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Governor Bill Haslam says keeping jobs in America is great. What's not always so great is the price to do so.
"I don't really want to see a pattern where we have existing companies in the U.S. deciding whether they're going to stay, and we have states bidding against each other."
The idea that states might be pit against each other is one concern being raised, amid talk that President-elect Donald Trump seems to be approaching his new job like a governor would. That's one way people are describing Trump's eagerness to negotiate directly with companies over manufacturing jobs.
But is that going to help — or get in the way of — Tennessee's actual governor?
Carrier Corporation announced last week that it would not move about 1,000 jobs from Indiana to Monterrey, Mexico. Earlier it had said it was considering relocating as many as 2,000 positions, meaning the company will still send a number of jobs abroad.
Carrier will nonetheless get about $7 million in state tax breaks. Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, is Indiana's governor. During the campaign, Trump had made a promise to save the positions.
Most presidents have avoided the negotiations over plant closures, and many economists say it's a bad strategy over the long run.
Tennessee's governor says it's fine for the next president to get involved.
"We live in a very competitive world," he says. "I think most governors understand that."
But the states should figure for themselves whether a deal is worth doing, Haslam adds. And as they decide, he says, they should weigh the jobs benefits against their costs, without an eye toward national politics.
In the end, Haslam says, it's Tennessee — not the White House — that's footing the bill.
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