That 10:30 A.M. press conference with Governor Steve Beshear is all about the Zap! Car manufacturing deal recently struck, according to our sources.
The $84 million dollar plant will be built in Franklin, Kentucky and the Commonwealth has approved up to $48 million in tax incentives for Inegrity Manufacturing.
Quite a good move for Kentucky because anything that doesn’t go to RED CHINA = gooood.
UPDATE @ 10:50: What was that about this being a boondoggle that will end the world and kill little babies?
From the Beshear press conference earlier:
The incentives are also based on the company’s commitment to create 4,000 new full-time jobs for Kentucky residents within the first four years of the project’s completion. The average hourly wage plus benefits for the new jobs is approximately $20 per hour, exclusive of benefits. The new plant will be situated on more than 225 acres in the Franklin industrial park.
“These are good, high-paying jobs, the kind that have been so important to this state over many years and are even more important in this tough economic period,” Gov. Beshear said.
4,000 jobs that don’t already exist is hardly what I’d call a boondoggle.
14 responses so far ↓
1 The Real // Aug 25, 2008 at 10:21 am
One word: BOONDOGGLE!
2 David Adams // Aug 25, 2008 at 10:31 am
Boondoggle is a very good word for this. Lowering taxes for businesses that are already here rather than keeping them high and then rebating them to outside companies to get them to come here and calling it “economic development” is nothing more than a fraud perpetuated on the people of Kentucky by our politicians.
And yes, I said the same thing when it was Gov. Fletcher calling the press conferences.
3 David Adams // Aug 25, 2008 at 10:34 am
That second sentence above doesn’t make any sense. Sorry.
Try this:
Keeping taxes high and then rebating them to outside companies to get them to come here and calling it “economic development” is nothing more than a fraud perpetuated on the people of Kentucky by our politicians.
4 UK Alumni // Aug 25, 2008 at 11:08 am
I wouldn’t give too much thought to these ‘boondoggle’ people, Jake. This is the same group that wants to stick a loaded handgun in every kindergarten classroom in Kentucky.
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=10567560&postID=7985669883881546288
5 jake // Aug 25, 2008 at 11:22 am
That’s damned retarded. I’m a fan of concealed carry permits, gun rights, yadda yadda… but that’s a clear instance where gun control is necessary.
In other news, I get pissed at Beshear as much as any Republican… and in this instance, 4K jobs is a big deal.
6 David Adams // Aug 25, 2008 at 11:48 am
That’s 4K jobs, if it works out, purchased with tax rebates from companies that are already here. If we just lowered taxes for everyone, the promise of 4K new jobs would not be such a big deal because we would get so much more.
On the bright side, if we can just hold off socializing our state’s healthcare system any further for a little while longer, we may get an influx of jobs from Ohio, who is beating us in this particular race toward stupid. (ED: LINK REMOVED)
Editor’s Note: You’re free to spin, but please do not link to the Bluegrass Institute on this site. Thanks.
7 Taylor // Aug 25, 2008 at 12:09 pm
I’m not sure if boondoggle is the right word, either. Perhaps something like “potentially-sketchy business dealings with companies known to have poor records” – not saying that Wired magazine is the be all, end all authority in the world, but something to be thought about…
http://www.wired.com/cars/futuretransport/magazine/16-04/ff_zapped
from the wacky environmentalist standpoint, I’m excited to see some (small) glimpses of forward-thinking when it comes to the energy crisis (the problem is that electric cars in KY will still be running on coal, by default). but as a Kentuckian who thinks there are probably better things we could be doing with the state’s money – especially as far as energy in concerned (I feel like our state government has never heard of solar power), I’m a bit concerned at what we’re throwing our money at.
in short, I’m (very) cautiously optimistic.
8 Dave // Aug 25, 2008 at 1:18 pm
It’s only great if they actually manage to ramp up and create 4k jobs at some point in the future. The question that should be asked is…what if they don’t? If they start out with only a few hundred and never make it further, do they still get massive tax breaks? If they ramp up and then start outsourcing overseas, what happens?
I’m all for economic development, but it would be nice to see if there is enough stick to go along with the carrot.
9 UK Alumni // Aug 25, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Let’s answer Dave’s question with a series of other questions-
*Do we really see gasoline prices ever going bel0w $3 dollars again?
*Do most people commute less than 10 miles to work daily?
* Would a vehicle that goes over 25 miles between charges with a max speed of 40 MPH be of interest to urban/suburban dwellers?
There’s no doubt there is a market for this product, although like a lot things it’s not a one size fits all. And never having to buy gas again for under $12,000 might seem like a good investment to some.
10 The Real // Aug 25, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Hello? Testing 1, 2.
11 The Real // Aug 25, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Jake-
Your naiveté is causing you to lose some street cred. This is no Toyota-esque coup. (Remember the MLC / Georgetown score which Steve Beshear railed against using economic incentives to land?)
So, you think a non-profitable $47 million company that trades over the counter with a share price of $.79 will be able to pull off an $84 investment? And you think even if it does, this size investment will result in 4,000 jobs? Remember, VW is investing $1 BILLION in its new Chattanooga plant in order to produce only 2,000 jobs. The oil sheikhs are going to have to provide a lot more than $10 million in capital to get this puppy off the ground.
And then there’s this:
http://www.wired.com/cars/futuretransport/magazine/16-04/ff_zapped
And this:
http://www.wired.com/cars/coolwheels/news/2008/02/zap
And this:
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1474/
C’mon, Jake. You’re better than this. It’s a scam. Kentucky will never, ever, ever land another legitimate factory until it becomes a Right to Work state.
BTW, UK Alumni (which should actually be alumnus or alumna unless you are constantly representing the thoughts of more than yourself), I am the most anti-NRA-er you’d ever meet. So, I suspect you were talking about David when this discussion went off on a gun control tangent. Also, although I am politically left-of-center, I am all for doing whatever (including using economic incentives) to encourage relocation of outside businesses and their jobs. But let’s just not be duped when we do it.
12 The Real // Aug 25, 2008 at 10:18 pm
I had links for the share price, market cap, Dubai capital raising, VW investment, etc., but for some reason I couldn’t post my message with them in it. I admit, I’m not the most technologically-saavy poster, but I didn’t think this stuff was that complicated.
13 Steve Bittenbender // Aug 25, 2008 at 11:04 pm
To answer the question about incentives –
Unless there’s been a major change in how incentives are doled out, it should be something like this:
1. The tax credits are given to the company over a 10-year period, so the company can get all the credits back right up front
2. The amount of tax credits the company can receive is based on the investment and number of jobs created. If the company doesn’t meet the number of jobs, it only gets a prorated percentage of the credits for that year.
14 jake // Aug 26, 2008 at 7:37 am
I love it when people up all pretending to be afraid that I’m losing credibility.
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