Week 5

Weber discusses how TIFs are an example of neoliberalism in the urban context.  TIFs, or Tax Increment Financing schemes, are methods employed by governments or local associations to encourage growth among businesses, generally with relation to a spatial area like a downtown.  TIFs allow a government or community association to invest in infrastructure, capitalizing incremental tax revenues to pay off debts of construction.  This provides a bonus for businesses within TIF districts who profit from the extra attention paid by the government to local infrastructure.  

Of course, the problem with a TIF arrangements on a broader scale is that they preference those localities who have the knowledge and capital to take advantage of them.  Weber notes that TIFs operate best when established at the perfect moment, and the ability to predict this timing will elude many townships and most independent small-scale operators.   For this reason, neoliberal philosophy admits a lessening of equity that theorists should keep in mind.  While TIFs work well for the lucky few involved, it has the likely outcome of isolating outliers and hindering their economic growth.  A more regulation-heavy government allows all firms a more equal shot.  On the other hand, in the absence of TIF schemes and other similar encouragement, the growth potential of all firms might be mediocre at best.