I'm a Rhode Islander, let me explain the background to this:
Our little state is usually dead last when it comes to business climate. Taxes are high, and regulations are stifling. The population is about the same as it was in 1990 with a third of the industrial jobs. The only way a corporation moves into our state is by massive tax breaks and free land. There are always corruption scandals with bribes and kickbacks that accompany any such deal. Always. The top employment field is now healthcare, which recently overtook government because the population is aging and the municipalities can't afford to pay out two retirement pensions for every job. We don't have a large skilled workforce because college and trade school grads seek employment elsewhere. And our solution to that is more aid to colleges. People of enterprise don't even think about starting a business here, there's better opportunities with less hassle in other states.
The obvious long term solution would be to have a business friendly climate. The problem is the legislature has been Democrat dominated since the Kennedy years (our older voters still vote Dem because of JFK). They cater to unions and enact regs like two journeymen for every apprentice at a job site. I recently got my associates in electrical and stayed for a 4-year degree due to no apprenticeships available, even for a former nuclear reactor operator/electronics tech for a decade.
So, the former governor came up with this state-run corporation to attract businesses to RI. Many states have similar setups to offer government-sponsored loans for small businesses. That's usually for local people to give their dreams a shot. Afterall, 9/10 of businesses fail within the first few years. In the broader scheme of things, the ones who succeed out-weigh the ones that fail in terms of societal benefit. However, in Rhode Island, so few apply for that money, there was no economic development money being put into work.
So, they came up with the idea for this corp to attract companies to the state instead of making it easier for everyone to do business. The corp had so many million to give out in guaranteed loans. The problem was, nobody applied for it. Then came Curt Schilling, hero of the 2004 Red Sox, the local MLB baseball team who he helped end "The Curse Of The Bambino". Huge hero stuff.
Schilling was in the area trying to hit up some of his contacts for his video game company. Someone from the Red Sox introduced him to the person who managed that corp's development fund. Schilling is a bit of a snake oil salesman as it is, was a clubhouse lawyer and would do stuff like call up sports radio stations and argue with the hosts if they were badmouthing him when he played.
Somehow he convinced the corp manager, the governor, and the assembly speaker to give his company all of the money in their fund!
Everyone knew it was a dumb idea. You knew it was dumb because as soon as the deal was announced, a lot of companies applied for that money. They saw we were just giving it away like it grew on trees. The stipulations for the loan also included a minimum salary that is likely twice that of CCP Atlanta's devs. The state wanted mostly "high paying jobs", not knowing a lot of devs make dirt, especially with start-up MMO's. So, even while trying to be business-friendly, they raised the cost of business significantly.
It's mostly a case of state officials being memorized by shiny lights on their tv sets, thinking we'd all be driving flying cars if we made Providence a video game capital.
They are all dopes and I can't wait to live in whatever redneck state has legitimate companies to employ my ass next Spring.
