1 00:00:46,255 --> 00:00:48,715 Boom! 2 00:00:52,135 --> 00:00:53,971 Thank you, thank you, thank you. 3 00:00:53,971 --> 00:00:57,015 Isn't that nice? I like to pretend I have a live band. 4 00:00:57,099 --> 00:00:58,392 Bam! 5 00:00:58,392 --> 00:01:02,271 Thank you, Paul. Good evening, my name is Jon Stewart. 6 00:01:02,271 --> 00:01:08,402 Tonight we begin with ostensibly good news for the American workforce. 7 00:01:08,402 --> 00:01:10,612 American manufacturing is back. 8 00:01:10,696 --> 00:01:13,532 We're proving it's never, ever, ever a good bet 9 00:01:13,532 --> 00:01:15,784 to bet against the American people. 10 00:01:17,411 --> 00:01:18,412 Okay. 11 00:01:19,413 --> 00:01:21,206 If you are going to bet against the American people, 12 00:01:21,290 --> 00:01:24,459 Draft Kings enter promo code "stew beef." 13 00:01:25,544 --> 00:01:27,379 First bet against the American people is free. 14 00:01:27,379 --> 00:01:30,048 But props to America. 15 00:01:30,132 --> 00:01:32,134 We are expected to re-shore 16 00:01:32,134 --> 00:01:37,556 a record 350,000 manufacturing jobs this year. 17 00:01:37,556 --> 00:01:42,686 So dust off them blue collars, and get out them hard hats, 'cause it is... 18 00:01:44,813 --> 00:01:47,900 Out of curiosity, where did manufacturing jobs go in the first place? 19 00:01:47,900 --> 00:01:53,113 Because of globalization you had manufacturing moving to other places. 20 00:01:53,197 --> 00:01:55,866 ...where it's cheaper. -...to be in a low-tax environment... 21 00:01:55,866 --> 00:01:58,327 ...with lower wages. -They can take advantage of workers 22 00:01:58,327 --> 00:01:59,411 who don't have rights. 23 00:01:59,411 --> 00:02:04,833 They also have no real environmental or labor protections, 24 00:02:04,917 --> 00:02:10,464 further undercutting American workers, totally undercutting our workers. 25 00:02:10,464 --> 00:02:12,132 When Trump gives a speech I love it 26 00:02:12,216 --> 00:02:15,928 because it's as though he's learning about it in real time with-- 27 00:02:15,928 --> 00:02:18,931 He's the speaker and the audience. 28 00:02:18,931 --> 00:02:22,643 It's like being with your grandmother when she's reading the newspaper. 29 00:02:22,643 --> 00:02:25,604 "Here's an interesting fact in the Times-Picayune. 30 00:02:25,604 --> 00:02:28,482 Did you know some lobsters are blue?" 31 00:02:31,610 --> 00:02:32,444 Thank you. 32 00:02:32,528 --> 00:02:33,487 But it's true. 33 00:02:35,072 --> 00:02:40,369 The last few decades of globalization allowed corporations to scour the planet 34 00:02:40,369 --> 00:02:43,413 for the cheapest labor and loosest regulations, 35 00:02:43,497 --> 00:02:45,374 devastating the working class. 36 00:02:45,374 --> 00:02:48,418 Capital is mobile, and workers less so. 37 00:02:48,502 --> 00:02:52,756 Entire industries packed up and abandoned the communities that built them. 38 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:57,469 The auto industry left Michigan and Ohio for Mexico and China. 39 00:02:58,178 --> 00:03:02,140 Textile companies left North Carolina for Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Vietnam. 40 00:03:02,933 --> 00:03:05,644 And heavy machinery manufacturer Caterpillar 41 00:03:05,644 --> 00:03:07,938 shipped jobs from Illinois to fucking-- wait, what? 42 00:03:10,607 --> 00:03:13,443 They-- To Texas? They went to Texas? 43 00:03:15,612 --> 00:03:16,989 That can't be right. 44 00:03:16,989 --> 00:03:19,825 The good people of Caterpillar have chosen Texas... 45 00:03:19,825 --> 00:03:22,411 What in yeehaw motherf-- What? 46 00:03:24,079 --> 00:03:25,330 Texas. 47 00:03:25,831 --> 00:03:29,626 I guess that is still technically America but-- 48 00:03:29,710 --> 00:03:33,172 Why-- why would Caterpillar move its business to Texas, 49 00:03:33,172 --> 00:03:35,883 albeit very slowly and probably during rush hour? 50 00:03:35,883 --> 00:03:38,760 I'm trying to get to the hospital for fuck's sake! 51 00:03:41,096 --> 00:03:43,849 Maybe current Texas governor Greg Abbott can explain. 52 00:03:43,849 --> 00:03:47,519 We have low taxes, reasonable regulations, right-to-work laws. 53 00:03:48,437 --> 00:03:50,063 I think I understand now. 54 00:03:50,647 --> 00:03:52,900 As China is to America, 55 00:03:54,693 --> 00:03:56,653 Texas is to Illinois. 56 00:03:59,531 --> 00:04:01,575 Now, if you don't speak business euphemism, 57 00:04:01,575 --> 00:04:03,911 allow me to translate what the Governor said. 58 00:04:03,911 --> 00:04:07,664 "Low tax" means less money to spend on infrastructure. 59 00:04:07,748 --> 00:04:11,919 "Reasonable regulations" means you weren't using that finger anyway. 60 00:04:12,544 --> 00:04:14,546 And "right-to-work" means weak unions, 61 00:04:14,630 --> 00:04:18,216 which means companies can get away with lower pay and fewer benefits, and they do. 62 00:04:19,176 --> 00:04:20,886 I'm sure that's probably just a Texas thing. 63 00:04:20,886 --> 00:04:23,263 Obviously we have a very favorable tax climate. 64 00:04:23,347 --> 00:04:25,933 We also lowered corporate income taxes. 65 00:04:25,933 --> 00:04:29,394 We have a regulatory environment that's friendly to businesses. 66 00:04:29,478 --> 00:04:32,439 We roll out the red carpet, not the red tape. 67 00:04:32,523 --> 00:04:35,526 The weather's great, the beaches are great, the regulation is better... 68 00:04:36,109 --> 00:04:41,365 Florida. Sunshine, sand, and no fucking rules. 69 00:04:42,824 --> 00:04:46,537 That's why there've been so many work-related accidents in Margaritaville. 70 00:04:51,875 --> 00:04:53,043 I don't want to sound crazy 71 00:04:53,043 --> 00:04:57,589 but isn't this exactly what everybody was complaining about with globalization? 72 00:04:57,673 --> 00:05:01,552 See, everybody talks about how jobs are going to Mexico and to China. 73 00:05:01,552 --> 00:05:02,761 But if you're in Michigan 74 00:05:02,845 --> 00:05:06,515 people forget that we're also losing jobs to Tennessee and Texas. 75 00:05:06,515 --> 00:05:09,726 We're also competing for jobs from Georgia and South Carolina. 76 00:05:09,810 --> 00:05:13,438 Yes, and thus the Problem with... 77 00:05:16,316 --> 00:05:19,862 Nah, it's not globalization, it's countrili-- 78 00:05:20,404 --> 00:05:22,990 Countrificat-- countrilization. 79 00:05:23,907 --> 00:05:26,660 Yeah, okay. New word alert. 80 00:05:26,660 --> 00:05:29,204 If globalization undercuts workers 81 00:05:29,288 --> 00:05:35,252 by incentivizing companies to move to low-wage, low-regulation, low-tax markets 82 00:05:35,252 --> 00:05:41,049 like China and Mexico, why would you do a mini version of that in America? 83 00:05:41,133 --> 00:05:43,427 It's bound to become a race to the bottom 84 00:05:43,427 --> 00:05:47,764 between the states at the expense of workers everywhere. 85 00:05:47,848 --> 00:05:50,642 And of course, that's what's happening. 86 00:05:50,726 --> 00:05:54,813 Take wages. When GE moved operations from a union state, Pennsylvania, 87 00:05:54,897 --> 00:05:56,440 to right-to-work Texas, 88 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:58,692 wages went from an average of $34/hour 89 00:05:58,692 --> 00:06:02,696 to a starting offer of $18/hour. 90 00:06:02,696 --> 00:06:03,780 What? 91 00:06:04,865 --> 00:06:08,452 The audience is not happy about the wage cut. 92 00:06:09,244 --> 00:06:11,079 What about environmental regulations? 93 00:06:11,163 --> 00:06:12,623 That don't mean a lot to Florida, 94 00:06:12,623 --> 00:06:15,459 where sugar companies are allowed a harvesting practice 95 00:06:15,459 --> 00:06:18,629 called "burning the shit out of everything." 96 00:06:19,296 --> 00:06:21,924 The sugar giants don't have to burn. 97 00:06:21,924 --> 00:06:24,801 They could deal with the leaves in different ways, 98 00:06:24,885 --> 00:06:26,929 but that would be more expensive. 99 00:06:26,929 --> 00:06:31,558 Even corporate and fire-friendly destination Brazil 100 00:06:31,642 --> 00:06:33,685 has banned the practice. Brazil. 101 00:06:34,311 --> 00:06:36,772 Rain-forest-burning Brazil, 102 00:06:36,772 --> 00:06:42,528 whose national bird is dead due to smoke inhalation. 103 00:06:45,030 --> 00:06:47,991 Dead. The-- Not all the birds in Brazil are dead. 104 00:06:51,912 --> 00:06:54,581 He's alive-- Kids, stop crying. You shouldn't-- 105 00:06:55,916 --> 00:06:58,460 I'm sorry, I'm being told he is dead. He is dead. 106 00:07:00,254 --> 00:07:06,134 But hey, open burning. It's cheaper and who does it hurt? 107 00:07:06,218 --> 00:07:08,679 Charles Jones has lived in the Glades all his life, 108 00:07:08,679 --> 00:07:11,974 working beneath the smoke and ash from sugarcane fields for decades. 109 00:07:11,974 --> 00:07:13,559 I call it "black rain." 110 00:07:13,559 --> 00:07:20,482 We see it in our hair, we see it in our-- on our skin, we see it in our cars. 111 00:07:20,566 --> 00:07:23,986 Okay, I mean, but if attracting corporations 112 00:07:23,986 --> 00:07:27,239 means caramelizing people to death, 113 00:07:27,239 --> 00:07:29,867 I mean, flambé that town. 114 00:07:30,492 --> 00:07:32,995 You may be thinking at least those people have recourse 115 00:07:32,995 --> 00:07:35,497 through the legal system, or did. 116 00:07:35,581 --> 00:07:37,624 Because last year, Governor Ron DeSantis passed a bill 117 00:07:37,708 --> 00:07:42,421 that made it much harder for all the sick people to sue the sugar-burners. 118 00:07:43,005 --> 00:07:45,799 But those are just people who live near the corporations. 119 00:07:46,300 --> 00:07:50,137 What if you're looking to fuck over the people who work for your corporation? 120 00:07:50,721 --> 00:07:52,097 Texas still has the edge. 121 00:07:52,681 --> 00:07:54,558 Texas is the only state in America 122 00:07:54,558 --> 00:07:58,478 that doesn't require companies to provide workers' compensation. 123 00:07:59,897 --> 00:08:02,608 Boy, these people are so angry about this. 124 00:08:03,609 --> 00:08:06,737 We've got some-- Do we have pitchforks and torches? 125 00:08:08,363 --> 00:08:09,573 Start passing them out. 126 00:08:10,407 --> 00:08:14,119 If you get hurt on the job in Texas, which I know doesn't happen 127 00:08:14,203 --> 00:08:17,998 'cause it's Texas, a manly man's bones don't break. 128 00:08:17,998 --> 00:08:21,168 I'm in Texas. You can hit me in the head with a baseball bat. 129 00:08:22,794 --> 00:08:25,464 Pew! Pew! Pew! 130 00:08:29,384 --> 00:08:30,385 Pew! 131 00:08:32,346 --> 00:08:37,643 But even if you do, this Texas personal injury lawyer has had it. 132 00:08:37,643 --> 00:08:39,477 They're fucking people's lives over. 133 00:08:39,561 --> 00:08:42,688 A lot of people that get injured at work get displaced. 134 00:08:42,773 --> 00:08:46,485 I'm talking about 40-year-old guys having to move back with their moms 135 00:08:46,485 --> 00:08:49,154 that live in some fucking shithole somewhere. 136 00:08:51,990 --> 00:08:53,700 Is that a legal term? 137 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:57,371 I would love to-- I want him to be my lawyer. 138 00:08:57,371 --> 00:09:02,042 Your Honor, if I may, my client's in a fucking shithole over here! 139 00:09:03,043 --> 00:09:07,422 Don't make me approach this cocksucking bench, you piece of shit. 140 00:09:08,924 --> 00:09:11,510 By the way, if low wages, open burning 141 00:09:11,510 --> 00:09:14,972 and zero responsibility for hazardous working conditions isn't enough. 142 00:09:14,972 --> 00:09:18,809 If you're still going "can't you sweeten the deal?" there is more. 143 00:09:18,809 --> 00:09:23,188 States will also throw you an amount of money just short of a fuckton 144 00:09:23,272 --> 00:09:24,982 to further entice you. 145 00:09:24,982 --> 00:09:29,152 Ohio put together a $2.1 billion package to land Intel, 146 00:09:29,236 --> 00:09:32,114 Wisconsin, $3 billion to land Foxconn, 147 00:09:32,114 --> 00:09:37,327 and North Carolina paid almost $900 million to land Apple. 148 00:09:38,161 --> 00:09:39,246 Apple! 149 00:09:41,832 --> 00:09:43,959 A-- Apple. 150 00:09:45,419 --> 00:09:48,505 I'm sure it's a different Apple than you're thinking of. 151 00:09:50,257 --> 00:09:51,383 No, they did it-- 152 00:09:51,383 --> 00:09:56,471 They paid Apple, and then Apple paid some of that money to me 153 00:09:57,973 --> 00:10:00,100 to tell you about all this fuckery! 154 00:10:00,184 --> 00:10:01,643 So in some ways, 155 00:10:01,727 --> 00:10:04,938 Apple's the only company that really cares about you. 156 00:10:08,317 --> 00:10:09,401 You hear them? 157 00:10:13,488 --> 00:10:16,033 Apple Music for everybody! 158 00:10:16,033 --> 00:10:18,285 No, I'm just kidding. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. 159 00:10:18,285 --> 00:10:21,205 I have no jurisdiction on that, no jurisdiction. 160 00:10:22,122 --> 00:10:23,123 And there's more. 161 00:10:23,207 --> 00:10:26,001 North Carolina's recent corporate-friendly tax cuts 162 00:10:26,001 --> 00:10:30,672 will cost the state an estimated $1.5 billion a year, 163 00:10:30,756 --> 00:10:32,841 enough to fund its entire community college system, 164 00:10:32,925 --> 00:10:36,470 or, like, half a Brett Favre volleyball court. 165 00:10:36,470 --> 00:10:39,139 But, hey, it's an investment. 166 00:10:39,932 --> 00:10:44,353 Sure, your schools and social programs suffer some short-term non-fundability, 167 00:10:44,353 --> 00:10:46,813 but in the long-term, a Louisiana study found 168 00:10:46,897 --> 00:10:51,151 that for every incentive dollar that was given to these corporations 169 00:10:51,235 --> 00:10:56,198 returns were a robust one to ten pennies on the dollar. 170 00:10:56,198 --> 00:11:00,327 By the way, you can tell which states are racing fastest to the bottom. 171 00:11:00,327 --> 00:11:02,663 Every year, magazines rank the best states for business. 172 00:11:02,663 --> 00:11:08,919 CNBC, Forbes, Chief Executive Magazine, a real winner. 173 00:11:08,919 --> 00:11:12,130 And of course, Business Insider Swimsuit Edition. 174 00:11:16,802 --> 00:11:21,849 Texas, you're giving me a bit of a Galveston. 175 00:11:24,560 --> 00:11:27,437 As it turns out, states are also ranked on who is best for workers 176 00:11:27,521 --> 00:11:31,608 by the non-profit Oxfam, and the relationship is often inverse. 177 00:11:31,692 --> 00:11:35,612 North Carolina was ranked number one on CNBC's Top States for Business 2022. 178 00:11:36,196 --> 00:11:41,159 It ranked 52nd on Oxfam's list. 179 00:11:41,243 --> 00:11:45,539 52nd out of 50! 180 00:11:47,207 --> 00:11:48,542 What? 181 00:11:50,878 --> 00:11:54,047 I guess behind all 49 other states, 182 00:11:54,756 --> 00:11:58,218 Chernobyl and, let's say, Jabba's Hut. 183 00:12:00,512 --> 00:12:03,223 As a matter of fact, a hundred of America's biggest cities and counties 184 00:12:03,307 --> 00:12:06,518 with the highest median tax-abatement policies 185 00:12:06,602 --> 00:12:08,061 had the worst inequality. 186 00:12:08,729 --> 00:12:13,775 So knowing that, you can imagine states like to keep it on the down-low 187 00:12:14,318 --> 00:12:17,154 when they've been ranked number one for business. 188 00:12:17,154 --> 00:12:19,281 America's top state for business 189 00:12:19,281 --> 00:12:22,784 is a state that knows how to toot its own horn. 190 00:12:25,204 --> 00:12:28,207 Congratulations to Washington state, where I'm from, 191 00:12:28,207 --> 00:12:31,293 for being named America's top state for business. 192 00:12:31,293 --> 00:12:32,878 Here's my song "Forever in Love." 193 00:12:32,878 --> 00:12:35,964 It's exactly how I feel about the state of Washington. 194 00:12:48,602 --> 00:12:50,103 I know it's bad for workers, 195 00:12:50,187 --> 00:12:53,690 but I cannot believe how wet that is making my pussy. 196 00:12:56,985 --> 00:12:58,195 Take a look at this. 197 00:13:00,113 --> 00:13:02,074 There's a reason why Americans are so angry. 198 00:13:03,075 --> 00:13:04,243 Globalization... -...is... 199 00:13:04,243 --> 00:13:05,869 ...destroying the American dream. 200 00:13:06,828 --> 00:13:08,247 We have... -...lost jobs... 201 00:13:08,247 --> 00:13:09,665 ...to countries like... -...Vietnam... 202 00:13:09,665 --> 00:13:10,707 ...Mexico... -...India... 203 00:13:10,791 --> 00:13:12,668 ...and... -...communist China. 204 00:13:13,710 --> 00:13:14,878 So I've got... -...a strong... 205 00:13:14,962 --> 00:13:15,921 ...message... -...for those... 206 00:13:15,921 --> 00:13:17,381 ...disgusting... -... stupid... 207 00:13:17,381 --> 00:13:18,757 ...freedom... -... hating... 208 00:13:18,841 --> 00:13:19,675 ...countries. 209 00:13:20,801 --> 00:13:21,760 We believe... -... workers... 210 00:13:21,844 --> 00:13:22,886 ...should be... -...exploited... 211 00:13:22,970 --> 00:13:24,429 here at home... 212 00:13:24,513 --> 00:13:25,889 ...on... -...American soil. 213 00:13:27,307 --> 00:13:28,517 ...Why should... -...China... 214 00:13:28,517 --> 00:13:29,601 ...have all the... -...fun? 215 00:13:29,685 --> 00:13:30,602 We... -... love to give... 216 00:13:30,686 --> 00:13:31,770 ...workers... -...the shaft... 217 00:13:31,854 --> 00:13:32,729 ...too. 218 00:13:33,230 --> 00:13:34,398 Korea has... -...unsafe... 219 00:13:34,398 --> 00:13:35,440 ...working conditions. 220 00:13:35,524 --> 00:13:36,400 Guess what? -So does... 221 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:37,734 ...the State of Texas. 222 00:13:38,277 --> 00:13:39,403 They have... -...child labor... 223 00:13:39,403 --> 00:13:40,904 ...in Vietnam. -By golly... 224 00:13:40,988 --> 00:13:41,822 ...we can... -...do that... 225 00:13:41,822 --> 00:13:42,739 ...here in Alabama. 226 00:13:43,907 --> 00:13:45,242 In America... -...you have the... 227 00:13:45,242 --> 00:13:47,244 ...right to work... -...until the day you die. 228 00:13:48,537 --> 00:13:49,746 If anyone... -...kills... 229 00:13:49,830 --> 00:13:51,623 ...the American dream... -...it's going to be... 230 00:13:53,417 --> 00:13:54,334 Us. -Us. 231 00:13:54,418 --> 00:13:55,252 Us. 232 00:13:58,046 --> 00:13:59,047 Welcome back. 233 00:14:00,299 --> 00:14:01,550 That's lovely. 234 00:14:04,469 --> 00:14:08,765 Well, often we celebrate businesses coming into a community. 235 00:14:08,849 --> 00:14:11,143 But we don't usually look under the hood 236 00:14:11,143 --> 00:14:14,479 for what the costs were to lure the businesses there. 237 00:14:14,563 --> 00:14:18,192 The effect of those incentives and subsidies on local infrastructure 238 00:14:18,192 --> 00:14:20,652 and what it does to the workers left behind 239 00:14:20,736 --> 00:14:22,863 in the states that these companies have fled. 240 00:14:22,863 --> 00:14:24,907 To get a sense of how this plays out, we have a panel 241 00:14:24,907 --> 00:14:26,450 who have experienced this firsthand. 242 00:14:26,450 --> 00:14:31,538 Jeff Kashak, a former assembly worker at GE in Erie, Pennsylvania, 243 00:14:31,622 --> 00:14:34,124 Sherry East, a high school science teacher 244 00:14:34,208 --> 00:14:37,544 and President of the South Carolina Education Association, 245 00:14:37,628 --> 00:14:40,923 and Mother Minerva Camarena Skeith, an Episcopal priest 246 00:14:40,923 --> 00:14:43,467 who has also spent years as a community organizer 247 00:14:43,467 --> 00:14:47,763 challenging business incentive deals in the State of Texas. 248 00:14:47,763 --> 00:14:50,933 Welcome, guys. Thank you for joining us. 249 00:14:50,933 --> 00:14:52,059 Thank you for having us. 250 00:14:52,059 --> 00:14:57,898 Now, you've got-- You know, we've certainly demonized other countries 251 00:14:57,898 --> 00:15:01,693 for the same practices that some of these states are doing here. 252 00:15:01,777 --> 00:15:03,862 You're in Pennsylvania. You worked for GE. 253 00:15:03,946 --> 00:15:04,947 Yeah. 254 00:15:04,947 --> 00:15:07,491 They shifted a lot of those jobs to Texas. 255 00:15:08,283 --> 00:15:12,412 What does that do to Erie, the community where those jobs were, 256 00:15:12,496 --> 00:15:13,664 and what did it do to you? 257 00:15:14,164 --> 00:15:18,252 Well, the community-- It's just a trickle-down effect, you know? 258 00:15:19,419 --> 00:15:21,421 People aren't making money. They're not spending money. 259 00:15:21,505 --> 00:15:25,217 They're not putting it into dinner. They're not buying cars. 260 00:15:25,217 --> 00:15:30,222 They're not buying homes. It affected greatly the Erie community. 261 00:15:30,222 --> 00:15:32,975 Did the Erie community know that it went to Texas 262 00:15:32,975 --> 00:15:37,229 and not to the normally-demonized places that they go? 263 00:15:37,229 --> 00:15:39,815 Absolutely. Yeah, they would come in 264 00:15:39,815 --> 00:15:44,653 and watch us doing our job to take it to Texas. Sure. 265 00:15:44,653 --> 00:15:46,196 Abso-fuckin'-lutely. Yeah. -Nice. 266 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:48,323 Basically, they came in and said, "So that's how you do it?" 267 00:15:48,407 --> 00:15:50,993 They would peek. They would peek. Yeah. -Interesting. Nice. 268 00:15:50,993 --> 00:15:55,914 And Sherry, you know, being in an educators association, 269 00:15:55,998 --> 00:15:58,709 you're aware of what just these incentive packages 270 00:15:58,709 --> 00:16:02,296 that these governors are throwing down does to these local communities as well. 271 00:16:02,296 --> 00:16:04,798 Not just to the workers, but to the kids... -Right. 272 00:16:04,882 --> 00:16:06,758 ...and to the infrastructure. 273 00:16:06,842 --> 00:16:08,969 Correct. What we have found in the last five years 274 00:16:08,969 --> 00:16:11,096 with the Good Jobs First report that came out 275 00:16:11,180 --> 00:16:14,391 is the funding that is lacking for our school districts, 276 00:16:14,391 --> 00:16:16,768 it lays it out district by district on how much money 277 00:16:16,852 --> 00:16:19,062 that the districts did not get from these companies 278 00:16:19,146 --> 00:16:23,650 that we allow to come into South Carolina because we don't make them pay any taxes. 279 00:16:23,734 --> 00:16:25,194 It's called a "tax abatement." 280 00:16:25,194 --> 00:16:26,737 And so in the last five years, 281 00:16:26,737 --> 00:16:28,947 there are billions of dollars that our school system... 282 00:16:29,031 --> 00:16:30,782 Taken out of South Carolina schools? 283 00:16:30,866 --> 00:16:32,492 ...that would've went into the South Carolina schools 284 00:16:32,576 --> 00:16:35,370 had we charged these folks a tax rate 285 00:16:35,454 --> 00:16:37,915 instead of giving them a free ride to come into South Carolina. 286 00:16:37,915 --> 00:16:41,710 So one district in particular lost about five billion a year. 287 00:16:41,710 --> 00:16:47,591 And in the past five years, $17 million in this poor, poverty-stricken community 288 00:16:47,591 --> 00:16:49,885 that the schools-- We have terrible infrastructure. 289 00:16:49,885 --> 00:16:51,261 We have schools without air conditioning. 290 00:16:51,345 --> 00:16:54,431 We have schools that the windows don't open and close. 291 00:16:54,515 --> 00:16:57,267 I mean, we could really use some of that money. 292 00:16:57,351 --> 00:17:00,687 You know, I remember Stephen Colbert did a DonorsChoose. 293 00:17:01,772 --> 00:17:04,023 Now, obviously he is not a charitable individual. 294 00:17:04,107 --> 00:17:07,778 He generally, I thought, was going to use some of the money for himself, 295 00:17:07,778 --> 00:17:08,862 to be quite frank. 296 00:17:09,613 --> 00:17:11,615 I don't know if it's drugs or what he was buying with it. 297 00:17:11,615 --> 00:17:13,242 Most likely it's gambling. 298 00:17:13,242 --> 00:17:16,954 Stephen Colbert is a gambler and a drug addict. 299 00:17:21,333 --> 00:17:23,335 I'm legally allowed to say that I think. 300 00:17:24,419 --> 00:17:26,003 But he had these donors choose, 301 00:17:26,088 --> 00:17:30,425 and oftentimes the money would just go directly to classrooms... 302 00:17:30,509 --> 00:17:31,969 Right. -...in South Carolina. 303 00:17:31,969 --> 00:17:35,430 But I didn't realize that there was this billion-dollars gap... 304 00:17:36,014 --> 00:17:37,266 Right. -...because they were giving it 305 00:17:37,266 --> 00:17:38,684 to these corporate tax abatements. 306 00:17:38,684 --> 00:17:40,310 Minerva, you're in Texas-- 307 00:17:41,854 --> 00:17:46,358 Mother Minerva. How-- What is the proper-- You had many names. What is the proper... 308 00:17:46,358 --> 00:17:49,486 So when I'm working, and when I'm representing the church, 309 00:17:49,570 --> 00:17:51,071 I'm Mother Minerva. -Mother Minerva. 310 00:17:51,071 --> 00:17:53,657 May I call you "Mother Minerva?" -Absolutely. 311 00:17:53,657 --> 00:17:56,869 All right. I am Jewish, so you do not have jurisdiction here, but... 312 00:17:56,869 --> 00:17:58,036 That's all right. 313 00:17:58,120 --> 00:17:59,705 Nor do I claim any. -But... 314 00:18:00,414 --> 00:18:03,041 we will still continue the conversation. 315 00:18:04,418 --> 00:18:07,129 Mother Minerva, you've been fighting against this practice. 316 00:18:07,754 --> 00:18:11,258 How do these localities still elect these officials 317 00:18:11,258 --> 00:18:15,387 who are hollowing out the infrastructures, and how do we change it? 318 00:18:15,387 --> 00:18:18,765 So I think part of it is, is we have to ask the questions. 319 00:18:18,849 --> 00:18:21,476 If we don't ask questions, then we're not gonna find out 320 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:23,770 who pays and who benefits. 321 00:18:23,854 --> 00:18:26,315 Texas IAF, which is the organization that I work with, 322 00:18:26,315 --> 00:18:29,776 Central Texas Interfaith, is the affiliate at the local level. 323 00:18:29,860 --> 00:18:34,323 And so what they teach is, is always, when we're looking at policy and issues, 324 00:18:34,323 --> 00:18:38,660 look and follow the money. Who pays, who benefits. 325 00:18:38,744 --> 00:18:41,872 And so what often happens is people come in and say, 326 00:18:41,872 --> 00:18:47,127 "Look at these goodies you're gonna get if you give away some money 327 00:18:47,211 --> 00:18:49,254 because you're gonna make more in return." 328 00:18:49,338 --> 00:18:52,257 And so they will-- -So they'll say to the population, 329 00:18:52,341 --> 00:18:54,760 "Yes, we're giving a billion dollars to this corporation, 330 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:56,762 but the jobs..." -"...you're going to get so much more." 331 00:18:56,762 --> 00:18:58,722 And so we should hold them accountable 332 00:18:58,722 --> 00:19:01,850 to make sure we're getting a return on our investment. 333 00:19:01,934 --> 00:19:04,770 And so then ask the question. How many jobs are we really getting? 334 00:19:04,770 --> 00:19:06,939 How is this going to benefit the community? 335 00:19:07,481 --> 00:19:11,109 Is this really gonna go for jobs, high-paying jobs? 336 00:19:11,193 --> 00:19:17,574 'Cause it's still-- As a political move, any governor, any mayor, anybody who says, 337 00:19:17,658 --> 00:19:21,119 "Hey, we brought in this big business," most people are going to celebrate it. 338 00:19:21,662 --> 00:19:24,456 Right? I'm sure in Texas, they were celebrating 339 00:19:24,540 --> 00:19:27,626 what happened to you guys in Erie, Pennsylvania. 340 00:19:27,626 --> 00:19:30,212 Sure. -So how did you fight back 341 00:19:30,921 --> 00:19:32,214 in your situation? 342 00:19:32,714 --> 00:19:35,175 Well, at that point, there was no fighting back. 343 00:19:35,259 --> 00:19:38,220 Right. -And then we just washed our hands of it. 344 00:19:38,220 --> 00:19:40,764 And did our own thing. Started our own business. 345 00:19:40,848 --> 00:19:44,184 Do you have workers? -We have five guys that work for us. 346 00:19:44,268 --> 00:19:46,812 And are you fucking them over? -Absolutely not. 347 00:19:46,812 --> 00:19:50,023 What? Have they taught you nothing, Jeff? -No way! 348 00:19:51,775 --> 00:19:54,945 What, are you giving them benefits? -We treat them well, very well. 349 00:19:54,945 --> 00:19:56,864 How does that play in South Carolina? 350 00:19:56,864 --> 00:19:59,658 Education is such an important issue to voters. 351 00:19:59,658 --> 00:20:04,204 How do they not connect the two practices? 352 00:20:04,288 --> 00:20:07,207 I think she made a very good point. They don't know. People don't know. 353 00:20:07,291 --> 00:20:10,460 We've talked to school board members that they didn't realize, 354 00:20:10,544 --> 00:20:12,379 "What do you mean we didn't get any money 355 00:20:12,379 --> 00:20:14,506 from Honda coming to our district?" 356 00:20:14,590 --> 00:20:17,217 Or "what do you mean we lost this much money?" 357 00:20:17,301 --> 00:20:20,929 So we're not asking the right questions and nobody's aware that this is going on. 358 00:20:21,013 --> 00:20:24,141 So we, as the Education Association, this year, 359 00:20:24,141 --> 00:20:25,559 are asking for some of that money. 360 00:20:25,559 --> 00:20:28,437 Like we want to, one, be at the table when these deals are made. 361 00:20:28,437 --> 00:20:30,606 And the second thing is we want a percent of that money. 362 00:20:30,606 --> 00:20:32,482 So, okay, you can give them a deal, 363 00:20:32,566 --> 00:20:36,320 but they need to give us a percent of that money into our school system 364 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:37,988 that they should invest in. 365 00:20:37,988 --> 00:20:40,908 They say they want to come here and invest in our communities, then do it. 366 00:20:40,908 --> 00:20:42,618 Prove it. -So when you talk to the governors, 367 00:20:42,618 --> 00:20:44,286 they have teams. 368 00:20:44,286 --> 00:20:45,996 They have teams of people 369 00:20:45,996 --> 00:20:48,957 that are designing incentive packages for corporations. 370 00:20:49,041 --> 00:20:52,336 I mean, they work on this, and they go and they present them. 371 00:20:52,336 --> 00:20:55,797 The truth of the matter is people-- companies don't move 372 00:20:55,881 --> 00:20:57,841 and they don't relocate because of incentives. 373 00:20:57,925 --> 00:21:00,844 They move for other reasons like good employees. 374 00:21:00,928 --> 00:21:04,348 They move for good infrastructure. They move because there's good schools. 375 00:21:04,348 --> 00:21:06,016 But isn't the irony of all that, 376 00:21:06,016 --> 00:21:08,393 the very things they say they're coming for, 377 00:21:08,477 --> 00:21:12,523 infrastructure, education, and all that, their presence hollows out. 378 00:21:12,523 --> 00:21:15,108 Absolutely. And so when we started fighting with them, 379 00:21:15,192 --> 00:21:17,694 we said, "If you're going to do them at the local level 380 00:21:17,778 --> 00:21:22,324 you have to at least, at a minimum, give living wages, have a career path, 381 00:21:22,324 --> 00:21:25,619 give benefits, and to make sure that they're high-paying jobs," right? 382 00:21:25,619 --> 00:21:27,246 Now who do you take that to? 383 00:21:27,246 --> 00:21:29,498 We took that to the county, and we took that to the city. 384 00:21:29,498 --> 00:21:32,000 And so we made-- we made clawback provisions, 385 00:21:32,084 --> 00:21:35,003 because what we discovered is that people make promises that they don't keep. 386 00:21:35,087 --> 00:21:37,881 But if there's no clawback provisions, they get to keep the money. 387 00:21:37,965 --> 00:21:39,800 And you were successful? -And we were successful. 388 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:42,928 And we did this in San Antonio, in Houston, in Austin, 389 00:21:42,928 --> 00:21:44,388 and several communities in Texas. 390 00:21:44,388 --> 00:21:48,308 So the schools in South Carolina, will you follow that same blueprint 391 00:21:48,392 --> 00:21:49,518 and do the same thing? -Yes. 392 00:21:49,518 --> 00:21:51,353 We're gonna become good friends. -Are you? 393 00:21:51,353 --> 00:21:52,813 Did you guys not know each other? 394 00:21:52,813 --> 00:21:54,690 No, we did not. -No. 395 00:21:54,690 --> 00:21:57,317 So we're just-- -South Carolina better watch the fuck out. 396 00:21:59,194 --> 00:22:00,320 Yes. 397 00:22:00,904 --> 00:22:04,032 What's happening right here, right now, very powerful. 398 00:22:04,116 --> 00:22:06,451 I know what's going-- You keep looking at her, she keeps looking at you. 399 00:22:06,535 --> 00:22:08,370 I feel like-- -Yeah. 400 00:22:08,954 --> 00:22:12,958 And I don't want to say anything, this is a "Wonder Twins unite" situation. 401 00:22:14,543 --> 00:22:15,502 Well done. 402 00:22:15,586 --> 00:22:20,090 Thank you all very much for coming to talk to us about this-- 403 00:22:20,174 --> 00:22:23,468 for shedding light on how these decisions are made at the local levels. 404 00:22:23,552 --> 00:22:24,887 Take a look at this. 405 00:22:26,763 --> 00:22:29,308 Hi, I'm LeVar Burton and you may remember me 406 00:22:29,308 --> 00:22:30,809 for teaching you how to read, 407 00:22:30,893 --> 00:22:34,021 or for not being allowed to know how to read. 408 00:22:34,021 --> 00:22:35,147 Now that's range. 409 00:22:36,231 --> 00:22:39,401 In my new Master Class, I'll be breaking down globalization 410 00:22:39,401 --> 00:22:43,488 and the dynamics of capital mobility in open economic systems. 411 00:22:43,572 --> 00:22:44,531 En garde. 412 00:22:46,491 --> 00:22:48,243 In a globalized economy, 413 00:22:48,327 --> 00:22:51,413 Friedrich Hayek's model of free-market competition posits that-- 414 00:22:51,413 --> 00:22:52,748 No, much too dry. 415 00:22:53,624 --> 00:22:56,251 Imagine this gully is cheap labor. 416 00:22:57,127 --> 00:22:58,128 Too wet. 417 00:23:00,339 --> 00:23:01,673 Oh, hell no. 418 00:23:02,299 --> 00:23:04,510 Where is my textbook? 419 00:23:05,093 --> 00:23:06,136 Yes. 420 00:23:06,220 --> 00:23:08,722 This All Started With Slave Labor. 421 00:23:08,722 --> 00:23:12,142 The economic argument is always about getting the most work 422 00:23:12,226 --> 00:23:15,103 for the least money in the worst conditions possible. 423 00:23:15,187 --> 00:23:18,857 The reason the South will rise again is because wages won't. 424 00:23:18,941 --> 00:23:21,026 Globalization my ass. 425 00:23:21,026 --> 00:23:22,361 Join me for my next class, 426 00:23:22,361 --> 00:23:25,948 where I'll explain Elvis, using the exact same book. 427 00:23:25,948 --> 00:23:27,241 Take that. 428 00:23:28,909 --> 00:23:32,120 Do I get an Apple TV subscription for doing this? 429 00:23:35,499 --> 00:23:36,542 LeVar! 430 00:23:39,253 --> 00:23:44,132 So, why do states engage in this race to the bottom 431 00:23:44,883 --> 00:23:48,178 even while not seemingly being so happy about it? 432 00:23:48,262 --> 00:23:51,723 We checked in with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper to find out. 433 00:23:55,894 --> 00:23:58,063 Thank you, Governor Cooper, for sitting down with us. 434 00:23:58,063 --> 00:23:59,815 We came to talk to you because 435 00:23:59,815 --> 00:24:04,611 North Carolina is the number-one state for business. 436 00:24:04,695 --> 00:24:07,614 Why is North Carolina number one? 437 00:24:07,698 --> 00:24:12,619 We paid a lot of attention to workforce, investing in our community colleges 438 00:24:12,703 --> 00:24:14,621 and our universities. 439 00:24:14,705 --> 00:24:18,208 And when I talk to businesses, I spend time trying 440 00:24:18,292 --> 00:24:21,753 to find out what CEOs are looking for. 441 00:24:21,837 --> 00:24:26,508 Their top three issues are workforce, workforce, and workforce. 442 00:24:26,592 --> 00:24:30,470 They believe our workforce is more educated... 443 00:24:31,638 --> 00:24:32,931 and more diverse. 444 00:24:33,015 --> 00:24:36,351 So let's deal with the second issue, which is workforce. 445 00:24:36,435 --> 00:24:40,355 Generally, the states that are considered, "best for business," 446 00:24:41,023 --> 00:24:44,276 are also ranked, "worst for workers." 447 00:24:44,860 --> 00:24:48,071 You know, when you look at the Oxfam rankings, 448 00:24:48,155 --> 00:24:51,158 North Carolina is ranked 52nd. 449 00:24:51,867 --> 00:24:56,496 Now, I am not a well-educated workforce, so I didn't realize we had 52 states, 450 00:24:56,580 --> 00:24:57,748 but-- -Well-- 451 00:24:57,748 --> 00:25:00,876 Well, first I have some issues with that study. 452 00:25:00,876 --> 00:25:02,211 But I want to acknowledge 453 00:25:02,211 --> 00:25:05,756 that we are hurting in that area. -Right. 454 00:25:05,756 --> 00:25:10,969 We have a lot of work to do in North Carolina to protect our workers. 455 00:25:11,053 --> 00:25:15,015 We have one of the worst unemployment insurance benefits... 456 00:25:15,015 --> 00:25:16,683 That's right. -...in the country. 457 00:25:18,060 --> 00:25:20,729 We need to force our wages higher, 458 00:25:20,729 --> 00:25:24,775 and we need to do better in those areas. 459 00:25:24,775 --> 00:25:27,778 And, as governor, one of the reasons I'm trying 460 00:25:27,778 --> 00:25:30,906 to attract the better-paying jobs, 461 00:25:30,906 --> 00:25:34,576 is because it's going to raise the wages of our families. 462 00:25:34,660 --> 00:25:35,786 At the same time, 463 00:25:35,786 --> 00:25:39,039 I'm fighting the legislature about raising the minimum wage. 464 00:25:39,039 --> 00:25:41,208 They won't do it. They refuse to do it. -Right. 465 00:25:41,208 --> 00:25:44,461 And one of the reasons why we're trying to attract these companies, 466 00:25:44,545 --> 00:25:46,338 and are successfully doing it, 467 00:25:46,922 --> 00:25:51,552 that raises the boat here in the harbor, that everybody is gonna do better. 468 00:25:51,552 --> 00:25:53,262 So you're saying, "A rising tide lifts all boats?" 469 00:25:53,262 --> 00:25:56,723 Well, it does if you are particular about it. 470 00:25:56,807 --> 00:26:00,811 You've got to make sure that the safety net is there, 471 00:26:00,811 --> 00:26:03,063 that you're paying attention. -I've always, you know, 472 00:26:03,063 --> 00:26:06,275 the problem I had, 'cause it's that trickle-down economics theory. 473 00:26:06,275 --> 00:26:08,694 You know, and they say, "The rising tide lifts all boats," 474 00:26:08,694 --> 00:26:10,404 and I always think, yeah, if you have a boat. 475 00:26:10,404 --> 00:26:12,281 That's right. -If you don't have a boat, 476 00:26:13,490 --> 00:26:17,035 it's just a rising tide and you sink to the bottom. 477 00:26:17,661 --> 00:26:20,289 So this gets us to, kind of, the crux of what we're talking about. 478 00:26:20,289 --> 00:26:23,709 Do corporations come here and go, 479 00:26:23,709 --> 00:26:24,918 "Governor, you're right. 480 00:26:25,502 --> 00:26:27,921 There-- What a great workforce. 481 00:26:28,005 --> 00:26:29,381 I can't wait to go there 482 00:26:29,381 --> 00:26:32,342 and treat them worse than I would have to in another state?" 483 00:26:32,426 --> 00:26:37,764 Are we hollowing out states like Illinois, and New York, and New Jersey, 484 00:26:37,848 --> 00:26:43,061 who don't have zero corporate tax rates, who do have more worker protections? 485 00:26:43,645 --> 00:26:46,565 Well, if that were the entire premise 486 00:26:46,565 --> 00:26:48,817 then they'd be going to Mississippi. -Yep. 487 00:26:48,901 --> 00:26:51,236 Right. Right. -It's not a zero-sum game here. 488 00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:53,280 I mean, it's a lot... -You're saying it's not just... 489 00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:54,573 ...of factors. -...the cooperate package? 490 00:26:54,573 --> 00:26:58,076 Yeah, it's a lot of factors that are involved here. 491 00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:00,787 I think it's a combination of a lot of things, Jon, 492 00:27:00,871 --> 00:27:02,831 that businesses look at 493 00:27:02,915 --> 00:27:04,625 when they decide where to go. -Right. 494 00:27:04,625 --> 00:27:07,002 If that's-- if that's the case, 495 00:27:08,045 --> 00:27:10,547 why do these incentive packages... -Yeah. 496 00:27:10,631 --> 00:27:14,051 ...Apple, which is a terrific company, 497 00:27:14,051 --> 00:27:16,261 and I have nothing bad to say about it. 498 00:27:16,845 --> 00:27:19,598 $840 million for Apple. -Yeah. 499 00:27:19,598 --> 00:27:24,645 If it's all about your educated workforce, why pursue those incentives? 500 00:27:24,645 --> 00:27:29,024 Well, first incentives get us to the table with these companies. 501 00:27:29,024 --> 00:27:32,611 Secondly, ours are better. -Your incentives are better? 502 00:27:32,611 --> 00:27:35,531 Yeah, they are, because they are performance-based. 503 00:27:35,531 --> 00:27:38,242 Right. -But what they have to do is to have 504 00:27:38,242 --> 00:27:41,912 a certain number of jobs at a certain number of-- 505 00:27:41,912 --> 00:27:43,330 A certain wage. -At a certain wage. 506 00:27:43,330 --> 00:27:49,127 And we have a provision that we clawback if they don't do that. 507 00:27:49,211 --> 00:27:50,838 You do see the irony of it though? 508 00:27:50,838 --> 00:27:52,339 The corporations all say, 509 00:27:52,339 --> 00:27:56,510 "We want to come for your workforce, but if you have an incentive package, 510 00:27:56,510 --> 00:27:59,888 where I pay less corporate tax, maybe we'll do that." 511 00:27:59,972 --> 00:28:03,851 But that's going to take money away from your ability 512 00:28:04,601 --> 00:28:08,021 to keep creating a wonderful workforce. 513 00:28:08,105 --> 00:28:12,484 Wouldn't you rather have a tax credit for a company 514 00:28:13,026 --> 00:28:17,364 that promises you that they're going to create a certain number of jobs, 515 00:28:17,364 --> 00:28:19,658 at a certain wage, 516 00:28:19,658 --> 00:28:24,204 rather than an across-the-board corporate tax cut, 517 00:28:24,288 --> 00:28:27,541 where you have no accountability whatsoever? 518 00:28:27,541 --> 00:28:31,461 I'd rather have that money invested into those-- 519 00:28:31,545 --> 00:28:35,090 The return on investment for these corporate incentive packages 520 00:28:35,174 --> 00:28:38,927 is almost always pretty dubious. -We-- We ha-- 521 00:28:39,011 --> 00:28:42,347 We do a strict economic analysis 522 00:28:42,431 --> 00:28:45,517 as to whether the overall economy and people's wages 523 00:28:45,601 --> 00:28:46,810 are going to be helped by these deals. 524 00:28:46,894 --> 00:28:52,024 There are a lot of deals we don't do because it doesn't meet that test for us. 525 00:28:52,024 --> 00:28:55,527 Generally, the states that have greased the skids 526 00:28:55,611 --> 00:28:59,740 for corporations and given big incentive packages 527 00:29:00,908 --> 00:29:03,160 are less appealing for workers. 528 00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:05,412 That's just-- -Well, people wouldn't be coming here, 529 00:29:05,412 --> 00:29:06,872 Jon, if that were the case. 530 00:29:06,872 --> 00:29:09,750 I mean, we are growing significantly in population. 531 00:29:09,750 --> 00:29:12,544 Right. -And that may be other-- in other states 532 00:29:12,628 --> 00:29:15,214 that are front-loading 533 00:29:15,214 --> 00:29:17,174 a lot of their incentives... -Right. 534 00:29:17,174 --> 00:29:19,635 ...and aren't making the right ki-- -So why give the incentive? 535 00:29:19,635 --> 00:29:21,970 Is it the best use of the money? 536 00:29:22,054 --> 00:29:25,682 Why not take that money and put it into child care 537 00:29:25,766 --> 00:29:27,267 and into all those things? 538 00:29:27,351 --> 00:29:30,270 You know, I want to invest in child care. 539 00:29:30,354 --> 00:29:32,773 You keep trying to make this a zero-sum game... 540 00:29:32,773 --> 00:29:35,484 So you're saying you can do both? -...and it is not. Yes. Absolutely. 541 00:29:35,484 --> 00:29:37,402 The money is there to do both. 542 00:29:37,486 --> 00:29:39,738 And particularly, if we put our corporate tax rate 543 00:29:39,738 --> 00:29:42,324 where it ought to be, and our tax rate-- -Right. But it won't be. 544 00:29:42,324 --> 00:29:43,534 It's going to zero. -Well, we-- 545 00:29:43,534 --> 00:29:45,827 You're going to lose $1.5 billion. -You gonna give up? 546 00:29:45,911 --> 00:29:47,371 You gonna give up the political fight? 547 00:29:47,371 --> 00:29:49,122 But incentives to corporations 548 00:29:49,206 --> 00:29:50,666 isn't a "right-wing" or "left-wing" thing. 549 00:29:50,666 --> 00:29:52,417 It's an "everybody" thing. -Well-- 550 00:29:52,501 --> 00:29:55,796 You know, corporate subsidies and incentive packages 551 00:29:55,796 --> 00:29:59,424 for these companies is seemingly 552 00:29:59,508 --> 00:30:03,929 one of the few things that Democrats and Republicans can agree on. 553 00:30:03,929 --> 00:30:06,723 And, so, are we doing this the wrong way? 554 00:30:06,807 --> 00:30:10,727 The problem is not performance-based incentives. 555 00:30:10,811 --> 00:30:15,732 The problem is, "right-wing" Republican ideology... 556 00:30:16,275 --> 00:30:18,777 And what's that? -...that wants to bring down the tax rate. 557 00:30:18,861 --> 00:30:23,407 That don't want wealthy people to pay their fair share, 558 00:30:23,407 --> 00:30:25,367 and don't want corporations to pay their fair share. 559 00:30:25,367 --> 00:30:27,744 Under the current tax structure, 560 00:30:28,620 --> 00:30:33,542 you'll get less by $1.5 billion in your 2023 budget. 561 00:30:33,542 --> 00:30:37,296 That could fund the entire North Carolina Community College, 562 00:30:37,296 --> 00:30:40,674 could make North Carolina Community College free for everybody. 563 00:30:40,674 --> 00:30:44,219 It's not an either-or, Jon, particularly here in North Carolina. 564 00:30:44,845 --> 00:30:48,640 These guys have got billions of dollars sitting there. 565 00:30:48,724 --> 00:30:51,977 Our-- The Republican legislature. -Which guys? 566 00:30:51,977 --> 00:30:53,478 Right. -Billions of dollars 567 00:30:53,562 --> 00:30:55,606 that they have refused to invest. 568 00:30:55,606 --> 00:30:58,483 Because what they want to do is to lie in wait 569 00:30:58,567 --> 00:31:03,322 and cut more taxes for corporations and wealthy people. 570 00:31:03,322 --> 00:31:05,574 Because what they want, down the road, 571 00:31:05,574 --> 00:31:10,120 is lower overall taxes for corporations and the wealthy. 572 00:31:10,204 --> 00:31:11,997 How much lower can they go for zero? 573 00:31:11,997 --> 00:31:13,916 Well, corporate taxes aren't quite there. 574 00:31:13,916 --> 00:31:16,502 They're, like, at two and half right now, but they want to go there. 575 00:31:16,502 --> 00:31:19,713 It's supposed to be by 2030. We've still got time to turn that around. 576 00:31:19,713 --> 00:31:23,091 Remove the Republican resistance to what you would do. 577 00:31:23,175 --> 00:31:25,844 I want a progressive tax system 578 00:31:25,928 --> 00:31:30,933 to make sure that wealthy people and corporations pay their fair share. 579 00:31:30,933 --> 00:31:33,727 But I think that what we've done in North Carolina, 580 00:31:33,727 --> 00:31:40,150 is if you build a quality educated, diverse workforce, 581 00:31:40,234 --> 00:31:41,401 they will come. -They will come. 582 00:31:41,485 --> 00:31:44,321 That, I believe, is still the overriding issue. 583 00:31:44,321 --> 00:31:46,990 Why do you need incentives? I get it. I understand that. 584 00:31:47,074 --> 00:31:48,450 But we-- 585 00:31:48,534 --> 00:31:50,869 This is a way that you guarantee-- -But answer 'cause-- 586 00:31:50,953 --> 00:31:53,997 'cause that's the question, why in your mind do you need incentives? 587 00:31:54,831 --> 00:31:58,252 Because we need to make sure that they do what they say they're going to do. 588 00:31:58,252 --> 00:32:00,587 And we're competing with other states... -That's-- 589 00:32:00,671 --> 00:32:01,755 ...that are front-loading. 590 00:32:01,839 --> 00:32:04,216 There's no question about that. -Does that need to be stopped? 591 00:32:04,216 --> 00:32:07,886 Well, I think that we should set a better example. 592 00:32:07,970 --> 00:32:10,097 I hoped that they wouldn't do it. 593 00:32:10,097 --> 00:32:11,181 We're not doing it. 594 00:32:11,265 --> 00:32:14,852 So can you think of a better system? 595 00:32:14,852 --> 00:32:16,687 Yeah-- Yeah. -That's all. 596 00:32:16,687 --> 00:32:18,564 I'm going to give you your premise. 597 00:32:18,564 --> 00:32:20,399 I'm gonna give you-- -That's all I'm asking. 598 00:32:20,399 --> 00:32:22,609 That's all you're asking. -Boom. Now we got a premise. 599 00:32:22,693 --> 00:32:23,819 Let's do this. 600 00:32:23,819 --> 00:32:25,571 First, I disagree. -What would you do? 601 00:32:25,571 --> 00:32:30,450 I disagree with the return on performance-based incentives, 602 00:32:30,534 --> 00:32:33,412 because if we do the analysis, I think it's good. 603 00:32:33,412 --> 00:32:36,498 But, let's just say I had a defined amount of money. 604 00:32:36,582 --> 00:32:38,625 Okay. Here we go. -Guess what? 605 00:32:38,709 --> 00:32:40,836 I would rather invest it 606 00:32:40,836 --> 00:32:42,921 in early childhood education... -Boom. 607 00:32:43,005 --> 00:32:44,214 ...public schools-- -We're done here. 608 00:32:44,298 --> 00:32:46,425 No, man, come on-- 609 00:32:46,425 --> 00:32:49,136 I'm giving you your premise. -You're giving me my premise. 610 00:32:49,136 --> 00:32:51,221 That's an "if." That's an "if." -You think though-- 611 00:32:51,305 --> 00:32:53,348 You believe it'd be a better return on investment? 612 00:32:53,432 --> 00:32:55,225 I think it would be a better return on investment. 613 00:32:55,309 --> 00:32:56,935 Okay. We'll see you guys. 614 00:32:58,437 --> 00:33:00,606 Thanks. That's great. -Thank you, sir. 615 00:33:01,940 --> 00:33:04,693 You see? That's all you need. 616 00:33:05,360 --> 00:33:08,864 All he had to do was give me my fucking premise. 617 00:33:08,864 --> 00:33:10,324 Give me my premise. 618 00:33:11,700 --> 00:33:15,370 Because, like Wu-Tang, Roy Cooper's for the children. 619 00:33:16,955 --> 00:33:17,956 That's our show. 620 00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:19,541 Hopefully, you learned a little something new 621 00:33:19,625 --> 00:33:21,084 while you folded your laundry out there. 622 00:33:21,168 --> 00:33:23,712 For more information check out these resources, 623 00:33:23,712 --> 00:33:27,841 or you can always find them on our website, unless you're chicken. 624 00:33:29,885 --> 00:33:31,762 You scared? You scared to go to our website? 625 00:33:35,974 --> 00:33:37,809 If you want more me, but without seeing my face, 626 00:33:37,893 --> 00:33:39,561 we've also got a little podcast there. 627 00:33:39,645 --> 00:33:44,233 Speaking of faces nobody wants to see, here it is, your moment of Cruz. 628 00:33:44,233 --> 00:33:47,694 I was out in West Texas and I asked folks there, I said, 629 00:33:47,778 --> 00:33:52,616 "What's the difference between regulators and locusts?" 630 00:33:55,244 --> 00:33:59,665 Said, "Well, the thing is you can't use pesticide on the regulators." 631 00:34:01,583 --> 00:34:05,379 And this old West Texas farmer, he leaned back, said, "Wanna bet?"