State Incentives for Attracting Business Were Controversial Long Before Amazon. Here’s What That History Can Teach Us

While it might seem impossible to imagine two more dissimilar locales than Columbia, Miss., in 1930 (pop. 4,800) and Queens, N.Y., in 2019 (pop. 2.4 million), the two represent key points on the same economic and historical continuum: the progression of state and local governments using incentives to attract new businesses and industries.

While it might seem impossible to imagine two more dissimilar locales than Columbia, Miss., in 1930 (pop. 4,800) and Queens, N.Y., in 2019 (pop. 2.4 million), the two represent key points on the same economic and historical continuum: the progression of state and local governments using incentives to attract new businesses and industries.