I’m closing my eyes, squinting hard and repeating “bloody sock, bloody sock, bloody sock” …
Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling asked Rhode Island officials for more money for his video game company 38 Studios LLC in a private meeting Wednesday morning, held to discuss whether its reported financial troubles threaten the state’s $75 million investment in the company.
So Rhode Islanders suffer through a lousy economy, cut schools/libraries/fire/police, and this turkey wants another payout?
This is not the way to do things. (And yes, that includes Evergreen and Solyndra.)
When a business says, “Give us a tax break”, the state should say,
“No.
“But here’s what we will give you:
- “We will give you good workers, people who have been well-educated by prepared, accountable school systems.
- “We will provide you with good infrastructure, so that you can get to work on time and get your products to market effectively.
- “We will provide you — to the extent a state can — with good health care, clean air, clean water, and nice public amenities, so that people will want to move here, stay here, and dedicate their lives to your mutual success.
- “We will keep our rules and regulations clear, to make it easy to know where and how to set up, and keep the lawyers away.
- “And because of all of these things, we will provide you with a market for your goods — ie., a public that is capable of affording and enjoying your product.”
That’s setting up a business for success: not throwing good money after bad.
Discuss
9 Comments . Leave a comment below.Aw, shucks.
After all, there’s precedent.
Just ask Twin Rivers.
I can’t seem to find any links to the full Twin Rivers story, which is odd, but the Schilling thing did immediately bring that to mind. Here’s the basic story:
When the gambling interests were selling the idea of a slot parlor in Lincoln, RI, they promised a number of things to the state, including employment of (IIRC) of 1500 workers and certain levels of revenue to the state. Within a few years, they went back to the state begging for release from those promises, citing low profits. The Governor supported their requests, and they were let off the hook, In 2009, the slot palace went bankrupt anyway. The operators are now trying to get approval to make Twin Rivers into a full casino.
As has been pointed out often, gambling interests make all kinds of ridiculous promises to get their foot in the door. When they fail to keep those promises, they are almost never held to account. Curt seems to have taken a page from their book.
Someone made a comment on Facebook about this that struck me.
Imagine if Rhode Island invested $75 million in URI or another public college to build a bigger and better tech/engineering program or even school.
Rhode Island doesn’t really have a big engineering/tech school, which puts them at an incredibly disadvantage compared to states like Massachusetts, where we have MIT, WPI, the UMASS system’s excellent programs in this area, etc.
Giving out free corporate money is a race to the bottom; building up the infrastructure to attract companies and create start ups by creating the intellectual know-how in your state is building for a better a future. It’s an investment that doesn’t go away, paying dividends for years to come. States need to get with the program.
Charlie would have laid off 5000, then used part of that money to fund Schilling. That would have really kick started something, not something good, but it would have kick started something.
just sayin’
I said it a couple of days ago, and I’ll say it again. Bad idea. Government is primarily in the business of producing public goods. …
Almost Never Works
As clawback.org shows on a daily basis, public subsidy programs to create jobs almost never fulfill their goals. Witness the huge tax breaks given to Fidelity starting in the 1990s. Fidelity is now closing it’s Marlborough facility along with 1,400 jobs and the state will never get back one penny of its investment.
Also, Curt Schilling just isn’t very bright.
smalltownguy @ Wed 16 May 10:13 AM
a bright pitcher… knew how to get guys out, even when he couldn’t throw the heat anymore. I’m sure he makes a great analyst for ESPN, knowing baseball as well as he does.
Yet, he’s not a computer programmer or a guy who has actual computer-game CEO credentials. He’s totally in over his head. Perhaps it’s not such a good idea to give $75 million to someone who has no experience in the related field*.
*Well, I don’t think being a MMO player counts. Buying a CD/DVD to install a program on a disc and leveling up a character are slightly different skill-sets than developing and advertising a $50-100 million dollar game.
From today’s Globe (subscription):
“More than one VC who has met Schilling has come away with the impression that an investment would require quite a bit of ‘babysitting,’ ’’ noted a trade publication, Private Equity Week, at the time.
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