An old Chinese proverb goes: Better to light a candle than curse the darkness.
It is in that optimistic spirit that we endorse the massive jobs bill that will be the centerpiece of a special session of the Missouri Legislature that begins today.
Key to the deal is a proposal to turn Lambert-St. Louis International Airport into a hub for foreign cargo. Dubbed the "China hub" or "Aerotropolis," the proposal creates two new tax incentives. The first is intended to lure freight forwarders, companies that do logistics and make sure cargo gets where it's intended to go. The second tax credit is intended to attract firms that help assemble and distribute goods coming in or going out.
A critical piece of the deal: Neither incentive would be paid until jobs are created. Lawmakers should carve that in stone.
Tax credits are, in effect, coupons that offset state income tax obligations. As such, every dollar in tax credits reduces state revenues by a dollar. For every winner there is loser. When you foreclose revenue increases, public policy becomes a zero-sum game.
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Much of the money for the China hub credits would come from canceling a tax incentive that benefits senior citizens. , the winner was Ford Motor Co. and the loser was newly hired state employees whose benefits were reduced.
In neither case, however, are the details quite that simple. An argument can be made that state employee pensions were out of balance with those in the private sector and needed to be adjusted downward to avoid long-term financial problems. Also, by saving Ford's plant in Claycomo, thousands of middle-class union jobs were preserved.
Similarly, that would be sacrificed provides up to $750 a year in property tax relief for lower-income elderly and disabled people who rent their homes and see taxes included as higher rents. The tax credit costs $53 million annually.
But when the state budget is tight, home values have dropped and much of the senior housing in question already receives other state incentives intended to reduce rent, it's reasonable to reconsider the senior citizen tax break at this time.
Business leaders lobbying for their new economic development tools would rather not focus on this element of the jobs bill. But the fact that the bill forces lawmakers to reconsider and reprioritize tax credit expenditures every few years is one of its most attractive elements.
The jobs bill adds expiration dates to tax incentive programs. No longer would businesses get tax breaks automatically while schools and seniors must fight for their budgets every year. Instead, as the cost for new incentives rises, those who profit from state handouts would have to prove their worth every few years.
That's as it should be.
That's not to diminish the impact that historic redevelopment or low-income housing tax credits have had. They have been an economic boon to the state, particularly in downtown St. Louis. But they should not be allowed to grow unchecked, and they should not be given entitlement status while other necessary government programs face cuts.
If the China hub proposal works, a 15-year payout of about $300 million could lure billions of dollars in investment with the potential to improve the economic future of current and future residents. If the Chinese investment fails to materialize and the state tax incentives aren't spent, it would start a debate over using the money for school funding, senior tax breaks or another jobs bill.
Critics say the China hub proposal is, at best, a long shot that carries no guarantees. They are right. There is risk, but there is no reward without risk.
This region has lost most of its automotive-related jobs. Its aerospace industry faces an uncertain future. If the government of China invests in this deal, as it appears it is willing to do, it would light a flame that would brighten the region's economic future.