What’s worse than a massive government project that goes nowhere? When big corporations take taxpayer dollars and do nothing with it. Politicians like to pretend they are pro-business, pro-job-creation. Yet their only idea on how to make jobs is to throw around our money. Rarely does that do the job—as you can imagine.
But more shocking is when major companies—who actually know how to get things done—take tax dollars are run. That seems to be what’s going on with Apple. A company known for ground-breaking technology entered an agreement with the town of Waukee, Iowa. In exchange for 213 million dollars, they were going to build a data center. The project was supposed to be finished two years ago.
Now, they are learning for their steep investment, the project won’t be finished for years.
Residents of a Des Moines suburb criticized a government agreement with Apple that gave the tech giant $200 million in public subsidies for a project that’s years behind schedule…
Apple reached an agreement with state and local officials in 2017 that gave the tech giant $213 million in public subsidies in exchange for 50 permanent jobs at a data center it would build in Waukee. Residents have criticized the agreement for lacking transparency and for its perceived unfairness…
The 2017 agreement gave Apple a 71% reduction in property taxes for 20 years, valued at $188 million, according to the Des Moines Register. The city and state also agreed to pay for the water and sewer infrastructure that the data center will require. [Source: Fox News]
Apple got a pretty sweet deal. Not only were they granted $213 million in public subsidies, but they got a break on taxes for 20 years and the city will cover the water and sewer costs of the data center. All for a project that will only provide 50 jobs. That’s right, 50. And I can promise you, they won’t be hiring people from Waukee. They will outsource for those jobs, looking for people with pricy degrees.
But the project was supposed to be finished in 2020. Now, they are telling the city it won’t be done until 2027. So, why would Waukee bother to enter this terrible arrangement that only nets the city 5 jobs? Because Apple promised to donate $100 million to the city’s “public improvement fund.”
So the rich and powerful scratch each other’s backs while regular folks get the shaft. Iowa gives away $200 million in tax dollars, so Apple can in turn pad public works with easy cash.
And politicians wonder why Americans are sick and tired of them.
Apple is a company worth trillions. They can build a data center in less than a year, on their own dime, and not even notice it. Why did they even enter this relationship with an Iowa town in the first place? Something stinks for sure.
Author: Kit Fargo
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