re: Jindal suckered once again by startup???

quote:

---

Silicon valley startups? That'll never happen! The business is dominated by the big guys the little gu never makes it

---

How much should the state risk of our tax money Spidey? should we cut Medicaid to give to startups??

How long should a company rent an office in Silicon Valley so Bobby can call them "high tech" and give them our money? Is four months long enough?

I suspect there have been maybe 100Silicon Valley startups for every successful one. If that ratio holds out here Bobby might spend the entire state budget 10 or 12 times before one works.

PS--didn't miss it much--failure rate is 75%

LINK

I'd like to hear BigJim's take on offering a four month old startup millions and millions as Jindal did this company.

quote:

---

Do I like the fact that we have to bribe companies to come here? No, I don't. But we have crime, crappy housing, and crappy schools. We have to do something. Otherwise, we are no different than Michigan.

---

Every Southern state does; heck AL is worse than LA. These companies do bring jobs and that is usually the end goal.

quote:

---

Every Southern state does; heck AL is worse than LA. These companies do bring jobs and that is usually the end goal.

---

Give me a single example of a startup any state has paid 25% of it's investment and 35% of it's salaries that exists today.

Any state. Any start up.

quote:

---

Thanks for info IB. I'm from Lafayette and hope the company succeeds but it's nice to know info about the company that isn't being reported. I hope Bobby and the LED team thoroughly evaluated the potential of the company before granting the subsidies.

---

A little math shows we are really on the hook for beau coup if this company is successful.

If they employ 300 people at $64000 as they say we will be paying them $6.7 million a year cash money in subsidies just from the media credits. There are Wal Mart stores in Louisiana that employ 300. All their warehouses in the state employ that many without our subsidies.

quote:

---

Less rambling is sometimes a better way to get people to digest the meat if what you're saying.

A lesson to be learned there.

But yeah, I don't really care what the company does but it appears to be a run- of-the-mill consulting company. It will likely compete in this local market against non-subsidized Louisiana businesses.

---

Sorry to ramble too much myself.

They don't even have a product or a production to tout on their website.

You would think they would at least offer a case study or something to show visitors what they do.

Why would anyone go to the website?? What would you be looking for?

quote:

---

All I'm saying is that most of the southern states offer huge incentives to get companies. So a state has to be competitive. Is the deal you are discussing bad? I have no idea. BTW, I don't know about startups but here is what AL did to lure Mercedes back in '94:
"Alabama offered Mercedes-Benz a package valued at more than the cost of the plant itself. To lure the $300 million plant, with about 1,500 jobs, the state promised to buy the site for $30 million and lease it to Mercedes for $100. Surrounding communities will contribute an additional $5 million each, and the University of Alabama will offer German language and culture classes to the children of plant employees. On top of this, the state will provide a package of tax breaks valued at more than $300 million, which will, among other things, allow the plant to be paid for with money that would have been paid to the state"

---

Glad you brought that up. First off we give annually to the film industry $250 million and some say it will be $300 million this year which is not far from what Alabama gave Mercedes one time in one year.

Now the second thing I want to point out is in your link--it says Mercedes is getting $300 million in tax incentives. Those incentives are listed in the article---NONE of those incentives are redeemable for cash or transferrable to other taxpayers like this media credit or our film credits which are actually subsidies. So for Mercedes to use these tax incentives they must have tax liabilities. That is a HUGE difference between what Alabama did with Mercedes and what we do every year with no limits in the film business. That cost is now well over $1 billion.

Alabama cannot hold a candle to Jindal in corporate welfare.

I have heard this argument you make several time but most people making it are like you and do not pay attention to the very BIG difference in what Jindal has us doing and what these more responsible states are doing.

I don't like states doing what Alabama did but they only hit the taxpayers with the initial $300 million. The rest is generated by Mercedes itself. There are real assets there not in and out filmmakers too.

Jindal and KBB has hit us for over a billion dollars.

quote:

---

Oh I'll absolutely admit I know nothing about LA incentives or JIndal's deals. As I said above all I'm saying is that states offer huge incentives to companies and it is very competitive.

---

Do you consider yourself to be a small government fiscal conservative, who believes in free-market principles?

quote:

---

this is certainly an odd one. You would think a software consulting firm would look to put solution centers in areas with tons of potential clients, ones with great transportation hubs, and ones known for having a depth of top tech talent. Lafayette??

---

Nowhere on their website do they claim to offer software solutions to anything.

quote:

---

specific offerings listed on their website

---

Of what?? Who would buy them?

I can't believe Moret looked at that site, their tiny rented offices, their history and decided he would commit to pay these guys potentially millions of taxpayer dollars.

Look when I say the owners of this company can pay themselves unlimited salaries (it's their money--simply moving pockets) and qualify for 35% reimbursement I am not exaggerating. They can buy a building in the program and get 25% from us. They can then sell the building and they do not have to reimburse us.

These things are bad--very bad--for taxpayers.

I got to believe there will be a career in some of these industries--a very lucrative career wink wink link Tauzin got--for some of the Jindal people after they leave office. Probably some monstrous speaking fees. Some kind of post office payback.