The thanks we get

Over the past few years, the Republican-dominated Idaho State Legislature has repeatedly passed big-business tax giveaways to keep top employers happy. And what are the thanks we get?

Last year, Minnesota-based SuperValu - the new parent company of Boise-born Albertsons - announced it would move many Boise employees to the Twin Cities. Now, Micron - the largest private employer in the state - is laying off hundreds of workers, perhaps as many as 1,200. No one really knows, because Micron is apparently telling  dismissed workers that if they talk, they'll lose their severance pay.

Here's hoping all the laid-off Micron workers find good jobs, here or elsewhere. (Few local employers pay as well as Micron, so we may well see families leaving for places where wages are better.) But the biggest lesson we need to take from this is that it's ridiculous to shortchange Idaho families, schools, and small business owners by giving huge tax breaks to corporations. No matter how many times the GOP smooches their butts, big businesses will do what they want. Let's focus on developing small companies - not corporate behemoths that demand discounted meals at the public trough, then skip out on the bill.

Comments

[Scott Wells (Boy in the Bands)]

Perhaps a copy of Small-Mart to every member of the legislature? Sourced by a local bookseller?

If only that would work . . . .

[The Nickel-Plated JA]

I've said this before: Micron's near-monopsony over the local tech laborforce has done nothing but keep local wages well below the national medians for comparable jobs, while their tax breaks and spurty growth have driven up housing costs.

OTOH, they have been one of the leading local employers in terms of concern for traffic (supporting transit, promoting nearby housing, etc.), so unless a flurry of those new jobs falls in Canyon County, expect the Valley's traffic problems to get worse, not better, absent a mass exodus.

[tim]

I agree. This is upsetting. I talked about this this morning on the show. Micron is not playing nicely with the peoples of Idaho. Bad Micron. Bad.

[ReggieH]

"But the biggest lesson we need to take from this is that it's ridiculous to shortchange Idaho families, schools, and small business owners by giving huge tax breaks to corporations. No matter how many times the GOP smooches their butts, big businesses will do what they want. Let's focus on developing small companies - not corporate behemoths that demand discounted meals at the public trough, then skip out on the bill"

That is exactly right. Kudos.

[Grandjester]

Working for a 35 year old Boise company with an online presence, we were pissed that Cabelas got a free pass on online sales tax. We have vendors that literally have ONE GUY representing them in a state and we have to pay the tax to resell there.

There should be HUGE penalty clauses in any of these sweetheart deals. Perhaps a tax multiplier for every job lost or exported?

[theresa]

and read this ...
"Micron Technology’s refusal to say exactly how many lay offs it plans at its Boise plant has allowed it to skirt a federal law requiring prior notice of a mass layoffs, a local management expert said today."

rest at http://idahostatesman.com/business/story/102869.html

t

[The Nickel-Plated JA]

Maybe one of these days the "values voters" who elect Republicans as a hedge against gay marriage will realize that so doing just leaves them vulnerable to becoming the victims of acts resembling involuntary homosexual intercourse at the hands of big business....

[David Erin Anthony]

Well, you know that gay marraige and "amnesty" is FAR more important and threatening to people's lives than walking into work one day and being told you dont have a job anymore and if you talk to anyone about it you wont get the severance package you rightfully deserve.....and if you believe that I have a great plan for invading Iran......

[Binkyboy]

No return on their investment?

What the hell are you talking about? Boise has gained millions of dollars in revenue because of the tax breaks it has given to Micron. I may not like them, I may rant about them, but they have kept Micron here for a lot longer than Micron had to be here.

Micron is an international company competing on an international front with wholesalers from China and Japan where the government is subsidizing the shortfalls on profit. They've gone out of their way to stay here as long as they have.

This is not to say I don't regret what Micron is doing. When they announced that there would be no 300mm fab work, that Boise was never in the running and never would be, well, that was just an amazing show of how much of an asshole company they are.

But really, in essence, they've given back 10x to the city/state than they've taken out in tax rebates.