If government should get out of the way of business, why do so many businesses keep asking for government help?
Wellington Management Inc. wants to develop the former State Farm Insurance site in Woodbury, MN into an office park, a senior housing center, and a Costco store. Among government assistance it would like is financing through bonding or tax exemption. See "State Farm site plan may need state help", Star Tribune, 2011-01-22.
The owner of the company claims that the project will create 2,000 new jobs. I won't judge the accuracy of that projection, but it would be interesting to see how many such projections come true. It certainly didn't happen with United Healthcare in Duluth.
Some critics of government support for industries, for example, ethanol production, say government shouldn't be picking winners and losers in business. I wonder how many supporters of the Woodbury project are among those critics. I do know some supporters of the project belong to the same party as those critics. Many members of that party do say that government should get out of the way of business.
