April 17, 2008
Other people’s heartbeats
Beck casts a sharp spot on another one, related to the recent Skybus bankruptcy. That whole deal has had my hackles up for two years, now, though I hadn’t read that angle on the Dispatch reporting. In that vein, after listening over the years to several interviews of Dispatch reporters on the Columbus NPR affiliate it was plain to me that the Dispatch reporters have a very cozy relationship with the Columbus and State pols, and a little last minute back-scratching comes as no surprise.
The additional thing is the happy-go-lucky attitude the government overseers are now applying to the wasting of several million of their constituent’s tax dollars. Two or more years ago there were a loud but inneffectual outcry over the proposed concessions and outright expenditures floated to lure Skybus to the Columbus airport. The pols had none of it, and rammed it through in the name of jobs and tourist dollars. Now, even as it falls out to be as bad as people warned them it could, ignorant politicians and bureaubots are not deterred in the slightest from like future action.
Among the creditors who cannot collect their investment is the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, which invested $11.5 million in airport upgrades suited to Skybus’ needs.
"Many of our regional jet partners may be able to use the gate as is — or we could be retrofitting it again," said Airport spokesman David Whitaker.
And this:
"We should not stop trying to move Ohio’s economy forward and take the risk necessary to do that. That’s a part of our free enterprise system," said Ohio Governor Ted Strickland.
It’s not "free enterprise", Ted, when you’re forcing people to finance your pet schemes. This guy sees it:
[...] David Hansen of the Buckeye Institute said the failure should be a lesson to government to stay out of the free market and lower taxes for everyone rather than specific businesses.
"He’s not risking his money. He’s risking my money, your money and the taxpayers’ money," Hansen said.
Offering business incentives, like tax breaks, is increasingly common. Hansen said the state would be more competitive for bringing business to Ohio by getting rid of the state income tax.
"Henry Isaacson, chairman of the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority," doesn’t care:
Isaacson is disappointed in the loss of Skybus, which accounted for a 41 percent jump in passengers for February alone over last year.
But he said he’d work up another big incentive package to recruit a similar airline "in a heartbeat."
It’s easy to be a big shot on other people’s dimes.
