Jul 7, 2017 2 min read

Secretary Dennis Davin in the June 29 editorial, “DCED head pushes for more economic development funds” assumes Pennsylvania’s economy cannot flourish without taxpayers subsidizing business owners. That is fundamentally false.

This so-called “economic development” spending, more accurately called corporate welfare, has failed to sustain economic growth. Here’s the proof: Since 2007, Pennsylvania has spent more than any other state on corporate welfare – $6 billion to be precise. The results? The state ranks just 35th in job growth since 2005. Indeed, our economy is projected to grow at less than 2 percent this year. No wonder Pennsylvania’s population is shrinking.

A big handout from Department of Community and Economic Development, which Davin oversees, to Netflix or Amazon might draw headlines, but these subsidies do not lead to long-term job creation. In fact, the 10 states spending the least on corporate welfare saw faster job growth than the ten states spending the most since 2007.

Pennsylvania needs jobs, but offering tax dollars to job creators isn’t the answer. Something is wrong if we have to bribe companies to invest in our state. Reducing corporate welfare and using those savings to balance the budget and reduce taxes for everyone is the real solution.

Those who claim government is already “cut to the bone” while doling out millions to horse-race prizewinners and multi-billion-dollar corporations have their priorities upside down. Before taking one more dollar from Pennsylvanians, government must reconsider failed economic development programs.

Elizabeth Stelle

Harrisburg

Stelle is the director of policy analysis for the Commonwealth Foundation.