Abstract:
Governor Mike Easley and the state legislature recently agreed to an incentive plan to keep Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in North Carolina and keep its Fayetteville plant open. Previous incentive plans were designed to lure companies to North Carolina or help existing companies expand rather than move elsewhere. This new precedent may have the state paying companies to stay based on a mere threat of leaving. This will likely lead to more companies to ask for the Goodyear treatment and the whole situation is likely to get out of hand.