Tax breaks for jobs not working out too well in Massachusetts

First, good article. There may be a few logical times when tax credits come in handy to create jobs, for instance when $170 million of state money over 10 years can be parlayed into $1 Billion of incentive funds for the life science industry. But the state should be far more stringent in it's process, and getting guaruntees, and at least discuss clawback provisions (getting our money back) when companies take our dollars and fail to deliver on jobs.

As for film tax credits, you can argue whether they are a bad deal for the state. But you certainly can't argue whether the movies were being made here before the credits. We've had a ten-fold increase in film dollars spent here and in films made here since the credits. We can decide it's not worth it, and there's various evidence on both sides. But don't try to question the fact that it will happen, because we have the evidence.

As for casinos, we can all recognize the potential moral concerns around casinos, and the potential negative impacts. No question. But there's also no question that over a billion dollars of Massachusetts dollars are going to CT and RI. Would it be worth it to keep those dollars here? That's a fair argument. But we can't actually argue about what is happening.