Though we all want to be able to believe there is a job for us when we need/want one, economic development today has begun to put the needs of the 'community' above the needs of the individual.
Often we hear economic developers talk about the importance of 'public investment' for private enterprises because these will have impacts for the community.
Take, for example, the public, tax-dollar 'investment' that went into electric car manufacturer Canoo so that people in Pryor, OK, could have jobs. Yes, of course we want employed citizens - they contribute to those things the government SHOULD be funding, like roads (not busses or street cars) and public safety - and employed citizens often feel more fulfilled when they have jobs - but what happens when taxpayer dollars are used to help a private company provide jobs in an area of the state where taxed payers may not even live?
This private company now has an advantage over the other private companies that did NOT receive government assistance and taxpayers lost part of the fruits of their labors to a community where they don't even live.
This has to stop. Government should be protecting the rights of individuals, not the rights of companies, or communities - not even to provide jobs.
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