It just gets better and better. My home state of NC used public funds to strike a deal to lure Dell to the state, and then, against all Sunshine Laws, kept the particulars of the deal secret until after the deal was inked.
Now that the details are coming out, I almost wish they had stayed secret:
To win a Dell computer plant, business recruiters in Winston-Salem didn't just offer $37 million worth of land, cash grants and infrastructure improvements.
They also agreed to cut deals with local real estate agents, lawyers and home-inspection companies on behalf of Dell employees.
Now, Dell employees moving to the Triad to run the 1,500-worker plant can get a discount on closing costs on a new home.
Now that's a deal! As far as incentives go, Raleigh lawyer, Earnest Pearson sums it up best:
Ernest C. Pearson, a Raleigh lawyer who helps negotiate incentives for businesses, compares the perks to freebies that sales people of big-ticket items use to win customers -- their worth in relation to the item's overall cost isn't much, and yet they still leave a positive impression.
"Any savings is good. I just don't think any company is going to make a decision based on $1,000 worth of free hotel rooms," Pearson said. "But it's like icing on the cake. It's a sweetener that draws you in a little more."
You can almost hear Pearson giggling. Thank God the NC Institute for Constitutional Law has filed a complaint to stop Dell from receiving the state funded incentives, though there's little chance they'll win.
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