CORPORATE SWINDLES & CIVIC SUICIDE

Cleveland, by no means, is the only city that bestows gift after gift upon corporate welfare chiselers.

Crain’s Cleveland Business this week linked to a Columbus Dispatch article that reveals the depravity of these business frauds and their grip on that city’s government.

In Columbus the city council created a 735-acre downtown district to “shift new tax money – likely millions of dollars – to Downtown projects…” the article noted. It’s not the first and won’t be the last.

And where would this tax money come from? A tax incremental financing (TIF) deal that diverts property tax money from its ordinary sources to help downtown projects.

The losers: the Columbus Metropolitan Library, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, social service agencies and unnamed “others that rely on property taxes.” It did state that the Columbus schools wouldn’t lose revenue.

Cleveland already gives away tax revenue with TIFs but to set up an entire district would be giving our officials bad ideas. Here comes Wolstein!

The diverted tax revenue seems to come from agencies that do things for people. Oh well, once again, let them eat cake.

The diverted revenue will go to provide infrastructure for shops and restaurants among other needs. Isn’t that just what Americans need – more restaurants and more shops and less help for children.

Of course, a coarse and dying society requires new ideas for civic suicide.

Hooray for Columbus!