Here is a recent story from BusinessWeek, “Will Tax Breaks Boost Jobs?”
As seen in my article (with italics added for emphasis) “America’s Economic Future – ‘Greenfield’ or ‘Brownfield’ ?”
“One way to determine whether an economic “greenfield” environment exists is whether businesses are thriving and multiplying naturally – with an indicator being that they are choosing and wanting to locate their operations and sales territories in a specific location without needing to be artificially induced to do so through various incentives or coercions. However, this indicator has to be viewed in the overall economic context, as there may be circumstances that can serve to override casual observations.”
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One of the reasons I started this blog is because I felt that this economic ‘greenfield’ vs. ‘brownfield’ concept is not understood; yet has massive implications for our economic future.
As seen in the BusinessWeek article, that states and regions have to engage in bidding wars to attract and/or retain businesses (and jobs) is likely a “red flag.” While it is easy to dismiss these “bidding wars” as “the way things are,” perhaps the critical question, in the larger context, becomes “Is this the way things should be?”
SPX at 953.18 as this post is written