Big Promises, Small Print

About this episode

This episode explores the implications of local governments providing tax breaks to defense contractors and the lack of transparency surrounding job creation promises.

Why do local governments keep handing out tax breaks to defense contractors… even when the promised jobs don’t materialize? In the first episode of our new season, reporter Taylor Barnes takes us deep into the Utah desert, where Northrop Grumman is building the next generation of intercontinental ballistic missiles with the help of massive state subsidies. But when she asked how many jobs those subsidies were supposed to create, officials redacted nearly everything. Then they got a lawyer. Then they rewrote the rules. This episode is about more than one company or one contract. It’s about what happens when state and local leaders subsidize secrecy, and when media systems — hollowed out by layoffs, ownership conflicts, and techno-fetishism — stop asking questions. From shady job tallies in Ohio to corporate influence on Capitol Hill to military ribbon cuttings reported without context, we examine how the war machine hides in plain sight. And we follow the reporters and local watchdogs still trying to uncover the truth. GUESTS: Taylor Barnes, Inkstick Media; Mary Vavrus, University of Minnesota ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Legal Moves, New Lobbyist Point to Northrop Grumman’s Influence in…

People in this episode

Guests: Taylor Barnes, Mary Vavrus

Topics covered

• tax breaks
• defense contractors
• job creation
• government subsidies
• media accountability
• corporate influence
• military contracts

Keywords

• defense
• subsidies
• job promises
• transparency
• government
• media
• Northrop Grumman
• Utah
• Ohio

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Northrop Grumman, Inkstick Media, University of Minnesota

Places: Utah, Ohio

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