Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, February 21, 1994                   TAG: 9402240009
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SCOTT BATES
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NOT SO FAST, MICKEY! LET'S DEAL AGAIN

The multibillion-dollar Walt Disney Corp. has spent millions of work hours and dollars in selecting the right spot to put its newest theme park. They scoured the world and chose Virginia.

Great. Jobs for Virginians are a good thing. If Disney wants this site, we should let them develop it. In this game, Virginia has a full house; location, work force and low-tax status. But Gov. Allen is playing like he's got a pair of dueces. He's folded and wants to give Disney a $163 million pot in project concessions.

I took Allen at his word when he said, "Government shall not take out of the mouths of labor the bread it has earned." Well, $163 million is a lot of bread in my book. This "Jeffersonian conservative" wants to grab $163 million out of the pockets of Virginia's working families and give it to one of the richest corporations in the world.

Within days of getting $120 worth of free tickets to Disney World, the governor presented his plan. He folded. Those negotiations must have made the Allen administration look like the Iraqi army at the end of the Gulf War.

Under the Allen Plan, Virginia's taxpayers would give over $60,000 in concessions to Disney for each job created. This would be one of the largest cases of corporate welfare in history.

Even Republican leader Bob Dole is opposed to deals of this kind. Dole opposed Bill Clinton's stimulus plan because it would have cost $50,000 per job created. What would he think of Allen's policy of borrow and spend?

The Disney development can be a good opportunity for us through its job creation and spinoff businesses. However, with opportunity comes cost. There will be a new city created in Northern Virginia requiring public services. The taxpayers will have to pay for that. Why offer so much to this billion-dollar entity while real costs are imposed on the people of Virginia?

Clearly, Allen is not up to the task of asking Disney to come up with details on the plan (as state Sen. Joe Gartlan did the other day) or getting a better deal for taxpayers. It's up to the members of the General Assembly to close the deal with Disney, create jobs and save the people of Virginia from a fiscally unsound corporate giveaway.

\ Scott Bates was secretary of the commonwealth during the Wilder administration.