Blowing the Buffalo Billion

Cuomo is having problems with his grand plan to buy the next election.

Yes, there are problems with the so called “Buffalo Billion.”

So bad he had to come out to Buffalo and reassure the workers that the plant, once completed, would be manufacturing solar panels. This is in spite of problems with investors and Elon Musk & Tesla Corporation's (basically) taking over the plant. After all the work is done, the taxpayers might just have this giant hulk of an empty building on their hands.

This is in spite of the promise of solar. I know several people that have solar on their houses and they are doing OK with energy generation. I even have solar on my house now. I'm proud to say that I am almost as cost efficient as nuclear energy right now with my energy production. (I look at how much I paid to have it put in & divide by the kWh generated. I'm in the realm of $16 an hour. Once you factor into nuclear the costs of building the plant – including all the cost over runs – and the fact that the actual plant owners always default on the loans, so the taxpayers have to pick up that tab – you see, no bank will loan a nuclear energy company money unless the government guarantees the loan. The 100% default rate is a turn off for them. - And the cost of storing the waste … according to economists, the cost of nuclear generated electricity is $15 - $16 a kWh. All those subsidies for what exactly? And this is saving us money? How? OK. I digress.)

So we currently have that monkey on our backs.

Add to that the Athanex debacle. Yes, Athanex might pull out of Dunkirk because of problems with Albany coughing up the taxpayer dollars to pay for their project. They are looking at Ohio now as a possible plant site. We cough up all this money and get a big empty building in a community that is hurting for jobs.

Here's a key point: There is no proof that tax breaks help the economy any or create jobs. None. Companies are going to expand and do whatever is needed to make money. Consolidating their business and manufacturing makes financial sense. All tax breaks do is pass the costs of doing business onto the taxpayer. There is no real benefit to the taxpayer.

Ting about it – For ten years we are footing the bill for the corporations making millions. And what are we going to get in return? Honestly not much. If workers do not have the necessary degree or experience to be hired into these jobs, they are out of luck. Just like the Buffalo Niagara Medical Corridor. Pretty much all those jobs are going to workers from outside the area. Net gain for the average unemployed worker? Zero. No degree? No job. It's that simple.

And the corporation is getting away with no state taxes, no local taxes, or school taxes. We pick up the tab with higher taxes on our income and property.

I'm having a hard time finding a win here for the taxpayer.

In other countries where they set up special economic zones for corporations the workers get screwed over with crappy wages and no benefits. Why do we want to experiment with that mess?

And yet Cuomo is doing it in spite of the fact that there is no proof that it benefits we the taxpayers in any way.

So here we are with two monkeys on our backs and Cuomo running around all over the place trying to make his signature re-election program work and look good.

At least he is getting his 10,000 steps in a day.

We're getting our arms twisted, our wallets wrenched, and generally getting screwed over.

Not my idea of an exercise program.