Pity Gov. Cuomo didn’t take Rick Perry up on his offer to debate. Turns out our governor could have put some tough questions to his Texas counterpart about his alleged commitment to free markets.
Exhibit A: The announcement Toyota will soon be moving its US headquarters from California to the Lone Star State.
Undeniably it’s a huge win for Gov. Perry. The move means 4,000 new jobs in Texas. On top of this, it’s a dig at Gov. Jerry Brown in California — another high-tax state where Perry’s traveled to do some high-profile poaching.
Here’s how Perry put it: “Toyota understands that Texas’ employer-friendly combination of low taxes, fair courts, smart regulations and world-class workforce can help businesses of any size succeed and thrive.” And we agree.
But what caught our eye was something Perry didn’t stress: The state of Texas will be underwriting this move with a $40 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Zone. In other words, crony capitalism.
Now, we’ve been tough on Gov. Cuomo for his tax gimmicks. But he could rightly ask Perry: “What’s the difference between New York’s giving a tax credit for films or starting up a tax-free enterprise zone and your giving a company a $40 million grant to come relocate?”
It’s a good question. In Texas itself, the existence of the Texas Enterprize Zone plus the related Texas Emerging Technology Fund — two big sources of incentives for companies — has also raised questions whether political contributions might follow from favors to companies.
According to a 2010 story in the Texas Observer, “20 of the 55 Enterprise Fund companies had either given money directly to Perry’s campaign or donated to the Republican Governors Association, a Washington, DC-based group that Perry presided over in 2008.”
Yes, Texas overall boasts a low-tax, low-spending, light-regulation environment.
But it would have been nice to see Gov. Perry try to explain to Gov. Cuomo why the latter’s Empire State Authority is any worse than his own Texas Enterprise Fund.