Opponents argued the state shouldn't interfere with the free market.
Rep. Paul Stam, the House Republican Leader, noted that Bridgestone Firestone was turned down for a state grant years ago and decided to invest $60 million in its plant anyway. He argued that it's not possible to use incentives for work that's already underway.
"As a state representative, I call on all of us to abandon this folly and presumption of trying to pick the winners and thereby also choosing the losers in this game which is a spiral to the bottom," he said.
Rep. Cary Allred, an Alamance County Republican, pointed out that Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. would qualify for economic incentives even while it pays its CEOs millions of dollars a year.
"Why shouldn't the $4 million a year come out of his salary, so that he would only make $13 million — which ain't bad?" he asked.
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