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Just yesterday I posted about Bombardier’s attempt at getting Missouri to pay them more than twice the cost of a new factory in Kansas City and I mentioned Edward Jones’ tax breaks. I look in the St. Louis Business Journal and once again, EJ comes hat-in-hand looking for more tax abatements.

This time, it’s $17.8 million for a project that has already started in Des Peres, a suburb of St. Louis. That’s right, we’re not even bothering with the whole “I’ll move, I swear I will” song and dance this time. This project was approved and has been started, but the County Executive (Charlie Dooley) says that we should give them a break anyway. Just ’cause.

Look, I dislike corporate incentives (and I think I’ve made that clear) but this is ridiculous. They’re going to do the project anyway! This is free money given to a highly profitable company for no reason other than we feel like it. Why do I care? Because everyone not named Edward Jones, including myself, pays higher taxes when one person gets special breaks.

Instead of doing this, St. Louis County should be using the money to lower everyone’s property taxes and promoting the fact that property taxes are much lower than in neighboring cities (*cough* Chicago *cough*). I’m not for making evil businesses pay higher taxes just ’cause either (and I’ve made that clear), but to simply give them $17.8 million of taxpayer money because they are nice guys seems a little over the top to me.