The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation needs to take larger steps to punish companies that have outsourced jobs while receiving thousands of dollars in tax cuts — tax cuts meant to keep jobs in the state.
While outsourcing can be appealing to large corporations looking to increase profits, it’s not hard to see how the creation of jobs in other countries rather than here at home does not benefit Wisconsin’s employment rate.
So to sweeten the deal for businesses, the state of Wisconsin and the WEDC has been offering thousands of dollars in tax cuts for corporations who, in return, must keep jobs in Wisconsin rather than outsourcing.
Now, this seems like a pretty solid idea. The problem is some of the companies receiving these tax cuts have now sent jobs overseas, violating the terms of the deal.
Outsourcing loses Wisconsin money, jobs, state leaders work to recover losses
Currently, WEDC responds to these violations by simply revoking the tax credits that were given to the fraudulent company and essentially asks for the tax credit money back.
The fact these companies are agreeing to accept taxpayer money meant specifically for keeping jobs in Wisconsin, and then turning around to send jobs overseas, should warrant a harsher response than sending them a bill for the money borrowed.
With all the heat the WEDC has been taking over the last year, I don’t understand how it can continue to stay as lackadaisical as it is in this case.
If a company has the audacity to violate their agreement not to outsource jobs, it should be fined amounts correlating to the number of Wisconsin jobs sent elsewhere. The terms of the trade-off between large corporations and the WEDC can’t be too ambiguous: they get money in return for not outsourcing. So it’s probably pretty safe to assume the companies who violate this agreement are likely doing it intentionally.
The fact of the matter is these companies are making a promise to use taxpayer money to keep jobs in Wisconsin. To stoop to outsourcing after accepting these tax cuts breaks a promise to the Wisconsin public, and the WEDC should inflict harsher punishments on those who take advantage of this system.
Phil Michaelson ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in biomedical engineering.
