New York State Spent Millions On Program For Startups That Created 76 Jobs

Nerval's Lobster writes Last year, the New York state government launched Start-Up NY, a program designed to boost employment by creating tax-free zones for technology and manufacturing firms that partner with academic institutions. Things didn't go quite as planned. In theory, those tax-free zones on university campuses would give companies access to the best young talent and cutting-edge research, but only a few firms are actually taking the bait: According to a report from the state's Department of Economic Development, the program only created 76 jobs last year, despite spending millions of dollars on advertising and other costs. If that wasn't eyebrow-raising enough, the companies involved in the program have only invested a collective $1.7 million so far. The low numbers didn't stop some state officials from defending the initiative. "Given the program was only up and running for basically one quarter of a year," Andrew Kennedy, a senior economic development aide to Governor Cuomo, told Capital New York, "I think 80 jobs is a good number that we can stand behind."

Comments

Too early for criticism.

[LionKimbro]

Wait a second -- this program has only been running for one quarter of a year?

76 jobs doesn't sound that bad, on such a short time frame.

Sounds like a pre-mature judgement.

Re:Too early for criticism.

[ShanghaiBill]

It's trying to bring business back to NY and make NY more business friendly

Wouldn't it be better to do things that help all business, like lower taxes and improve infrastructure, rather than spending tax dollars on subsidies and advertising? This sort of spending is just a race to the bottom, as other states ramp up their own subsides. Saying it is justified because of the 80 jobs is silly, because many, if not all, of those jobs would have likely been created with or without the subsidies. Maybe they could send a few million to convince an economist to move to NY, and explain the Broken Window Fallacy to the politicians.

No, the program didn't fail

[Vermonter]

"Last year, the New York state government launched Start-Up NY, a program designed to boost employment by creating tax-free zones for technology and manufacturing firms that partner with academic institutions."

See, this is what you are supposed to think, but here is how the truth of the matter reads:

"Last year, the New York state government launched Start-Up NY, a program that allows state politicians to give tax money to their buddies while having the appearance that they care about jobs and the general public."

Re:How would you promote job growth

[SJHillman]

Their fair share is obviously whatever things cost and I don't feel like paying for myself.

Re:How would you promote job growth

[__aaclcg7560]

People with EARNED INCOME pay the highest tax rates. Ever wonder why Steve Jobs and other CEO's take a $1 salary? They don't want to pay taxes on EARNED INCOME. Meanwhile, they pay lower taxes on PORTFOLIO INCOME (i.e., stocks and bonds) and PASSIVE INCOME (i.e., real estate). If you don't want to pay your fair share of taxes, stop working for EARNED INCOME.

Re:How would you promote job growth

[nobuddy]

Easy. The cost of maintaining a country is based on the GDP. If the calculated budget is $100, and you hold 12% of the GDP, your fair share is $12. If someone else holds .01% of the GDP, they owe $.01.

Fair share is not every citizen pays the same. This is no a socialist economy where everyone contributes the same to get the same benefits. Some people hold far more than others, so their fair share is much higher. They also reap far more of the benefits of those taxes. A man that owns 10,000 trucks in a trucking company gets a hell of a lot more benefit than the guy that rides the bus across town to his job at McDonald's.