The Tribune-Review, Jim Rohr and the Glory of Wal-Mart

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has been trying to shame PNC honcho Jim Rohr into returning $50 million in development subsidies and other public money. (The company is building a skyscraper in downtown Pittsburgh--but only paying for about two thirds of it.)

Here is a taste of the editorials. Even better is the paper's main editorial page online, which everyday combines a little photo of Rohr with entreaties such as, "Do the right thing, Mr. Rohr; return the public money."

This might seem like an uphill battle. What corporate bigwig gives up free government money? Well, how about the corporate bigwigs at Wal-Mart? Seems that a little boo-boo in Cleveland threatened to give a developer, Wal-Mart and a host of other big-box stores a tax break no one intended them to get. But they were entitled to it.

Guess what? They turned the money down. Go figure:

The developer and the retailer are going to say "no thank you" to a 10-year holiday from most property taxes. The abatement was to have been a reward from the state of Ohio for cleaning up the former industrial site where Steelyard Commons is under construction. Both Schneider and Wal-Mart say they had no idea that the voluntary action program and its coveted liability protection also came with a tax break that until now has been mandatory.

Thanks to last year's lame-duck General Assembly, companies may decline the abatement beginning next month. And that's exactly what Wal-Mart and Schneider say they will do. Their decision will channel millions over the next decade to the Cleveland schools, to the Towpath Trail and to small businesses that might be affected by Steelyard Commons.

How about that.

Comments

[O]

Sounds like someone is trying to pre-emptively address the criticism which will result when Wal-Mart drives the small businesses in the area out.

Hard not to be suspicious; I can't imagine them making a decision that goes so against their economic interest. There has to be an angle.

[Jonathan Potts]

I'm suspicious as well only because Wal-Mart has, I believe, benefited from millions of dollars in tax subsidies nationwide. But I don't blame Wal-Mart for playing the game that all other retailers are willing to play. Instead I blame the local and state governments who give away the money.

[Sam M]

Let me be clear: I have no doubt that Wal-Mart views this in a claculated way. The company is eager to score PR wins. And a few million here and there is nothing to them. Getting the editorial board of the Cleveland Plain Dealer on the company's side would have cost them something. And this seemed like an easy way to do it. And probably a cheap one.

But all companies like good PR. The question I have is what PNC could "win" by giving the money back. Can you imagine the Post-Gazette? It would be front page news for days. And it would monopolize the editorial page for weeks. And $50 million? Sheesh. If PNC, collectively, dropped $50 million in the street, I wonder whether it would bother to bend over to pick it up. The company scored $2.6 billion in PROFITS last year.

The big question is whether the Trib shame campaign makes the company more or less likely to even consider it.

Either way, it's fun to watch.