TIF Apology

During the past 8 years (2006-14) I have written 37 blog essays explaining that there are between 10 and 20 categories of reasons -- each with supporting examples -- of why TIFs are a bad idea. If a given TIF is an example of even one of those categories it should not be approved. And yet time after time TIFs illustrating many of those categories are approved -- to little meaningful protest from the public or the competitors of the beneficiary.

The way the present system works -- taxpayers' money is essentially simply given to for-profit enterprises as tax avoidance, subsidies, or other gifts (disguised as "jobs programs") -- TIFs are a bad idea.

Now I see the problem, while inevitable, is one that can be easily remedied.

Once you recognize, as I now do, that (although we are not living in a fascist state) ours definitely is a fascist economy, all we need to do to right the wrongs is to treat taxpayers' contributions for what they are: investments rather than gifits, investments that create the ownership interests of a shareholder, that return dividends or other share of the profits to the investors, or loans from a taxpayer-owned bank on which interest payments are due.

"TIF Apology," http://fromdc2iowa.blogspot.com/2014/03/tif-apology.html
is wherein, upon discovering that we have a fascist economy, I apologize for 8 years of 37 anti-TIF blog essays.