Pence Gave Out $24 Million to Outsourcing Companies as Gov.

Pence Gave Out $24 Million to Outsourcing Companies as Gov.

By: Daniel Steingold | August 28, 2016

Mike Pence, Donald Trump’s running mate, has apparently given $24 million to 10 Indiana-based companies that outsourced to foreign countries in the form of subsidies or tax breaks during his time as governor.

This, of course, doesn’t look all so great considering that Trump’s platform has championed bringing jobs back to the United States.

An analysis found that Pence approved the incentives through the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, a state body. Of the $24 million in incentives earmarked, $8.7 million has already apparently been granted.

During the period since Pence awarded these 10 companies incentives, they have laid off over 3,800 Hoosier workers. The companies have moved production to other countries, such as Mexico and China, where labor is cheaper.

Four of the companies that engaged in this behavior apparently had to return some of the incentives, which amounted to $746,000 in taxpayer subsidies.

In the other six cases, the companies faced no consequences for moving jobs overseas.

One company that received no consequences is handbag maker Vera Bradley. In December 2014, the company received a $1.75 million tax break to expand its headquarters and distribution center nearby Fort Wayne.

In exchange, Vera Bradley promised to retain the location’s current employees, while adding 128 new jobs by the end of 2017.

The problem? The handbag maker closed another nearby factory, relocating it overseas and letting go of 250 employees in the process. There has ultimately been a net loss of jobs in Indiana at Vera Bradley.

In many cases, including that of Vera Bradley, the company has been able to retain their incentives even after gaming the system, so to speak.

A full list of companies that have received incentives can be found here.


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