State’s "Economic gardening" program deserves time to grow

In the days when state politicians’ pockets were flush with wads of taxpayer money, we saw our dollars go toward big incentive payouts to lure companies such as the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute to Florida.

That deal cost $300 million in 2006, or about $1 million per person the institute promised to employ.

More recently, as the money continues to dry up, Florida has experimented with a much more modest version of economic development at just $50,000 per job and in the form of a low-interest loan, to boot, rather than a giveaway.

Early indications are that it’s working. But a key component of the "economic gardening" program, as it’s called, is already at risk of losing its funding while still in its infancy.

Full Story: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-cfb-kassab-economic-gardening-20100409,0,7786254.column

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