Crowd Called for Jobs Not Give Aways: Corporate Interests Dealt a Blow at Erie County Economic Development Forum

Andrew Rudnick’s bow tie was twisted out of position at last week’s public forum on economic development priorities. A crowd of over 200 people sent a nearly unanimous message to members of the newly appointed WNY Regional Economic Development Council - invest our precious economic development resources on job creation, workforce development, entrepreneurship, education, our built and natural environment. And while you’re at it – stop squandering our resources on tax breaks for businesses that fail to deliver. Stop wasting our tax dollars on silver bullet mishaps and start investing in good jobs and strong communities.

CEJ member Richard Lipsitz got it right with his statement at the event, which was picked up by the Buffalo News –

Richard Lipsitz, vice president of the Western New York Area Labor Federation, retorted: “Where do we stop? Should we drive our taxes to the point where we’re competing with Indonesia and Malaysia, with people who are slaves? Is that where we want to stop?”

We have to keep up the pressure if these new councils are to amount to much more than the status quo. We’ve got an opening in WNY, with the council using words like ‘sustainable,’ ‘community development,’ and ‘good jobs.’

Stay tuned for details on another Buffalo based meeting to accommodate all of the folks that were turned away last week.