Posthumus, Rodriguez: Close forced labor loophole in state’s economic development
Whether you love or hate Michigan’s long history of courting companies with the use of tax incentives and subsidies, most people in the state agree that we have reached a new era in economic development. In both scope and tenor, our discussions about when, how and to whom we should and should not give taxpayer dollars in exchange for the promise of jobs is shifting.
Once fodder for fiscal policy wonks and corporate lobbyists alone, the debate is no longer confined to legislative committee rooms in Lansing or to whether or not incentives should exist at all. Even if they shouldn’t, they do.
So, we’re also asking what ethical responsibilities policymakers have when giving citizens’ money to companies for the purpose of economic development. That’s a good thing, and the potential for tax dollars to end up funding and perpetuating forced labor ought to be part of the discussion.