Julie Rogers Supports Corporate Welfare

Julie Rogers, a candidate for Kalamazoo County Commission in the 5th district, is on the board of the county Economic Development Corporation. Apparently, this is yet another government organization that is designed to subsidize private businesses with subsidized loans and giveaways of taxpayers' dollars. Select businesses get free money, and politicians get good press for 'creating jobs', even though the actual number of jobs created is a small fraction of what was promised. Julie Rogers is all for this form of corporate welfare.

Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners delays vote on suspending economic development fund

There are currently talks, however, of a $250,000 loan from the fund to the Portage Brewing Company, Julie Rogers, a member of the Economic Development Corporation, said Tuesday night during citizen’s time. Rogers is also running for county board in the 5th District as a Democrat.

Rogers said it would be a “mistake” to get rid of the fund. “There are certain things a government agency can do that Southwest Michigan First can't do," she said, referring to the regional economic development agency.

She said while Southwest Michigan First tries to bring bigger companies into the region, “we see our role in the EDC a little different, to provide some of that gap financing to smaller business.”

There is currently just under $700,000 in the fund. In July, the county board approved giving $250,000 of that to Hark Orchid, a German company that plans to open offices at MidLink Business Park in Comstock Township. The loan will be forgiven if the company creates 80 jobs by 2017.

The loan to the brewery would be different, she said, because the company would pay the full loan back.

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