The Billionaire Boondoggle: How Our Politicians Let Corporations and Bigwigs Steal Our Money and Jobs

by Pat Garofalo

"An alarming, fact-driven jeremiad urging change and action." –KirkusThe first comprehensive look at how politicians let the entertainment industry bilk taxpayers, hijack public policy and hurt economic investment, starting and ending with Trump. From stadiums and movie productions to casinos and mega-malls to convention centers and hotels, cities and states have paid out billions of dollars in tax breaks, subsidies, and grants to the world's corporate titans. They hope to boost their economies, create new and better jobs, and lure well-known events such as the Super Bowl--not to mention give their officials the chance to meet celebrities. That Big Entertainment drives bigger economies is a myth, however. Overwhelming evidence shows catering public policy to its promises results in a raw deal for the taxpaying public.In The Billionaire Boondoggle, Garofalo takes readers on a tour of publicly-subsidized corporate America to explain how that myth came to be, how much money America's elected officials throw away, and why courting Big Entertainment just courts disaster. You’ll learn how Maryland gave millions of dollars to Netflix to make House of Cards, and Nevada spent hundreds of millions on a new home for the NFL’s Raiders. New Mexico paid big money to host The Avengers, while city after city fell prey to the debt trap that is the Olympics. You’ll see how big sporting goods stores like Bass Pro Shops and big casinos across the country all get in on the subsidy scam. And you’ll see how many cities got in bed with hotel titans, including Donald J. Trump himself.This book is the go-to guide for the many ways in which American taxpayers unknowingly subsidize the TV shows they watch, the sports teams they root for and the hotels they sleep in, all based on an economic theory that only adds up for CEOs and bigwigs.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Politics, Economics

273 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 12, 2019

About the author

Hi there! I wrote the book "The Billionaire Boondoggle," because I was tired of seeing cities and states get ripped off by corporate CEOs tossing around really bad economic ideas.

I've been an editor for TalkPoverty.org, U.S. News & World Report, and ThinkProgress and have also written for, well, many other magazines and newspapers. I live in Washington, D.C., with my wife, and when I'm not working on econ nerd stuff, I can usually be found playing soccer or rooting for Tottenham Hotspur and D.C. United.

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in two days, so it was obviously interesting. I felt like some chapters landed way better than others. The one about the movie/television industry landed the strongest and had some excellent anecdotes. I also thought the Olympics and stadium chapters were great. The book is written from a certain perspective, but at its best it's quite eye-opening. The one thing I wish there was more discussion about was why bi-partisan accepted solutions haven't been implemented more or the successes that have come from them. If those exist they would've provided some excellent counter-examples to what is presented. Though the opposite of a subsidy is basically, well... nothing. (For instance, New York's recent Amazon strife.) So it may be that the subject lent itself to this particular treatment.

[Wellington · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected this book to piss me off. I hate paying taxes, I hate people and corporations who pay an unfair low taxes even more. This book dives into the subjects of hidden retail tax breaks, tax supported entertainment and gambling subsidies.

The amounts of corruption and waste is staggering and overwhelming. Maybe it's to the point where the millions and billions get so large .... they just become words and not real money. And this book makes me feel more apathetic than passionate.

On some level, I understand that something needs to change. On the other hand, it's not fun being the boy who points out the emperor has no clothes when everyone is in a party with that naked emperor.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

So state governments have been desperately laying the red carpet for billionaire owners of sports teams, theme parks, casinos, movie producers, world cups, Amazon headquarters, and giant malls. States often offer tax breaks and even subsidise the building of the infrastructures. Often the billionaire owners promise jobs for the local people. Garofalo posited that all these economic benefits do not in fact exist; in other words, we have all been boondoggled. Many even threaten to leave if the tax breaks are not perpetually given, and sometimes they leave anyway, letting the state pay for the dinosaurs over the next 20 years.

The important thing to consider is that often, the jobs created are just jobs that are moved around, and the increased economic activity (money spent in a sports event) happens at the expensive of some other activity (money not spent by tourists avoiding the crowded even). In the end tax breaks cause states to go into the red, laying off workers, not building infrastructure, cutting budget for essential services.

The other thing is that businesspeople will invest if they can make money. If subsidies are required for the investment to occur, it would not be a sound investment.

Unfortunately, politicians love to be seen to be pro-business and pro-jobs, allowing big companies to blackmail states into giving them money!

Singapore has always used tax breaks to entice big foreign businesses to come and invest. It has scored many wins with data centres for Google, Microsoft and Facebook. More recently Dyson is relocating to Singapore as well. It is well known that the tax breaks are temporary and some companies do leave the moment the subsidies stop flowing. But others stay. In the same vein Singapore refused to subsidise Disney for a theme park, and Disney went to Hong Kong instead. That one is owned by the Hong Kong government and has been losing money forever.

[Paul Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author does a detailed and comprehensive review of the impact of public dollar funding for corporations. Not surprisingly the are all boondoggles from sports stadiums to lowering corporate taxes to shopping malls. I appreciated the straight forward language and not going overboard in the tedium of finance.

[Mark Grimaldi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The findings in this book are truly jaw-dropping. But my favorite part of the book is that Pat gives good ideas to change this. Now it's on us to pressure our elected officials about it!

[Kathryn Thulin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smart and well-written book on an important topic. Should be required reading before the 2020 elections!

[Phil Galewitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Billion Dollar Boondoggle blows the lid off politicians’ age-old promise of offering tax breaks to companies with the promise that they will stimulate jobs and the economy.
Author Pat Garofalo deftly bring the goods to show how such deals rarely ever pay off --- for counties, cities and most importantly, you, the taxpayer.
Garofalo shows how taxpayer-supported football stadiums, hotels, casinos and even mega-sized sporting-goods stores have gotten in on the action for tax breaks –with little evidence it does anything but help corporate executives.
Its an especially timely read with Amazon having just finished its nationwide search for a second headquarters, which instigated a battle among cities and states across the country clamoring to pay the online retailer for the privilege and promise of gaining new jobs.
The book shows the long history of local and state governments throwing money at developers and businesses—dating back to almost the beginning of the United States. The book shows how everyone from Donald Trump to Oakland Raiders to Bass Pro Shops and movies like the Avengers and TV shows such as House of Cards has their hand in the till—with politicians jumping over themselves to give them money or tax breaks to bring them into their states and communities. The book not only questions the economic impact of paying these entities, but shows the evidence from numerous studies about how little is gained and taxpayer money lost in pursuit.
With in person reports from Memphis, Las Vegas and other cities, Garofalo takes readers on a journey showing just how silly some of these corporate tax giveaways are and explains what politicians’ fascination see in these golden giveaways.
Even after many of these giveaways to sports teams turn into a tax busts — such as St. Louis building a stadium for the Rams--- there’s no sign politicians have learned their lessons.
Yet, the book does offer some hopeful signs for the resistance hoping to end these giveaways, namely Boston residents telling their city they don’t want the expense of attracting the Summer Olympics coming to town in 2024.
Billion Dollar Boondoggle is not only a quick and easy read, but proves an important tool to help expose the myths about throwing taxpayer dollars to the entertainment industry in search of economic stimuli. Moreover, it empowers you with the vital knowledge and historical lessons to question your city council member or state lawmaker next time they promise a can’t miss investment through tax breaks and taxpayer handouts.