Fresh off winning $1.4 billion (that’s $1,400 million) in subsidies from Nevada, and $750 million from New York, millionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is on the verge of pocketing $1.5 million in subsidies from Waco, Texas, on top of $1.5 million from McLennan County, which includes Waco, the Waco Tribune reports. The subsidies are for a new facility for SpaceX, the private (but heavily subsidized and heavily dependent on government contracts) space company.
SpaceX and local officials say this will create 300 jobs. Of course, this way of thinking ignores the opportunity costs created by directing resources towards this politically favored business over whatever the market would have chosen.
UPDATE, 4:00 pm: Not all of these subsidy dollars are going to SpaceX’s bottom line. Some are going to insanely “epic” holiday parties that include an indoor train, half-naked acrobats suspended from the ceiling, blackjack tables manned by scantily-clad female dealers, and a donut wall.
