Last Friday, Ed Lazere joined Kojo Nnamdi and Tom Sherwood on WAMU’s The Politics Hour, to discuss whether or not the District should be offering $25 million to Northrop Grumman to move its headquarters into the District. Ed discussed how research shows that these tax breaks play a very minor role in companies’ decisions on where to locate, but can have a huge impact on the jurisdictions long-term vitality. These tax breaks can actually hurt a jurisdictions’ ability to provide sound public infrastructure and a solidly educated workforce ‘ factors that do play a big role in companies’ decisions on where to locate.
The District’s budget woes, including whether or DC should use its $284 million Rainy Day Fund, were also topics discussed on the show. DCFPI recently released a paper on why DC should start working with Congress to address the onerous rules that make our Rainy Day Fund harder to tap for use in a recession that nearly any other states’.
To hear more about Northrop Grumman and DC’s budget woes, click here. [The portion of the show with Ed begins at minute 29.]
