Rhode Island set to sign Schilling to a deal?
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Recently, the legislature made $125 million available for the state's Economic Development Corporation (EDC) to offer government guaranteed loans to companies in order to create jobs for the state's sagging economy.
Now, the EDC is set to offer 60% of this money - or $75 million - to lure the videogame company - 38 Studios - of former Red Sox hurler Curt Schilling to move to Rhode Island.
For the last several months, the EDC has been talking to 38 Studios about moving their 150+ MA and MD employees into one centralized location in Rhode Island.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAnd, last night, the EDC gave preliminary approval to issue upwards of $75 million in revenue bonds to lure the company to Rhode Island.
But, is this a smart economic development strategy for the Ocean State?
Clearly, our state needs to (1) support entrepreneurs and the formation of new businesses (think IT, biotech, renewable energy, life sciences) and (2) support existing Rhode Island small businesses (think retail, health care, construction, manufacturing) and (3) attract pre-existing companies with their pre-existing jobs to Rhode Island to support specific industry growth in RI (think Schilling).
For me, the first two have to be the priority.
I'm not convinced that spending 60% of our economic development money for one company to move pre-existing jobs to our state will do anything for our economy. Further, the benefits are small considering that the risk is enormous.
I would rather see $75 million invested in 25 small businesses who each get $3 million and commit to hiring 10 new employees each. That would be 250 new home-grown employees.
When will our state's economic leaders forego the magic bullet (casino, g-tech, fidelity) and focus on the tens of thousands of Rhode Island small businesses which are the backbone of our state's economy and who, with state support, can actually help solve the unemployment crisis?
