Press Releases

Washington, DC, January 24, 2013 -- State and local governments waste billions of dollars annually on economic development subsidies given to companies for moving existing jobs from one state to another—or on “job blackmail” paid to prevent possible relocations. That’s the main conclusion of The Job-Creation Shell Game, Good Jobs First’s new study released today.

What was long ago dubbed a Second War Between the States is, unfortunately, raging again in many parts of the country. The result is a vast waste of taxpayer funds, paying for the geographic reshuffling of existing jobs.

Washington, DC, December 4, 2012 —Though D.C. taxpayers are supporting billions of dollars in development, out-of-state residents are reaping the benefits by capturing the lion’s share of construction employment, Good Jobs First concluded in Taxation without Employment: The Case for the District’s Strong Local Hiring Rules, released December 4.

City leaders could reduce unemployment in the District by strengthening enforcement of First Source hiring rules, the study authors concluded. First Source is a jobs stimulus law that mandates certain percentages for participation by District residents on construction projects receiving city funds. The study is available online at: www.goodjobsfirst.org/taxationwoutemployment

Washington, DC, December 2, 2012—The database created by the New York Times to accompany its new series on economic development incentives draws heavily from Good Jobs First’s Subsidy Tracker search tool launched in 2010.

“We worked closely with the Times and are pleased to have contributed what appears to be a large majority of the company-specific information the paper used for its excellent online feature,” said Philip Mattera, Research Director of Good Jobs First and creator of Subsidy Tracker, which can be found at http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/subsidy-tracker

Washington, DC, November 28, 2012—A new study finds that state tax and regulatory policies recommended by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) fail to promote stronger job creation or income growth, and actually predict a worse performance.

Since ALEC first published its annual Rich States, Poor States study with its Economic Outlook Ranking in 2007, states that were rated better have actually done worse economically.

Those are the key findings of “Selling Snake Oil to the States,” a study published today by Good Jobs First and the Iowa Policy Project and freely available online at http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/snakeoiltothestates.  It was released at a press conference the same week ALEC holds its annual fall meeting in Washington, DC.