In this article I am sure most of you have seen here, Arstechnica outlines how Comcast qualified for a tax break that was intended to be specifically for attracting Google Fiber or maybe services like that. It backfired on them essentially.
My personal thoughts are, why is the state of Oregon even creating legislation to help any-one company anyway. It seems like less regulation is what actually attracts businesses like Google Fiber, not more.
Am I wrong to think this though? Should cities in fact do things like give companies that offer certain things, that are in high demand but low supply, tax breaks or subsidies? Probably no! The fact that they "accidentally" gave comcast a tax break(the one thing they did not want to do) aside, I doubt that the fail in supply of affordable fiber won't be fixed by giving tax breaks, but by instead repealing regulation that holds it back in the first place. Things like zoning laws, licenses, or access to constructing in public areas, etc.
All that aside, one giant disappointed sigh has just been heard all over the continental US, especially in Oregon, I'm sure lol.
What do you guys think about this and the local or federal government giving companies that can satisfy a demand tax breaks, subsidies, etc?
Audio Version(ripped from reddit, lol)