Corporate welfare on the march once again in the Miramichi
(Photo and link courtesy of the Telegraph Journal)
New Brunswick Taxpayers is extremely disappointed with the provincial government's recent announcement of a reported multi-million dollar subsidy for Atcon Group Inc.
I've said it before [on this blog] and I'll say it again, the provincial government is marching down a very dangerous road with its continuous use of taxpayers' dollars in the name of corporate welfare. Though many close to the premier are touting this as a major victory for the Miramichi region, we all know that this is far from the case as corporate welfare creates a less competitive business climate, not to mention, ever-higher taxes for New Brunswickers.
Furthermore, once one company gets a subsidy, all the others will quickly line up for a handout as well. In other words, companies become so adept at courting government money that they build such expectations into their business plans which ends up having a very negative impact on the future growth of their company. And for those who don't receive any subsidies at all, essentially they are being asked to compete against the government.
So no matter what positive spin the politicians or BNB officials try to put on their latest so-called investment, just remember, corporate welfare is almost inevitably an abysmal failure and will do nothing for the longterm sustainable growth of the Miramichi region. Another sad day indeed.
Graham's growing corporate welfare offenses
Though Shawn Graham just celebrated his government's 1st year anniversary in office nine days ago, [he] already has a long history of pouring taxpayers' money into failing businesses and companies who don't even need one penny of our [taxpayers'] money. Here are some related articles on the subject of corporate welfare in New Brunswick:
A culture of dependency (Rogers Communications Inc.)
My New Business Plan (The Mactaquac marina)
Business Pork (Cape Jourimain Nature Centre Inc.)
Statist Guile (Premier's pledge to stop use of grants & loans)
Put An End to Wasteful Subsidies (Atlantic Beef Products Inc.)
7 Comments:
What's worse than corporate welfare? Corporate welfare that gets you entangled in legal proceedings
Interesting, eugene. It would appear as though something made them change their mind on the Canam Group deal after the ink was dry on the contract. Enough to take a hit in the courts.
Could it be that they were offered that much more in free, non-repayable loans (not so free to us), than they were from the Quebec government? So much so that it would offset the legal fees?
No, it couldn't possibly be that. I mean, Victor Boudreau values every last precious tax dollars from each and every taxpayer in New Brunswickers. Ummm, no.
Christ, this one takes the cake. How many failed ATCON plywood mills has the government already sunk money into? Tozer must be able to deliver some serious votes up there.
Nice. It also a well known fact that corporate welfare is unfriendly to the environment. Business subsidies are often given to sunset plants and declining industries and, in turn, they are usually the plants that are the most harmful to the environment compared to newer facilities and sectors.
Ooops, I see Tozer reinforces my satement above. Check this out.
MIRAMICHI - Provincial court Judge Fred Ferguson fined Atcon Plywood Inc. more than $8,000 Thursday for releasing a contaminant. Atcon Plywood, which operates a mill in Miramichi, pleaded guilty to the charge on May 2, 2006.
Penalties ranged from $1,000 to $1 million. Atcon will have to pay a $1,000 fine to the court along with a $200 victim surcharge. In addition, the company will have to pay $7,000 for the benefit of the Miramichi Salmon Association's salmon enhancement program. An inspector found a reddish resin used to make plywood leaching from the mill site.
Wow. I thought every single Conservative had moved to Alberta. You must be very lonely.
Anon: you'd be surprised how many true conservatives there are in NB without the slightest representation on their side.
For the record, I am a libertarian who doesn't belong to any party.
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