December 10, 2005

Spinning the Nissan Deal

The Nissan site selection consultant who helped state officials devise the new state policy offering millions of tax dollars to big corporations to move their headquarters to Tennessee has said he was "heavily involved" in the policy-making process, and even suggested the state offer the $50,000-per-job corporate relocation expenses, a policy change worth nearly $64 million to Nissan, his client. Aware of how bad it looks to allow a corporate agent to write a new state law giving said corporation $64 million of taxpayers' money, the state's Commissioner of Economic Development is now downplaying the consultant's role.