via Economix Blog, New York Times

As a growing number of small business organizations pursue a policy agenda distinct from that of corporate America, they may be able to nudge state and local government toward new economic development strategies.

Currently, the businesses best able to garner generous grants and tax incentives by promising to create jobs within specific political boundaries are large, mobile corporations that can pit communities against one another, demanding ever-higher subsidies.

Greg LeRoy wrote about the problem at length in “The Great American Jobs Scam.” In his 2010 book, “Investment Incentives and the Global Competition for Capital,” Kenneth Thomas estimated the total cost to American taxpayers at about $70 billion a year.

Read the full article on the New York Times' Economix Blog here.