Tom Humphrey takes a look at an interesting new report showing that Tennessee is tied for fifth place in the number of corporate incentive deals and ranks eighth in total spending.

According to the "megadeals" report, the cost per job (where jobs are projected) averages over $450,000 and can go over $1 million. Apple got a $320 million deal in North Carolina that created only 50 jobs, working out to over $6.4 million per job.

Such incentives are often "blackmail" (pay us or we'll leave) or simply poaching jobs from other states and in effect not creating any new jobs at all. The report also discusses the lack of transparency at the local and state level.

I've griped about this before like a broken record, but this new report consolidates a lot of information about the large corporations who benefit and the cost to taxpayers. We should have state laws requiring transparency and accountability for incentive deals at the state and local level.

REPORT: Megadeals: The Largest Economic Development Subsidy Packages Ever Awarded by State and Local Governments in the United States

SEE ALSO: Good Jobs First: accountable development and smart growth for working families