New York Post

Gov’s Micron Deal Turns More Squalid

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The more we learn about Gov. Hochul’s massive corporate-welfare gift to memory-chip giant Micron, the worse the whole thing smells.

Empire State Developmen­t — which has a notoriousl­y spotty record on marquee tech projects; witness the humiliatin­g failure of Andrew Cuomo’s Buffalo solar plant — has finally released two more documents on the specifics of the Micron deal.

One is a study on the alleged economic benefits of steering $5.5 billion in public monies to Micron, which claims around 9,000 jobs within Micron and almost 42,000 in knock-on jobs outside the firm by 2055, resulting from two phases of Micron investment.

Bull. The study’s dated a week after the deal was signed — a clear signal Hochul’s minions created the numbers after the fact, to justify a decision she’d already made.

Don’t believe us? Just look at the other document, a term sheet laying out some details of the state’s agreement with Micron.

That sees just 4,680 Micron jobs by 2035, when Phase 1 ends, with the rest to come to come in the nebulous Phase 2. It specifies no hard knock-on jobs numbers, let alone in the absurd ratio (4.6 outside jobs for every one within Micron) the study imagines.

That figure is all the more nonsensica­l given that a big chunk of those outside jobs (like those involved in building the plant) would be governed by a project labor agreement — jacking up the cost by excluding non-union workers, who make up around two-thirds of New York builders and contractor­s and nearly all in the Syracuse area.

So these are jobs most locals can’t qualify for, and the added cost helps explain why Micron demanded so much.

Plus, as The Post revealed, subsidy-perhead for each job within Micron works out to $611,000 — assuming all 9,000 get created. That’s about five times the rate for the Amazon HQ in Queens that state Sen. Mike Gianaris killed.

Other perks tossed into the deal include a $283 million effective tax break, sweetheart rates on water and electricit­y and $22 million in grants from National Grid.

And this is Hochul’s only answer when she’s asked about economic developmen­t: a single, unbelievab­ly subsidized project that does nothing about the high taxes, soaring costs for (increasing­ly unreliable) energy, ham-handed regulation and other issues that make New York’s business climate second-worst in the country (just above New Jersey).

Her economic vision is as bankrupt as her efforts on crime. New York needs real opportunit­y — which is why New Yorkers need to vote for Lee Zeldin and every downballot Republican come Tuesday.

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