Today’s guest blog is by David Ewald of
Ewald Consulting
; he will address both the Big-Box and Smart Growth tracks of our May 7-8
Conference
.
Since September 2005 I’ve been involved in an anti-subsidy battle around the country.
Cabela’s
, a competitor in the hunting, fishing and camping retail space, relies on public subsidies according to its public statements to cover about 30 percent of the construction costs for its stores.
It has been a challenging and rewarding effort that was kicked off by
Gander Mountain
, the #3 player in the same industry that refuses to take incentives.
Well, this was another tough week for Cabela’s as for the third year in a row they were forced to
give back money
to the city of
Buda, Texas
for failing to meeting the job targets they promised in order to receive more than an eye-popping $60 million in subsidies.
Let’s hear it for
clawbacks
!
The apologists for the failure to meet the targets point to the weak economy for retailers right now.
Isn’t that one of the main points to make when arguing against subsidies?
When government partners with retailers such as Cabela’s they are accepting some of the risk inherent in the company’s business cycle.
I’m not amazed when the shortfalls occur.
What does amaze me is the public statements made by the public officials who continue to be swayed by Cabela’s promises of economic development and great returns for the community.
Bass Pro
is a privately held company that engages in some of the same activities.
In just the past few weeks the city of Augusta, Georgia has taken preliminary steps to give Bass about $25 million in subsidies to build a store there.
This is amazing given the current state of the economy!
I’m looking forward to talking more about this on May 7 and 8 at the Good Jobs First
Conference
.
In the meantime, visit
www.sayno2outdoorsretailsubsidies.com
for more information on the effort.