reduced taxes on all businesses. With lower tax rates the state wouldn’t need to spend millions on these programs and existing businesses would expand and new businesses would start in the state themselves.
Heck it’s their money.. if they want to elect people that steals it.. so be it..
Hard to get dumber than a New Yorker...
Sorry; WELL... there are people in Massachusetts..
But it paid 53 million dollars to the - er, democratic party operatives - in the TV and radio advertisements and news business, didn’t it?
Well, it kept the guys on Madison Ave. in work...
Cuomo - born on third - thinks he hit a triple.
I see these ads all the time in the Dallas area. My first reaction is always, yeah, a temporary tax break in a high tax state. What a deal!
Of course another advantage is that the boss can’t play gold all year round and his employees will have to pay a state income tax. What a deal!
I expect the advertising brainiacs who get a percentage of the billings as their fee are laughing all the way to the bank about the stupidity of their employer, NY state.
And someone interested in ethics in New York government better check their contributions to Cuomo and his henchmen.
Actually, he was born on second, and never advanced... Still thinks he hit a triple.
Good one Mort. You’re right... born on second.
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