Op-Ed: Humphreys: Facebook (Meta) Receives $50 Million in Tax Breaks From the State
By Edward Humphreys • February 26, 2022The following Op-Ed was submitted by Ed Humphreys, a Republican candidate for governor. Note: Op-Eds do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of those at the Idaho Dispatch.
Facebook (now known as “Meta”) is building a server farm in Kuna. They are the world’s largest social media network platform with a value of almost $600 billion and about 1.8 billion users. However, many people aren’t thrilled to learn how our state government promised tens of millions of our tax dollars to entice Facebook to setup shop in Idaho. It begs the question, is it appropriate to tax small local businesses and turn their money over to a giant multinational corporation?
Some people celebrated the idea of bringing any business at any cost to Idaho. However, let’s remember that giant corporations know how to play the local politicians. They know they can get politicians to promise our tax dollars to them in exchange for some campaign contributions and ribbon-cutting photos. Just ask yourself when was the last time a politician cut a deal to benefit businesses on Main Street? How many deals have they cut with businesses on Wall Street?
It’s been reported that Facebook will receive about $50,000,000 worth of tax breaks from Idaho’s Department of Commerce. They claim investments will be made in local water infrastructure in Ada County to support their facility. We’re told to ignore the projected 170,000,000 gallons of water a year the server farm will require. Let alone how that will impact the agriculture industry in a time of drought. Of course, we all clap when we hear there will be 100 permanent jobs. Just don’t ask WHO is going to fill those jobs!
Backroom dealing with multinational corporations isn’t right for Idaho. The Idaho Department of Commerce is allowed to engage in these kinds of deals with little oversight. As Governor of Idaho, I would immediately end the practice of rewarding giant businesses at your expense. Sure, we want higher paying jobs and that’s why I’m advocating to eliminate the income tax which would provide real and immediate wage growth in Idaho.
However, it’s unacceptable Idaho’s state government picks winners and losers. It’s unethical to tax small business and turn their money over to big business. It’s a fact Facebook actively suppresses anyone they disagree with, usually conservatives. Perhaps most ironic of all: Republican politicians are gleefully throwing our money at politically active liberal corporations.
Watch as Facebook turns around and uses its profits to promote Idaho’s own version of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. There are no free lunches, and Facebook just ate ours.
Tags: Ada County, Ed Humphreys, Facebook, Kuna, Meta
28 thoughts on “Op-Ed: Humphreys: Facebook (Meta) Receives $50 Million in Tax Breaks From the State”
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Make no mistake, 90% of the new jobs at the Kuna facility will be filled with liberal transplants from silicon Valley in California. They can’t afford the cost of living out there so they build their facility in Idaho .
Agreed!
Tech scum.
Stop this project now, cold in it’s tracks.
Do a deep dive into the payoffs and prosecute accordingly.
Idaho does not have the water for this project.
Idaho does not want, need, nor will it tolerate the Globalist Agenda of which Meta is at the forefront.
I agree, stop this before it gets going. Do not allow these Facebook Demons into Idaho.
Agreed!
Our politicians and gove4nment employees and the National guard are a crime gang.
Your politicians have sold you out but lets reelect them again.
Idaho will surely lose its conservative way of life if meta is allowed a foothold here. We have to stop this.
Yup!
Our current Governor only cares about money in his pockets. McGeachin for Governor. True Conservative patriot.
So true, I just hope the people wake up before we become Commiefornia………
We are almost Californiated. Look at our politicians. Boise is already like San Francisco.
Weather it be Sheriff, Chief, Commissioners, Council or nincompoop Mayor: Boise is a sick dog on life support and spreading it’s disease to all of Idaho.
Has McGeachin spoken out against the Meta project? I’ve not seen it, but maybe she has. Personally, I was previously a McGeachin supporter, but Humphreys has totally won me over…he’s the one who submitted this op ed. Hope to hear from McGeachin.
Agreed!
In my opinion, Facebook violates Federal Law, as it disallows freedom of speech in numerous ways. For example, they now have eliminated memes and messages that they feel are untruthful, or that might sway opinion about what is going on in Ukraine. Who are they to determine what is right or wrong? They allow absolute filth, candid sexual activity and scams to abound. The organization is clearly too powerful. Since when were corporations allowed to censure speech and information shared by Americans? How dare our legislators pay an organization as wealthy as Meta to build a facility? Will that money be recouped in a year? Exactly what changes will they make to infrastrucure and the water system that will benefit Idaho and not just Meta? Yes, liberals will come in as employees, so the best thinkg . to do instead of complaining about that is to promote higher education, and not just trade school. If you do not the infuluence of professors, have yoour childen achieve degrees online from accreditied universities. Meta will not have a positive impact on the Idaho way of life. They will rule the way of life and all of the politicians if the citizens allow it. Zuckerberg, and several other multi-billionaires are destroying our country along with the Washington politicians they bribe. Stop lobbying.
Do they know Meta allows virtual strip club access for (children) to use? Facebook is anti-American, pro-communist, anti-free soeech corporation that is personally responsible for the deliberate misinformation of virus/vaccine deaths and injuries. It is a threat to our Republic. This is an absolute disaster for Idaho! To think, I escaped CA to get away from these communists and Idaho is paying to bring them here! 100 jobs? Seriously? How many did we lose to these unnecessary mandates? What a disgrace!
…”is” building, or “will be” building…in Kuna? Is it too late to stop this? Was there ever a press release issued on this – or did I just miss the boat – or was the whole thing just another coverup during another wag the dog moment…?
It’s never over till it’s over.
It is never too late to stop Meta’s Nazi Globalism.
Organize now and shut them down and shut them out of Idaho permanently.
Ed, just an idea, take this on, bring it to a head, slay this dragon.
Let’s see if I have this right…Idaho is giving Meta massive tax breaks to build a giant facility that only employees 100 employees yet uses enormous quantities of our precious water and electricity. Who does this? Someone is making money and it’s not the citizens of Idaho. Ed, thanks for pointing this out. This has to be stopped.
This must be stopped! Idahoans do NOT want this!
Simple solution, get off facebook. Facebook is already dying and they just don’t know it yet. If truth social pans out, facebook is gonna take a huge hit. It will then become liberal book.
Facebook is a poison that was planned long ago as a psyop warfare weapon to gather info and stir society into a divided dichotomy. This identified the pro-freedom people from the socialist/slave class to attack and exploit, respectfully. It worked. No one needs Facebook. We all need to get back to face to face contact again. I miss the days of dial telephones, even though we didn’t have our instant connect efficiency of smart phones of today. We traded away our cherished real life connectivity that preserved our liberties.
Property taxes cover the tax breaks and the lobby money is great
And there’s a place for Meta right next to Nike and Intel just a few hours west of us! Oregon is much more in-tune with their liberal agenda, and there’s a good amount of water there for them to use.
Hopefully, your comment is a tongue-in-cheek response to this stupidity, but if not, perhaps you should move with Meta to the Beaverton area. With that type of comment, you’ll fit in well with those who live there.
Zuckerberg attended Klaus Schwab’s school to be trained in actions/philosophy’s to be in control The People.
Klaus thinks The People will own nothing and The People will be happy.
The People know that Klaus and his minions, such as Zuckerberg/Meta, will be penetrated, in one form or another, and The People will live happily ever after.
What’s worse, look into the $500k that Ada received from Meta to administer their 2020 elections. Thank Phil McGrane, and then make sure he never gets to be SoS and deastroy Idaho’s elections statewide. Someone FOIA their comms. worh Meta and find the payoffs.