Buffalo Rising Online

Would this cancel subsidies from the state for things like lowering your energy use programs? (like the hughsco commercials) ? Minus this question, this seems like its going to be a very vigorous fight.

I find it interesting that the author here didn't just say "corporations", she said "wealthy corporations", implying that all corporations are flush with cash. No doubt some CEO's are, but this is quite a broad generalization. Delphi and American Axle don't seem too rich these days. But this lawsuit is really libertarian. They're trying to get government out of the business of supporting private business. Both sides have a point - on one hand it's in the general interest of the community for business to flourish, to create wealth, employ people who then spend their pay and multiply that wealth, and in the process support government spending. On the other hand, if you give money to one company, in the interest of being fair doesn't that mean any company has an equal right to a handout? Where does it end? And doesn't that open up a whole mess regarding which companies get handouts, sometimes (often times) the ones who contribute to political parties and politicians' reelection.

At least Buffalo made a Top Grade, check this out from today's Business First.

http://buffalo.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2008/08/04/daily18.html?jst=b_ln_hl

but then you think about the larger picture where georgia, texas and many other states probably hand out just as much if not more aid then NY. So we get rid of our aid and they all pack up and leave for places who do offer them money. way to go. Maybe they wil come here and stay because of our honest and moral conduct of business.. HAHA

I mean I agree that we shouldn't hand out money to corporations (if that really is happening) when we all pay such high taxes but wouldn't removing them put NYS on an even larger uneven playing field against other states.

I personally find this hilarious, if one reads the exact statute that is quoted in this article it clearly shows that this lawsuit is going to fail before it begins. Tax breaks for the purpose of economic development involves no transfer of any money at all, it lowers the amount of money a company would pay if they located here for property taxes and on materials used in their business (and by the way our laws are so out of date this does not include supplies such as computers but does cover things like drill presses just to give you an idea of how progressive nys is). And the only subsidies are the ones that are used to make land "shovel ready" and if this wasn't done the city of buffalo would never see new office development such as the BLCP which now employs hundreds of people and encouraged 10's of millions of dollars of private investment. This lawsuit sounds as ignorant as the story line in team america world police, with corporations acting all corporationie in their corporation buildings.

Bottom line is sbrofs right, if this succeeds (although it won't because it doesn't make sense) all they will do is further weaken new york states chances of attracting business. In their pie in the sky world maybe everyone in the country (or world) will stop giving tax breaks or spending money on infrastructure improvements to attract business.

Sally, erecting a building for BassPro and leasing it back to them for what basically amounts to nothing more than normal common area maintenance charges amounts to a huge subsidy. Read the passage from the State Constitution, it bans "The money of the state shall not be given or loaned to or in aid of any private corporation . . ." "In aid" certainly describes the BassPro situation.

So they are suing the state because they are lowering taxes to these companies? Don't we want the state to lower taxes?

You must expand this law suite to include all union government workers. Their benefits are granted by the very people they elect, using taxpayer's money. In return, they are all but guaranty certain political parties or individual politicians their endorsement.

Politicians should be prohibited from approving any government employees contract.

They must? Really? Says who?

STEEL, we are suing over outright gifts of money to the corporations, the lawsuit does not address the issue of tax abatements. We want the gifts to stop and lower taxes for everyone.

gblakowski that makes no sense whatsoever, it's dangerous when people like you venture out to Websites other than Rush Limbaugh's or become distracted when commercials pop up on Fox news.

So Ostrowski thinks this is a good idea? He's from Bflo,right? and most of the companies named in the "suite", sorry suit are located in WNY. How about turning your attention to the downstate sieve dimwit!

bfloghost, who's the dimwit? Even though the defendants named are predominantly local, the lawsuit addresses a statewide issue.

With 18 milllion people in NYS leave it up to some local sue happy asshats to start a suit.

Abbottraod, what's your answer when government officials don't follow the State Constitution? I guess you prefer out of control spending for pet projects and suffocating deficits.

Before anyone thinks this blanket approach is a good idea start reading the Florida papers. The public is basically so shellshocked at what happened in Amendment 1 on reducing taxes ( forcing a reduction in spending), that there is little support for amendment 5 which will further reduce and shift taxes, despite big bucks being spent to promote its passage. Florida , which has ' no' state income tax now has a net outward migration, and about 3/4 of the incorporated jurisdictions in Broward county (ft. lauderdale) have lost population (broward -15,000 in 07).

Sullymon - Some of what your comment says isn't true. If you read the above BR article carefully and the one in Tuesday's Buffalo News, you'll realize this suit is about tax money transfers - not at all about tax breaks or making land shovel-ready.

One example of many is the recent $5.1 million taxpayer money grant to the Buffalo Hyatt owned by Paul Snyder. Do you really think it's smart public policy to give $5.1 million of taxpayer cash to the Hyatt? Why? The other hotels in Buffalo don't receive that. Considering Buffalo's population is around 270,000, the $5.1 million represents over $18 of NY state taxes paid by every Buffalo resident being handed over to Snyder's Hyatt. It's not a tax break. It's not preparing a brownfield. It's a cash gift.

"Hyatt Hotel Getting Millions Of Tax Dollars For Renovations

Peoples: "Public dollars always goes towards private entities. Most of what State government does is give public money to somebody in private business." ..."

Full article here: http://www.wgrz.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=49479

Here is another Snyder story. When Westinghouse closed its plant at the airport, the NFTA wanted to buy it for future aiport expansion. Paul Snyder made a big political stink about it, and the NFTA was forced to back off. He bought it, kept it for I believe three years, and then sold it back to the NFTA at three time the price.

The state of NY just gave IBM $140MM for a project yet to be named; they are trying to give AMD $650MM both grants are cash. IBM makes $25MM per day according to their last quarterly report so the grant amounts to less than 6 days net earnings. Total grants in NY annually are upwards of $5 Billion, and you are paying for it. If everyone in this state paid their own way we could eliminate the gas tax and the income tax. Do you think then that corporations would be willing to not only stay but relocate here? You bet they would. But what is being debated here is weather this is right or wrong morally, the suit is weather it is legal or not. All we want is for the politicians to follow the letter of the state constitution which is what governs them. They expect the people to abide by the laws that they hand down which govern us. Since there are no police for them, we have to raise questions in court when we thing the government is doing wrong. It's guaranteed us in the 1st amendment of the US Constitution under the "Right of Redress”. They have been doing this for years, and for years the state has been in steady decline, it's time to let free markets decide who suceeds and who fails, not some politicians.

These stories make me sick, so the state pulls back on 6mm for our schools @ stage 4 construction. yet gives this money away.