Madmallard
.223 Rem
t’s all about the ribbon-cutting. That seems to be Gov. Cuomo’s approach to Upstate’s economy — and he made sure he was front and center for Tuesday’s photo-op at a Plattsburgh plant opening.
Too bad Upstate’s job growth, which crept along at just half the nation’s rate for the first few years of Cuomo’s term, came to a near-total halt in 2016. Even as he has thrown billions at Upstate businesses.
Take the Plattsburgh plant. The company, Norsk Titanium — which will 3-D print airplane parts — is one of the few high-tech manufacturing “success” stories to come from Cuomo’s strategy. Yet the state had to shell out $125 million to make it work.
And Norsk has just 110 workers. That’s more than $1.1 million per job sucked from New Yorkers’ pockets. (Norsk says it’ll add another 100 jobs soon.)
Other projects have fared worse: Last week we noted that the Central New York Film Hub, built with $15 million of state cash, never ginned up the promised 350 jobs and sits virtually empty. There’s the $600 million Cuomo spent for a plant for Ams AG, which pulled out. And $75 million for an all-but-empty facility in Greece.
The whopper: a factory in Buffalo for SolarCity built using $750 million of taxpayers’ dough. Despite a planned start last summer, it’s only now hiring workers and its solar-panel business remains uncertain.
Overseeing many of the disasters: SUNY Polytechnic Institute and its founding president, Alain Kaloyeros, who was indicted in a bid-rigging scandal last year. (The SUNY board has had to hand Polytechnic a $25 million loan, and a state bailout for millions may be needed.)
No wonder the region’s job growth has stalled, as two New York Fed analysts noted. After posting 0.6 percent yearly gains in the run-up to 2016 (less than half the nation’s 1.6 percent rate), Upstate jobs expanded at just 0.3 percent that year.
At the same time, Cuomo has actively sapped job growth Upstate with his fracking ban, minimum-wage hikes and other hits.
All in all, some pretty pricey ribbons.
http://nypost.com/2017/10/18/cuomos-collapsing-hi-tech-upstate-dreams/
Too bad Upstate’s job growth, which crept along at just half the nation’s rate for the first few years of Cuomo’s term, came to a near-total halt in 2016. Even as he has thrown billions at Upstate businesses.
Take the Plattsburgh plant. The company, Norsk Titanium — which will 3-D print airplane parts — is one of the few high-tech manufacturing “success” stories to come from Cuomo’s strategy. Yet the state had to shell out $125 million to make it work.
And Norsk has just 110 workers. That’s more than $1.1 million per job sucked from New Yorkers’ pockets. (Norsk says it’ll add another 100 jobs soon.)
Other projects have fared worse: Last week we noted that the Central New York Film Hub, built with $15 million of state cash, never ginned up the promised 350 jobs and sits virtually empty. There’s the $600 million Cuomo spent for a plant for Ams AG, which pulled out. And $75 million for an all-but-empty facility in Greece.
The whopper: a factory in Buffalo for SolarCity built using $750 million of taxpayers’ dough. Despite a planned start last summer, it’s only now hiring workers and its solar-panel business remains uncertain.
Overseeing many of the disasters: SUNY Polytechnic Institute and its founding president, Alain Kaloyeros, who was indicted in a bid-rigging scandal last year. (The SUNY board has had to hand Polytechnic a $25 million loan, and a state bailout for millions may be needed.)
No wonder the region’s job growth has stalled, as two New York Fed analysts noted. After posting 0.6 percent yearly gains in the run-up to 2016 (less than half the nation’s 1.6 percent rate), Upstate jobs expanded at just 0.3 percent that year.
At the same time, Cuomo has actively sapped job growth Upstate with his fracking ban, minimum-wage hikes and other hits.
All in all, some pretty pricey ribbons.
http://nypost.com/2017/10/18/cuomos-collapsing-hi-tech-upstate-dreams/
