Missouri Is One of the Top States . . . in Corporate Welfare

Typically it’s a good thing to be ranked high. That’s certainly the case for college football and the Forbes 400. However, a high ranking isn’t always a good thing. According to a report from the Mercatus Center (H/T AEI), Missouri has given $5.2 billion in subsidies to private businesses. This gives Missouri the dubious distinction of being the ninth most generous state in terms of corporate welfare. Now, I like being in the top 10 as much as the next guy, but not for this reason.

Tax credits and enterprise zones are among the items included in calculating the total amount of subsidies provided to these companies. We have written extensively on how these and similar programs do not generate the type of growth that supporters of these programs claim. Unfortunately, policymakers seem to be big fans of these types of subsidies, as are the companies that benefit from receiving them.

Guess which company is the biggest beneficiary of corporate welfare. I’ll give you a minute. Need a hint? They build airplanes. Give up? I’ll show you.

Boeing collects more in corporate welfare than the next two companies combined. Missouri did its part in improving the company’s bottom line when it gave Boeing a massive handout so that it would locate additional aircraft manufacturing here. However, the state is unlikely to get enough money in return in order to justify these subsidies. To generate sufficient returns, Boeing’s investment in the area would have to be in excess of what they made in profits for all of last year. Color me skeptical that they’ll make an investment that large.

Instead of giving out all of this taxpayer money to specific businesses, why doesn’t the government just cut taxes for all businesses? The state would make itself more attractive to businesses, and it would avoid the management problems that occur with these tax credits.