Taxpayers spend millions on NASCAR and Microsoft in Southern Virgnia
By JR Hoeft | Saturday, August 28th, 2010 | PolicyMartinsville and Southern Virginia’s economic challenges have been well documented. Yet, one of the bright spots in the region has been the semi-annual NASCAR races which help provide nearly 3,000 jobs, $170 million to the economy, and over $13 million in state and local tax revenue.
Yet an announcement earlier this year that NASCAR was looking to cut a race from its Sprint Cup series almost sent the region careening into the wall.
Fortunately, the state’s chief Job’s Officer, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, kicked it into high gear to make sure that one of Virginia’s races wasn’t on the list.
Bolling, who acted on estimates that the loss of one race could cost millions of dollars to the economy and in tax revenue, not to mention a least a thousand jobs, personally petitioned the International Speedway Corporation (ISC) and discovered that they wanted upgrades to the Martinsville facility in order to bring it up to the standards of other tracks.
The administration put together a $1.5 million proposal to the ISC in upgrades in and around the tracl in order to preserve the $375 million in revenue from the race for the next five years.
Certainly a good return on the investment. Certainly good for Martinsville and Virginia. Certainly good for the ISC in that they can save $1.5 million at the expense of Virginia taxpayers.
Then again, that’s the nature of business these days. States have to offer economic incentives to businesses to entice them to locate to their region.
In other job related news, the administration announced that it spent $2.1 million in Mecklenburg County (also in Southern Virginia) to secure a $499 million commitment from Microsoft to build a “state-of-the-art data center” and the creation of 50 jobs.
“Microsoft is a household name and securing this global project is a significant economic win for Virginia,” said Governor McDonnell. “This project represents the largest investment project in the history of Southern Virginia. It will further bolster the Commonwealth’s standing as a leader in the Information Technology sector, while creating new jobs for our citizens and spurring economic development throughout the region.”
So, all in all, to beat out other states, the commonwealth has spent $3.6 million in taxpayer dollars for a nearly $900 million economic impact and the preservation/creation of over 1000 jobs.
The new role of government. But it sure beats welfare and unemployment checks.
Tags:
Contribute for Conservatism!
Share this post
About the author
Conservative to the core; liberal with his opinion! J.R. has been involved in politics for over a decade and has worked on several campaigns in Hampton Roads. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Chesapeake and the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He is also the director of “Blogs United” in Virginia. E-mail J.R.. Follow J.R. on Twitter.
We're 75% there! Thank you to everyone who has so far contributed! Just $2000 to go!
Comments
10 Responses to "Taxpayers spend millions on NASCAR and Microsoft in Southern Virgnia"
You call this the “new role of government,” but is this not just an updated, 21st Century version of the internal improvements the Whigs invested heavily in during the early-to-mid 19th Century? Kudos to Lt. Gov. Bolling for working hard to save jobs on the Southside!
Meanwhile, I suppose those of in the rest of state stand by with emptied pockets. Hmmm, guess if they are passing out cash, the Northern Neck ought to get its boots on. All we do up here is land conservancy tax credits. Gee, all this time, there is real moolah out there to get our grubby hands on?
Craig,
I don’t know how I feel about this.
In one sense, there is real opportunity when the state invests to attract business to within its borders – as it evidenced by the likely millions coming to Southside. In another sense, we believe in a free market system, so should one region, business, idea win taxpayer funding at the expense of others?
It’s not exactly a cut-and-dry answer. Especially when other states are also offering subsidies and incentives.
The numbers don’t lie.. If the dollar spent by the state to keep and create the dollars listed, it is impossible for any reasoning salient being to deny the tangible benefit. This deal is a bargain at an order of magnitude of a higher price. Virginia has never had better leadership imo.. never.
Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.
Oscar Wilde
“So, all in all, to beat out other states, the commonwealth has spent $3.6 million in taxpayer dollars for a nearly $900 million economic impact and the preservation/creation of over 1000 jobs.”
If Obama or Biden or Perriello came out and said we had spent $3.6 million in Virginia for $900 million in economic impact you’d cry foul and say they were wasting taxpayer dollars.
It is entirely a different issue if the Federal Government spent $3.6 million on these projects rather than the state. That is not the proper role of the Federal Government, a principle established many years ago. Whether it is the proper role for a state government depends on the state constitution and the citizens.
Natcore China will be funded by an initial US$3 million investment consisting of US$500,000 contributed by Natcore, and US$2.5 million contributed by the Chinese partners.
Provini said he spent about a year trying to get his solar company off the ground in the United States, pitching technology that makes solar panels cheaper, more efficient and less toxic to the environment. He went to Washington, D.C., to meet with lawyers, lobbyists and congressional staffers, with very little progress.
But while bureaucracy and red tape stalled talks with state and federal officials, conversations with Chinese officials shot ahead. Not only did the Chinese reach out to him by phone, he said they flew him to China’s Hunan province and found him a production partner in a matter of months.
Natcore Technology Inc (TSX-V:NXT, OTC:NTCXF) said it has signed a definitive agreement with a Chinese consortium forming a joint venture to develop and produce film-growth equipment and materials that could significantly lower the cost of manufacturing solar cells.
At the heart of the JV is Natcore’s patented Liquid Phase Deposition (LPD) technology, licensed from Rice University, where it was developed. LPD grows an anti-reflective film on a substrate in a room-temperature chemical bath, potentially making solar cells significantly cheaper and cleaner to produce.
Existing technology uses a high-temperature vacuum furnace to grow the coating, requiring much more energy in the process, and much more silicon to achieve the thickness needed to withstand the firing, the group said in a statement.
The new company, Natcore China, is a joint venture between Natcore, the Zhuzhou Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, a government-supported zone in Hunan province, and Chuangke Silicon Ltd., a major Chinese producer of polysilicon.
Natcore will hold 55 percent of the business, and the Chinese partners the remainder.
The agreement is for a minimum term of 20 years, and grants Natcore China exclusive rights to develop and manufacture the anti-reflective coating equipment used in this technology, so long as it meets specified pricing and quality control standards, and to sell it to solar cell producers in China.
Natcore China will also have exclusive rights for a period of five years to develop and manufacture this equipment for sale anywhere in the world. The solar cell producers that buy this equipment may sell their output anywhere in the world.
Natcore retains the unrestricted rights to license their LPD technology for all other applications.
Natcore China will be funded by an initial US$3 million investment consisting of US$500,000 contributed by Natcore, and US$2.5 million contributed by the Chinese partners.
Natcore’s partners project that Natcore China will eventually create as many as 500 jobs in manufacturing and research & development. They expect that first product shipments will be made within 10 months.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/solar-tech-firm-white-house-invite-china-deal/story?id=11043149
http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.hk/market_news/2425-natcore-technology-finalizes-agreement-for-china-solar-cells-jv.html
Those sneaky Chinese Communists.
Locally, the Xi’an city government sold a 75-year land lease to Applied Materials at a deep discount and is reimbursing the company for roughly a quarter of the lab complex’s operating costs for five years, said Gang Zou, the site’s general manager.
Really big report here. go to
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/business/global/18research.html
for more about China Drawing High-Tech Research From U.S.
Well I’m glad that Virginia is leading the way in using government to grow business and keep jobs as opposed to the feds who are doing neither. Good Job Lt Gov Bolling!
Leave your response