HOW MUCH ARE THESE BOX-STACKING JOBS GOING TO COST TAXPAYERS?
|| By FITSNEWS || From the “South Carolinians are good at stacking boxes” file (which is always overflowing), drugstore chain Rite Aid announced this week its intention to open a new distribution center in Spartanburg County, S.C.
The project – which state officials claim will net 600 new jobs – purports to be the company’s first new distribution center in fifteen years. It aims to consolidate three existing facilities into one larger, $90 million building that “will support the inventory and fulfillment needs of approximately 1,000 Rite Aid stores in the southeastern United States.”
Rite Aid currently employs an estimated 1,400 workers at nearly 100 retail pharmacy locations across the state. Nationally, the chain operates 4,600 stores in thirty-one states – with $25.5 billion in annual revenue.
“Information on employment opportunities at Rite Aid’s new facility in Spartanburg will be made available in the second half of 2015,” state officials said.
Now … how much are these 600 new jobs going to cost taxpayers?
It’s not immediately clear …
Discretionary “incentives” were awarded to the company via the state’s Coordinating Council for Economic Development (CCED) – while a government-subsidized utility made an infrastructure grant of $520,000. No doubt local governments also paid the piper …
25 comments
“Now … how much are these 600 new jobs going to cost taxpayers?”
I wonder how much tax money the company and employees will supply to the tax base of Spartanburg and the state.
Well, 4% x adjusted gross on box stacking $16,000 annually – would be about $600 a job into State revenues = or about $384,00 a year = assuming Haley and upstate shucks out about $3 million – and the jobs disappear over 5 years – I’d guess we’re out about $1.5 million (because when they leave upstate will ask GOP Governor for a check for the loss and they’ll pay it out). Again, probably a real boner of a deal. Again. At least they won’t pollute so bad – but then again – up there – they could dump waste into the local water supply if they have any.
Ha! Love this post. I don’t agree with you on much, but on this one you’re right on the money.
Haley gets the “win” for more jobs creation even though it’s a net negative for taxpayers…lol
She probably gets a seat on the board after her “public service” and some PAC money too.
Sit on the board – isn’t that what she tried to do with Will?
You may wish to go back about 20 years (or maybe more) to find the Big Story of Rite-Aid building a new distribution center on Highway 34 between Winnsboro and I-77, including a new rail spur to service it. (Ben Arnold Distributors now occupies the facility).
Only a very few years after the facility was completed, Rite-Aid closed up both the distribution center AND all of its retail drug stores in the state, largely because they lost a multimillion dollar lawsuit pertaining to a mis-filled prescription, and allegedly covered up some of the evidence in court proceedings. The “center” remained closed and empty for several years.
Only when Rite-Aid bought out another drug chain many years later, (?perhaps Eckerd???) did they choose to return to the Palmetto State.
Nothing to keep them from moving out again…. Let’s not spend TOO much money to “attract” them.
Can’t argue with that.
A lot these distribution centers come & go and really don’t pay that well
But that won’t happen here as long as we have Spartanburg County Councilman Frank Nutt (local darling of the Spartanburg Tea Party) driving the tractor trailer of progress into the distribution center!!!!!
Starting about 25 years ago, Rite-Aid, CVS, Eckerd were all, one after another, going out of business, one swallowing up the other, then one resurrecting, another going down just like musical chairs.
They have been fairly stable lately. But, who knows when it will start back up.
Most of their Sudafed is going to make meth in SC, so they figured they’d shorten the supply lines.
Nikki is at it again…creating jobs for the people of SC..thank you Nikki
Don’t worry, her tax hike will make swift work of future jobs.
I’m surprised Rite Aid is still in business. The CVS and Walgreens in our town are always bustling with customers but the Rite Aid doesn’t have much traffic.
Rite Aid is a major employer and provider of Medicare medications in Crapville. So for some (GT, Flip) – Rite Aid is – well – Right On! They’re located in the strip mall next to Dollar General across the street from Cracker Barrell.
“Rite Aid is – well – Right On! ”
I assumed SC’s high urban AIDS rate made for good employer optics for a company named “Right Aid”.
Meanwhile, Alabama is getting 1,700 new high paying jobs building all-terrain and off-road vehicles. And we get box stacking jobs. And we wonder why we’re poor? Way to go Governor – way to go. Please, can you maybe get some envelope stuffing jobs next?
The Governor is damned if she does and damned if she doesn’t. right Rocky.
All she has to do is lower taxes instead of handing out taxpayer money to those that grease the skids….it’s not that hard.
Everyone knows our SC econ dev. is corrupt and Haley’s part of it.
Just lower the damn taxes and stop picking winners and losers…that’s all she has to do if she really wanted a good business environment.
You mean like the 10 years of no taxes at startup.ny.gov? Don’t forget that the Gov of NY stopped an investigation a year ago of their Speaker that the feds just arrested.
That has nothing to do with lowering taxes across the board here. You said nothing to address the current corruption we all see here & now under the current shit ass system.
Just that politicians are corrupt across the board. I moved here 12 years ago and couldn’t believe the politics in this state. Your current shit ass system has been around along time.
Ok, point taken.
It would seem our only chance for “reform” is hanging the bastards by their shoe laces…but one last effort before that could at least be a “scorched earth” policy if the Left can finally come to the realization that gov’t is “unfixable” and simply start demanding every damn agency be shuttered and tax burdens lessened.
Once more average Joe’s get more money in their pocket we can argue about what the best way to take care of those unable to take care of themselves is…but really, things are bordering on absurd now at every level of gov’t.
Have you read the state constitution…the Governor’s power is minimal compared to the legislature, which makes the good ole boy system that much more powerful.
Now that is true.
I think she’s just damned – period. But hey, those good paying jobs she secured for Savannah – right on.
“I think she’s just damned – period.”…that’s obvious.
FITS: the kind of “costs to taxpayers” you are referring to is really a cost to SC government. This is not a zero sum game, just missed placed priorities on the part of Gruberment.
A relatively sane government would just give those tax breaks back to the taxpayers. That’s where the real job growth is, taxpayer relief … not what appears to be crony capitalism.