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The Corporate Hog at the Trough Award is awarded monthly to big businesses that take the most in corporate welfare dollars and give back the least to their communities. Borden received $16,283,919 in corporate welfare through the ten-year industrial tax exemption, created only 4 permanent jobs and avoided an estimated $5,862,210.84 in local school taxes. Louisiana is the only state in the nation that exempts big business manufacturers from local school taxes. The state paid Borden $4,070,979.70 for each job created.

"Companies like Borden use public services like our schools, roads, water and sewerage, fire and police protection just like everyone else," Orr said. "In many cases, they use some of those services more than anyone else, and yet they are exempt from paying property tax for 10 years. However, small business must pay its tax bill in full. And as a result, small business pays more than they should for public services they don't use as much. However, when companies from other states come look at the possibility of locating here and they see the condition of our roads, schools and other public services and decide not come to Louisiana, everyone wonders why. We have to start looking at the impact this policy has on our quality of life."

Orr pointed out that in October the Corporation for Enterprise Development gave Louisiana two F's and a D in its 2000 Development Report Card, which rates states' economic development efforts. The report card specifically cited "poor quality of life" as a reason why companies do not consider locating in Louisiana. The quality of life indicators used in the report card included the infant mortality rate, high crime rate and high rate of uninsured low-income children. The report gave cited Louisiana's poor air quality and low numbers of health care professionals in giving the state an F in the area of "development capacity."

"It's not enough to just give companies tax breaks and promise that your state won't enforce the pollutions laws in order to attract economic development," Orr said. "And it's because our economy is changing. The emphasis now is on technology-based and service companies. Those companies want to locate in places where the quality of life is high. As long as we continue with our present economic policy, companies that will improve the quality of life will not come here and the only ones that will benefit are those large manufacturing companies - mainly oil and gas and chemical - that account for less than one percent of all companies in the state and account for only 10 percent of new jobs created."

Orr said that companies' collective response to receiving the Corporate Hog at the Trough Award begs the question."Every time we give this award, big business reaction is 'We never promised any jobs as a result of this policy and these tax breaks help us remain competitive and keep the jobs we have in the area.'" Orr said. "I'm not sure why it is the responsibility of the tax payers to keep big business competitive. As far as 'give us these tax breaks if you want the jobs to stay here,' that's just blackmailing the taxpayers pure and simple."

Orr said the fact that Borden received $16,283 million in corporate welfare and created only 4 permanent jobs over ten years is proof that the claim that tax incentives helps create and retain jobs isn't true. In 1998, these big businesses were given $300 million in taxpayers' dollars but created only 6,250 jobs. That means the state paid $48,000 a job. Orr said the jobs don't pay $48,000 a job to workers. Between 1982 and 1995, the state paid big business $4 billion in tax breaks and 26,000 jobs were lost. Taxpayers paid $154,000 for each job lost.

"Most of the corporations that receive these tax breaks are polluters," Orr said. "The idea has been that if we bring these big companies in our state, the environment might not be as clean but at least we'll be prosperous. We are number one per capita in doling out tax incentives and we are number two in the country in pollution. Yet, during the most prosperous economic boon time in our nation's history, our economy can't grow at the national average."

Orr said the pollution takes a toll on the state's economy."About 500 people die in our state each year because of air pollution," Orr said. " If you don't think pollution has an economic impact, ask the family members of those people who died about the economic impact on their families. Each Louisianian pays $1,000 more in annual health care costs because of air pollution and that comes straight out of their pocketbooks. Our total health-related economic costs because of pollution are between $2 billion and $7 billion each year. The idea that our environment is just some pretty little thing to look at and that there are no repercussions for damaging the environment just isn't true."

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