Every poker player eventually learns that if the rest of the table knows you never call a bluff, you’re sure to leave the game with lighter pockets.
Yet the Register dismisses out of hand the idea of calling Kohl’s bluff. Nevermind that this is a deep-pocketed company. Nevermind that they are expanding all over the country. Nevermind that companies like Kohl’s will always run up a trial balloon to see if they can get towns to give away some tax breaks, whether they need it or not. Nevermind that if you show some backbone now, they’re likely to come back later with a better offer. Nevermind that the much-touted employment will likely be McJobs that don’t pay many if any benefits, and require people to take two other jobs to survive. Nevermind that Kohl’s wouldn’t even be bothering with doing market research and making time investments here if a PILOT were necessary to be viable.
No, says the paper: Let’s ignore Negotiation 101. Worse than that: Let’s negotiate from a position of weakness. Let’s sit down at the table quaking with fear that Kohl’s might walk away. Let’s not put on our own poker faces, and insist that they use local labor for construction of the store. Let’s not talk about inflation-adjusted payments. And let’s skirt the legalities that say you can’t give away tax dollars to a business which may steal customers from others who aren’t given the same breaks. Instead, let’s pretend this will have zero effect on existing businesses from Peebles to Steiner’s to de Marchin.
Heck, they might even cut into some of Wal-Mart’s business—though you won’t catch me crying for the Walton billionnaires...
