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The Great Exodus - New York's Population Goes South
In the 1990's, the population of the United States grew by 13%. By contrast, New York State had a gain of only 5.5%, less than half of the national average. But the picture is even worse because the reason for any increase at all in New York State is the New York Metropolitan area. Most areas in New York State lost population, big time. Utica, for example, is down 14.3%. So where is everybody going and why? There's a complicated answer and a simple answer. The complicated answer has to do with shifting population trends, the switch from a manufacturing to a service economy, transportation problems, etc. There is no end to complicated answers. The simple answer is that they are going to where the jobs are. And the jobs seem be everywhere except in New York State. New York has taken the popular but counter productive attitude that if it issues selective tax breaks to selected companies for specific periods, it can effectually buy jobs. Under programs like this, IBM Fishkill received $475,000 in tax breaks for every job at that facility. Press reports said these benefits actually totaled $600,000 per job. To open a new plant employing 300 people, Corning received $14 Million in benefits or about $46,600 per job, for a facility that has now been quietly closed. Buying jobs does work up to a point. The point at which it stops working is when the tax break period ends and these companies pack up their tent and move south. The local management of the IBM Endicott told local officials that 25& of their operating costs went strictly to taxes and utilities. These costs were 50% higher than comparable IBM facilities in Raleigh, North Carolina. At the time IBM was downsizing from 12,000 to 6.000 jobs in Endicott, it was expanding from 6,000 to 18,000 jobs in North Carolina. Tax breaks are a great gimmick, but a sound and reasonable tax structure combined with an attractive living environment is what attracts and keeps companies. Today, formerly prosperous cities and towns across the state look like ghost towns, with empty factories, empty streets and empty houses. Young people are leaving school and leaving the state. Families are uprooting and moving to better economic climates, many of them forced to sell their homes for less than they paid for them. With no jobs, no money and no future, the Great Exodus has begun. We can't afford it to continue. New York State government, from the Governor on down, needs to recognize this new reality. The standard old approaches are no longer working and we need to approach our future with fresh thinking, new ideas and an understanding of what's really happening in our state. Help Jack Cheevers Fix Albany and Save New York. Support and vote Jack Cheevers for Governor in 2002. |
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Jack Cheevers for Governor | 108 Washington Avenue | Endicott, NY 13790 | 607-785-8240 | Security & Privacy | Contact Us
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