500 New Low-Paying Jobs For Indiana--Whewhew!

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation brings this great news to the tiny hamlet of Hamlet:

SYSCO Corporation, North America's largest foodservice marketer and distributor, today announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding to purchase a 320-acre site in Hamlet, Indiana, where the company will construct its third redistribution center (RDC) and create approximately 500 new jobs in the process.

The company extensively reviewed sites in Illinois , Indiana and Michigan, but made the final decision to select a site for its new facility near the intersection of US 35 and US 30 in Starke County, Indiana. The state of Indiana, through the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), Starke County Development Foundation, and the town of Hamlet worked together to provide an incentive package that helped attract Sysco's Midwest redistribution center.

Noticeably missing from the press release is any quantifiable information about the quality of the jobs Sysco will bring to Starke County in exchange for the hefty incentive package the state loaded the company up with, including:

• Up to $200,000 in training grants from the Skills Enhancement Fund (SEF) to train Indiana resident employees;
• Up to $50,000 in training grants for technology professionals through the Technology Enhancement Certifications for Hoosiers (TECH) fund;
• Up to $725,000 in assistance with off-site infrastructure improvements needed to serve the site through the industrial development grant fund (IDGF);
• Up to $3,600,000 over ten years in Economic Development for a Growing Economy tax credits (EDGE); and
• Approximately four percent of the company's qualified investment through the Hoosier Business Investment tax credit program.

In addition to the state incentives, Starke County will provide infrastructure including roadway improvements, rail-spur, water and sewer extensions, and land through a combination of state and federal grants and local funds according to the release.

"Investments like the one Sysco is making reflect an encouraging confidence in Indiana as a place of economic promise," said Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. Not hardly. Looks like the state's taking the "route to Wal-Mart" as Eric Dickerson describes it in attracting yet more low-paying jobs for an already poor region of the state.