Subsidy Sheet: Opportunity Zone boosters elated by Trump victory
Opportunity Zone boosters were thrilled about Donald Trump’s election victory, as it greatly increases the chances that the federal government will “broaden and extend” the handout to luxury real estate, Trump cronies, and gun megasellers (Bloomberg Law). There’s never been a better time for NY to pass S543-A (Gianaris) / A2170-A (Dinowitz), which would end the OZ tax break in NY City and State. The Citizens Budget Commission estimates that the first Trump OZ program will cost NYS and NYC up to a combined $424 million annually from 2029.
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A report by the State Comptroller’s office outlines threats to NY agriculture, including declining amounts of both farms and farmland (State of Politics). Time for the usual reminder that New York State and local governments spend $11 billion a year on overwhelmingly wasteful, politically motivated, and debunked economic development subsidies. Here’s an idea: Maybe New York should be investing more in research, disease control, land preservation, and infrastructure that bolsters its $8.5 billion farming sector.
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While New York’s army of corporate lobbyists and deep-pocketed political contributors busily warm themselves over their multibillion-dollar bonfire of wasted taxpayer money, things are not so great for many average New Yorkers. Syracuse residents gathered this week at City Hall to demand the city of Syracuse declare a state of emergency over its miles of aging lead water pipes (Spectrum Local News). Remember, frustrated New Yorkers: Albany does work – it just does not work for you.
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Reality check for NYT readers and editors: Fans are financing 0.38% of the public subsidy to the new Bills Stadium by buying bonds. The New York Times, in classic fashion, uses a completely misleading headline that contradicts their own reporting. In this case, the Times header – which is the only thing most people read – creates a completely false political narrative by implying fans are providing a substantial chunk of the financing for the heavily subsidized new Buffalo Bills stadium. The hook for the Times article is that Bills fans have bought $3.2 million of Erie County stadium bonds. Yet the Bills stadium will cost $1.4 billion with $850 million in public subsidies ($600 million from New York State taxpayers plus $250 million from Erie County taxpayers). (Let’s do some simple math: $3.2 million in bond purchases by Bills fans / $850 million in subsidies = 0.38% of public funding.)
Coda: The Pegula family of Boca Raton, which owns the Bills, has an estimated worth of $5.8 billion and will get at least $1.13 billion in subsidies from New York taxpayers over the next 30 years.
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Other NY corporate giveaway news from this week:
- The federal government is rushing to finalize certain CHIPS-related grants and loans before they can be delayed or killed by the incoming Trump administration (Times Union). Senator Chuck Schumer is confident that the GOP will not repeal the bill (LocalSyr [dot] com).
- Sanjay Shrestha was named President of Plug Power (Times Union), which could receive NY subsidies totaling $4 million per job.
- Better late than never: We missed Margaret Wooster’s great August op-ed in Buffalo News about why STAMP, the upstate industrial park that hosts Plug Power, is “a poster child for location inefficiency.”
- In a report, Good Jobs First details the shoddy subsidy disclosure practices of small- and medium-sized governments. Utica, NY is highlighted as one positive example of transparency.
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