In scramble for new jobs, incentives play a key role – One Idaho business expert says state governments can do more.

The $22 million in local and state incentives used to entice Chiquita’s headquarters to Charlotte, N.C. — and other payouts like it — are critical in the fight to create jobs, recruiters say.

But such bets, using taxpayer money, don’t always pay off. Critics say incentives might have little influence on a company already planning a move or do little more than shift workers from one state to another. And when government money is a deciding factor in the decision to relocate, some worry the company will flee to another state when the agreement expires.

BY KIRSTEN VALLE PITTMAN AND TIM FUNK – MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

Full Story: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/12/13/1914317/in-scramble-for-new-jobs-incentives.html