Canadian aerospace manufacturer Bombardier is in talks with the state (MO) to offer up to $40 million in incentives per year for 22 years to open an assembly in Kansas City. The project is estimated to cost $375 million to build and would bring 2,000 jobs earning an average wage of $55,000. The plant would potentialy be home to manufacturing of the midsized Bombardier C-Series.
The state senate wants more than 2,000 jobs for the more than 3/4 billions dollars in incentives this project was planning to get ($40 million a year for 20+ years)... I wouldn't hold my breath on this one...
More industry is great, but this comes at a hefty price--$880 million . Essentially the bill sets aside scant terms that provide no safety net for Missouri if Bombardier passes on this deal. It's not just a loss of revenue, but a "fund" of money set aside for Bombardier that does not require them to reimburse Missouri for a loss. It's the same story Canada tells about Bombardier--they only thrive on corporate welfare, and are not viable without it. They come back asking Canadians for more and more tax relief and federal support, which brings me to another problem with this deal: Missouri is trying to compete with only state funds, against a Canadian site for which they would get hundreds of millions in federal development dollars. The playing field is massively set against us, and there's no sense in bringing any development into Missouri that would mean squeezing state programs or asking Missourians to replace a loss of revenue with a tax increase. Higher taxes cost jobs. I don't think I've seen that there is any assurance that this wouldn't end up costing the state more than it creates, and I haven't seen any protection for Missouri taxpayers in the bill. There is no conflict of interest clause and the terms of repayment are vague at best. With an investment this large, we can't just allow it because it "sounds like a good idea". The burden of proof should be on the legislators pushing this to be clear that the risk for Missouri is minimal, and I don't think they've done that at all.
I think the deal needs more transparency and definitely a closer look. Missouri Political News Service makes a good point--they're a really wealthy co. Why do they need SO much in tax credits? Isn't the deflation of the US dollar going to offer a ton of savings? It's teetering on bribery.
that Bombardier pressured Norway to hand over a rail contract to them, or else they'd take their manufacturing jobs elsewhere...that's kind of scary. I don't think we should do business with them, even if we DID get a cool railroad out of it.
They could use the track to showcase their new trainsets!