Marathon Pundit: Google office with tax breaks opens in budget challenged Michigan

Friday, May 18, 2007

Google office with tax breaks opens in budget challenged Michigan

Today's Detroit News has an article about the opening of Google's new Adwords office in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In the same edition, the News writes about the ongoing budget disagreement in Michigan, making the claim that the fiscal logjam is hurting Michigan's image and its attractiveness to out-of-state investors.

These are not unrelated stories.

From a John J. Miller article in the March 19 print edition of the National Review

Last summer, Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, announced that Google would open an office in Ann Arbor. At the time, the company's stock capitalization was valued at more than $100 billion. Yet Granholm granted $38 million in tax credits to the robust company, relief not bestowed on other companies. Would Google have chosen Michigan "but for" the financial assistance? Press reports suggest that Google co-founder Larry Page, a Michigan native who earned a degree at the University of Michigan, was determined to build in Ann Arbor regardless.