North Carolina

Apple Delays Build Of Taxpayer-Subsidized North Carolina Campus

Published

5 months ago

June 27, 2024

Apple Delays Build Of Taxpayer-Subsidized North Carolina Campus

Close-up of blue logo on sign with facade of headquarters buildings in background near the … [+] headquarters of Apple Computers in the Silicon Valley, Cupertino, California, August 26, 2018. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Apple Inc. appears to be delaying its plans to build a corporate campus in Research Triangle Park, which is sited on the boundaries of Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Durham in North Carolina.

Construction was originally slated to begin in 2026, but the tech giant has reportedly told state officials of its desire to delay groundbreaking for up to four years. The delay would be a considerable setback for the area, which anticipated substantial economic growth and job creation from the project.

The first phase of the project was expected to include six buildings across 41 acres, with a promise of a future expansion on a 281 acre site. The proposed project was intended to house roles in machine learning, artificial intelligence, and software engineering, with estimates of 3,000 jobs with salaries approaching $200,000.

As the region grapples with news of the delay, the broader implications in terms of economic development are somewhat less clear. The taxpayer-funded incentives bound up in the project may have made the development less of an unalloyed positive for North Carolinians.

Massive Taxpayer Contributions

The cost to North Carolina for securing Apple’s investment was substantial, with $845.8 million in tax breaks promised over 39 years and local incentives adding another $20 million. The all-in cost to taxpayers totaled nearly $1 billion, or roughly $333,000 per job added.

For context, this is just a few thousand dollars shy of a noted tax incentive boondoggle: the “border war” between Kansas City between Missouri and Kansas. There, some 414 jobs were created in Kansas at a cost of $340,000 per job.

The track record of the Job Development Investment Grant Program, which would facilitate the tax breaks accruing to Apple, has been mixed at best. Notable projects that have also been pushed back by the recipients of tax incentives include an agreement with Allstate to create 2,200 jobs which was made impractical by a shift to remote work and a commitment by a Vietnamese automaker to create 7,500 jobs which has been delayed until 2025.

Apple’s decision to delay the construction of its Research Triangle Park campus brings into question the future economic impact on the Raleigh-Durham area—but it is far from clear the result will be a net negative for North Carolina taxpayers.

Tax Incentives and Job Creation

The efficacy of tax incentives in fostering job creation more broadly has been long debated. While incentives are often touted as necessary to attract large companies and thereby spur economic development, evidence has for some time suggested that they may not be as effective as advertised.

One main criticism is that the incentives often result in a relocating of existing jobs rather than the creation of new ones—put differently, there is no net addition of jobs to the economy writ large, merely a subtraction from one region or state and an addition in another. This can have beneficial local effects, but those effects may be blunted by the broader net loss inherent where an expenditure is made to maintain the same total number of jobs.

The practice of offering tax incentives leads to a zero-sum game, where cities or regions engage in a destructive bidding war, each vying to spend more taxpayer money to the benefit of no one save for the corporations being fought over.

In fact, research suggests that the primary drivers of job growth are not older firms—but young firms. This would suggest North Carolina would be better off incentivizing the next Apple to start its business in the Research Triangle, rather than trying to attract existing behemoths. Newer firms inject competition, spur innovation, and are more likely to hire new workers.

Thus, policies that support the creation of new businesses, rather than providing tax incentives to existing ones, may be more beneficial for long-term sustainable development—but they don’t make the headlines.

Source link

Related Topics:apple Featured northcarolina rtp

Click to comment

North Carolina

USC Trojans Predicted to Flip Recruits from Utah, North Carolina Before Signing Day

Published

7 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Press Room

USC Trojans Predicted to Flip Recruits from Utah, North Carolina Before Signing Day

The USC Trojans are in pursuit of flipping two class of 2025 recruits, Nela Tupou and Alex Payne. Can the Trojans flip one or both of these players before national signing day?

Nela Tupou Player Profile

USC Trojans Projected to Flip, Nela Tupou / @lul_nelaa on Instagram

Nela Tupou is a 6-4, 220 pound tight end/defensive end out of Folsom, California. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the 43rd-best ATH in the class of 2025 per 247Sports.

Tupou committed to the Utah Utes in February of 2024, but he just recently visited USC last weekend for the Trojans’ 28-20 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

On3 is now predicting that Tupou will likely flip this commitment from Utah to USC.

Alex Payne Player Profile

USC Trojans Projected to Flip, Alex Payne / @usc.today on Instagram

Alex Payne is a 6-5, 265 pound offensive tackle out of Gainesville, Florida. He is rated as four-star recruit and ranked as the 16th-best offensive tackle in the class of 2025.

Payne committed to the North Carolina Tar Heels in January of 2024, but he as well as Tupou, visited USC last weekend.

In 247Sports recruiting analyst Tom Loy’s updated crystal ball prediction, he had Payne flipping his commitment from North Carolina to USC. Loy has a good track record of predicting where recruits will end up as his all-time hit rate for predicting recruits’ final destinations is 81.64 percent.

USC Bolstering Up Offensive Line to Go Along With Weapons

Nov 16, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans running back Quinten Joyner (0) runs the ball against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the first half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

One of the glaring holes for the USC Trojans this season has been the offensive line. For USC to bounce back next season, they will have to get much better in the trenches. This has been exposed in their first season in the Big Ten. Landing Tupou, who can both be a factor in the run blocking scheme as a blocker, and Payne, one of the top tackle prospects in the country, would go a long way for next season and the future of the program.

Barring a flurry of transfer portal decisions, the Trojans will have an abundance of skill position talent coming back next season.

Freshman running back Quinten Joyner has been the second best back this season behind senior running back Woody marks.

Four of the Trojans five leading receivers are sophomores. Makai Lemon, Zachariah Branch, Ja’Kobi Lane, and Duce Robinson all have shown flashes of potentially being a number one wide receiver next season.

Add in the Trojans starting sophomore quarterback Jayden Maiava and they have one of the youngest teams in the Big Ten. If USC continues to address the offensive line in the last days of the 2025 recruiting cycle and in the transfer portal this offseason, the Trojans could be a dangerous team next season.

MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Five-Star QB Husan Longstreet Talks Recruitment, Flip to USC Trojans

MORE: Minnesota Vikings’ Jordan Addison Injury Update After Increased Role Vs. Tennessee Titans

MORE: Did NIL Factor Into Julian Lewis Decommit From USC Trojans? Colorado Buffaloes Loom

MORE: USC Trojans Schedule Release: Notre Dame Kickoff Time, TV Broadcast

MORE: USC Trojans Quarterback Miller Moss’ Potential NIL Value as Transfer

MORE: USC Trojans’ Bear Alexander Visiting Georgia Bulldogs: Transfer Portal?

MORE: Chicago Bears’ Caleb Williams Reveals Advice from USC Trojans Coach Lincoln Riley

MORE: USC Trojans’ Lincoln Riley on De-Commitments: ‘Great Ones Always See The Opportunity’

MORE: Why 4-Star Hayden Lowe Flipped From USC Trojans To Miami Hurricanes, Mario Cristobal

MORE: USC Trojans Women’s Basketball Star JuJu Watkins Makes Name, Image, Likeness History

Source link

North Carolina

School closings, delays in Western North Carolina, Friday, Nov. 22

Published

16 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Press Room

School closings, delays in Western North Carolina, Friday, Nov. 22

Some school systems in Western North Carolina are closed Friday, Nov. 21, due to winter weather.

Avery County Schools: Closed, remote learning day.
Graham County Schools: Closed, workday for staff.
Madison County Schools: Closed, optional teacher workday.
Mitchell County Schools: Closed, remote learning day.
Watauga County Schools: Two-hour delay.
Yancey County Schools: Closed, remote learning day.

This story will be updated

Source link

North Carolina

North Carolina has some of the highest STD rates nationwide, report says

Published

1 day ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

North Carolina has some of the highest STD rates nationwide, report says

NORTH CAROLINA (WBTV) – North Carolina has some of the highest STD rates nationwide, according to a new study by the U.S. News & World Report.

The report analyzed the highest combined rates of three major sexually transmitted infections: Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Syphilis.

As far as the 10 states with the highest STD rates, N.C. ranked No. 7.

The data

According to the report, the state’s total STD rate is 911.5 per 100,000. That has actually decreased by -0.3% since 2022.

Rates for the three major STDs are:

Chlamydia: 607.9 per 100,000
Gonorrhea: 243.2 per 100,000
Syphilis (cumulative): 60.4 per 100,000

South Carolina

South Carolina also has some of the highest STD rates in America, according to the report.

Ranked at No. 8 for the 10 states with the highest STD rates, the state’s total STD rate is 882.8 per 100,000. That has decreased by 10.9% since 2022.

Rates for the three major STDs are: