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Officials from Camden and the Philadelphia 76res announced a new practice facility and office building for the team at the city's waterfront, following the Economic Developement Authority's approval of $82 million in tax breaks over the next 10 years for the organization, on Tuesday, June 10, 2014. From left to right: EDA President and COO Tim Lizura, Camden Council President Frank Moran, Mayor Dana Redd and 76ers CEO Scott O'Neil. (Staff photo by Jason Laday/South Jersey Times)

(Jason Laday/South Jersey Times)

Remember the massive push to bring the Super Bowl to New Jersey?

It was considered a coup, an economic touchdown, a crowning moment -- until New York grabbed the glitzy crown and left New Jersey with a massive migraine of traffic, bills and bad reviews.

Now, New Jersey has enticed the Philadelphia 76ers to set up a training facility and offices in Camden with a $82 million incentive deal extending over 10 years.

For that investment, the basketball team’s ownership has promised to bring 250 jobs to the struggling city. But 200 of those jobs will be transfers from the Sixers' current offices, and only 50 new employees will be hired during the transition. And it’s doubtful Camden will realize any benefits from sports enthusiasts visiting the practice venue of the second-worst team in the NBA.

But coaxing the team across the Ben Franklin Bridge showed New Jersey has what it takes to do attract a marquee sports name and its billionaire owner.

What it takes is simply money, and the state has spent far too much placating businesses that threaten to leave the state. Since 2010, New Jersey’s Economic Development Authority has awarded 252 companies more than $4 billion in subsidies -- tax breaks and credits. That’s more than triple the amount awarded over the previous 13 years.

That expensive and preferential treatment extended to approximately 1 percent of corporations in the state is not paying off as well as it should. A study by the think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective finds the policy to be largely unsuccessful in boosting the state’s economy with the value of a job tied to a subsidy award rising to $48,000, “leaving companies on the hook for far fewer jobs on a per-dollar basis than ever before.”

Attracting successful companies or keeping them in New Jersey requires more than a tax break. A talented workforce, education, public safety and transportation factor into decision on where to locate.

Attention and investment in those public assets could create more of a business-friendly environment -- and certainly a more enduring one -- than plying company owners with excessively exorbitant deals.

To curb a payout trend that’s gotten out of hand, New Jersey lawmakers should consider setting a cap on the tax breaks to better monitor the grants. Limiting the overall amount of the awards would also makes the process competitive; as the NJPP notes, “as it stands now, if a company meets the minimum requirements, the state has no compelling reason to reject the application, since there is no limit on the amount it can award.”

With finite resources, New Jersey must focus more on attracting and keeping companies with the ability to grow and prosper instead of emulating the sports world and handing out huge paydays to big-name athletes who founder or phone it in or move to another team.

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