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The Great American Jobs Scam: Corporate Tax Dodging and the Myth of Job Creation (Hardcover)

by Greg LeRoy (Author) "The Great American Jobs Scam is actually a collection of scams that have evolved over the past half-century and especially over the past three decades..." (more)
Key Phrases: site location consultants, economic development subsidies, jobs scam, New York, Single Sales Factor, Grant Thornton (more...)

4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Founder and director of the nonprofit center Good Jobs First, LeRoy offers a parade of damning case studies showing why communities should not woo corporations with subsidies. Corporate tactics, he finds, include quickly shuttered subsidized facilities, union busting and jobs that pay below the poverty line. Rewritten tax codes, which focus on sales taxes but ignore payroll and property taxes, as well as other tax abatements, undermine schools; most stadiums and convention centers further bleed public monies. Moreover, subsidies generally support suburban sprawl rather than accessibility to public transit used by the poor. Some corporate location consultants work both for companies and governments—"a sad reflection" of a disorganized public sector. On the corporate minus side, tax incentives to relocate, he shows, are dwarfed by labor, transport and utility costs. The upshot? Corporations are paying 28% less in state and local taxes than 20 years ago. LeRoy's suggested reforms include greater disclosure about subsidy deals; money-back guarantees if companies don't fulfill their pledges; requiring subsidized jobs to meet local average wages; closing corporate loopholes; and making sure every deal is approved by elected officials rather than appointed ones. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
Companies like Wal-Mart aren’t going to want you to read this book—all the more reason why you should. -- Carl Pope, Exective Director, Sierra Club

Greg LeRoy has exposed the problem of corporate misuse of taxpayer subsidies and promoted real working solutions. -- Gerald W. McEntee, American Federation of State County, and Municipal Employees

LeRoy reveals why corporate tax cuts don’t work: corporations get huge subsidies while workers get trickle-down lip service. -- Jim Hightower, author, Thieves in High Places and Let’s Stop Beating Around the Bush

This book is one-stop shopping for every citizen who wants to understand why and how corporate welfare doesn’t work. -- Joe Trippi, author, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Democracy, the Internet, and the Overthrow of Everything

We have supported Greg’s work since 1998. This book is a welcome resource for leaders of our union all over. -- Sandra Feldman, American Federation of Teachers

…should be required reading for governors, mayors and legislators who want to invest their citizens’ money wisely and effectively. -- Robert S. McIntyre, Citizens for Tax Justice

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Product Details

Hardcover: 290 pages
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers; illustrated edition edition (July 15, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1576753158
ISBN-13: 978-1576753156
Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #661,370 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
The Great American Jobs Scam is actually a collection of scams that have evolved over the past half-century and especially over the past three decades. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
site location consultants, economic development subsidies, jobs scam, stadium subsidies, property tax abatements, job subsidies, subsidy package, combined reporting, corporate assault, economic development officials, state corporate income taxes, taxpayer costs, tax dodging, tax increment financing, smart growth

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Single Sales Factor, Grant Thornton, North Carolina, United States, South Carolina, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Bank of America, Location Management Services, Baby Boom, Bay State, Corporate Assault, Deloitte Consulting, New Economy, Rhode Island, Baltimore Sun, Robert Ady, Camden Yards, Empire Zone, Fantus Area Research, Fantus Company, Felix Fantus, General Electric, Home Depot

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 26 books:

Economic Development (The Political Economy of the Middle East Series) (v. 1) by Tim Niblock in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
Rethinking Growth Strategies: How State and Local Taxes and Services Affect Economic Development by Robert G. Lynch in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
California Cities and the Local Sales Tax by Paul George Lewis in Back Matter
Real Estate by "George" in Back Matter
A Field Guide to Sprawl by Dolores Hayden in Back Matter

See all 26 books this book cites

1 book cites this book:

The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community (BK Currents (Hardcover)) by David C Korten in Back Matter

Books on Related Topics (learn more)

The Economics and Politics of Sports Facilities by Wilbur C. Rich

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Customer Reviews

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exposing Corporate Extortion of Taxpayers, July 7, 2005

By	Perri Morgan (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Across the country, state legislatures appropriate millions of taxpayer dollars each year on "corporate jobs incentives" under the guise of "economic development and job creation". Greg LeRoy manages to shed light on the fallacy of these programs, using real life examples to prove that "incentives" are simply corporate welfare schemes that do little more than pad the pockets of hugely profitable corporations - while providing photo ops for politicians.

As a longtime advocate for small business owners, who are responsible for the vast majority of new job creation despite their lack of eligibility for taxpayer subsidies, I have been frustrated by the ridiculous and baseless defenses used by lawmakers to justify using taxpayer dollars in this egregious manner. LeRoy narrows down a comprehensive study of the issue into an illuminating and ultimately readable treatise, wading through the many different forms that subsidies take - from outright cash hand-outs to Tax Increment Financing (TIF's) - and ultimately providing ample evidence that the "if you build it, they will come" approach is NOT responsible for new job creation in America.

This book is a public policy manual for our time; required reading for elected officials at every level who have voted - or are thinking about voting - for targeted tax subsidies. These lawmakers are creating an escalating "Economic War Between the States" at the expense of lower taxes, fair competition, and improved public services for all.

For citizens (and taxpayers), LeRoy will enlist your outrage.

For lawmakers who have voted against such disgraceful scams, he provides all the evidence needed to defend that vote in the face of a society which has been brainwashed to believe that "incentives = jobs".

Nothing could be further from the truth, and Greg LeRoy proves it.

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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Important and Compelling Book, July 17, 2005

By	Peter S. Fisher (Iowa City, IA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I hope the people who really need to read this book do read it--the state legislators and local officials who have been seduced by the arguments of the "job scammers," as Greg LeRoy calls them. As an academic economist who has been researching state economic development policy for many years, I know how hard it is to get the attention of policy makers and convince them they are wasting vast sums of tax money on corporate incentives, and in the process harming, not helping, their state's long term growth. I think Greg LeRoy has written the book that can cut through the nonsense in this debate and actually make a difference. Its readable, its colorful, its compelling, yet at the same time it is based on exhaustive, careful research. Here is finally the documentation for what many of us suspected has really been going on in the "incentive wars." My advice: buy a few extra copies and send them to your state representative or city council member. Then call them up a month later and ask them how they liked it.

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Material, but Too Long!, December 19, 2005

By	Loyd E. Eskildson "Pragmatist" (Phoenix, AZ.) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

LeRoy reports that job scams cost governments about $50 billion per year in lost revenues. The most common scams include:

1)Create a bogus competitor (another town or state) vs. wherever the company wanted to locate in the first place.

The intent is to create a "bidding war" over the freebies offered.

2)Job "blackmail" in which a company threatens to move (or locate elsewhere) unless it gets the subsidies/tax relief it wants.

Easily enhanced by overestimating the job increase - LeRoy cited examples from Connecticut in which only 9% of forecasted jobs materialized, leading to a cost of $367,910 per new job. Exaggerations are typically followed up by failure to track or publish actual results.

3)Entice a firm that pays "poverty" wages, and stick the taxpayers with hidden costs (eg. employee and family healthcare).

Wal-Mart is the most notable example.

4)Exaggerate "ripple effect" benefits - eg. the number of supplier jobs, and those created by employee spending.

(LeRoy cited an example where one city used a low multiplier to downplay jobs lost when a company left, and a high multiplier to play up the potential gain from another moving in.)

5)"Bust the union" in which the company uses Federal funding (eg.

CDBG grants from HUD) to move, and thereby break an existing union.

Obviously any and all these machinations can be combined.

Mayor Giuliani was cited as a prolific scam-"victim" - giving up $350 million in tax revenues between '94 - '01.

Small wonder N.Y. also ended up with a large deficit.

LeRoy points out that "nobody wants to be the mayor/governor who lost ______," and that fear impels leaders and legislatures to succomb.

In reality, however, taxes make up only 4-5% of location costs according to a consultant cited, and only 1.2% of total costs according to the IRS.

Similarly, convention centers are oversold (overall convention business is DECLINING - thus, new centers being built are extremely unlikely to be financially successful), and sports stadiums.

Meanwhile, LeRoy points out that a recent survey of civil engineers found that America's infrastructure needs greater funding. (My life as a truck-driver provides daily evidence of the substantial repairs and enhancements needed for our Interstates.)

The "bad news" with this book, like many others, is that to justify book printing, it ended up considerably longer than necessary - at least 2X, and probably 3X.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Corporate Scammers and Tax Dodgers.
"The Great American Jobs Scam" is an aptly titled book. Greg LeRoy explains in detail how corporations get tax breaks and related fiscal incentives to relocate or build in... Read more

Published 7 months ago by Scripture Studier

5.0 out of 5 stars Great impartial look at corporate extortion
Starting in the 1980's with the election of Ronald Reagan, the balance between government and big business has slowly shifted back into the hands of the latter. Read more

Published on May 30, 2007 by Newton Ooi

4.0 out of 5 stars Greg LeRoy exposes the folly of these largely unproductive economic policies
At one time or another, we have all been enticed by the prospect of a major retailer, manufacturer or financial services company building a new facility or relocating to our... Read more

Published on September 5, 2005 by Paul Tognetti

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely True, It's the Way of the World
I find this fascinating book, an expose on communities providing incentives to attract business, absolutely 100% correct, and also absolutely 100% immaterial. Read more

Published on August 4, 2005 by John Matlock

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy copies for your state legislators
This is complicated stuff, but LeRoy walks you through it bit by bit in an entertaining way that builds both your understanding and your anger. Read more

Published on July 24, 2005 by John Metzgar

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Reading for Social Equity Advocates
Just as he did so eloquently in "No More Candy Store", Greg LeRoy exposes the dirty little secret behind economic development tax subsidies which are no more than corporate... Read more

Published on July 6, 2005 by William Kennedy

5.0 out of 5 stars A well-written book by a real expert
As Greg LeRoy makes abundantly clear through one rich example after another, state and local governments are spending taxpayers' money with abandon in the name of "economic... Read more

Published on July 4, 2005 by Frank Mauro

5.0 out of 5 stars "Jobs Scam" a great read
This could easily be a wonk book, full of heavy facts that bore the reader. Instead, Greg LeRoy has written an accessible and excellent book that details how corporate give aways... Read more

Published on June 28, 2005 by Mike Matejka

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Must Read"
This is a quick read primer on what's wrong with the way state and local governments and corporations are selling our communities short. Read more

Published on June 21, 2005 by Chuck Sheketoff

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