The summary is:
The text is a transcript of a segment from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, where he criticizes the practice of economic development incentives, which are perks offered by state and local governments to companies to attract them to their area. He argues that these incentives are often wasteful, ineffective, and poorly monitored, and that they cost taxpayers billions of dollars that could be spent on public services. He gives examples of dubious projects that received incentives, such as a replica of Noah's ark in Kentucky, and the bidding war for Amazon's second headquarters. He also mocks the film and TV incentives that many states offer, and points out that California subsidized the Entourage movie. He concludes by calling for more oversight and accountability over these programs.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. Politicians often mention jobs as a priority and a goal.
2. Economic development incentives are perks that state and local governments offer to companies to attract them to their area.
3. StartUp New York is a program that launched with tax breaks for new businesses for ten years.
4. Amazon is planning to build a second headquarters in North America and making governments bid for it.
5. Kentucky gave $18 million in tax breaks for a full-size replica of Noah's ark that has strict hiring rules and low economic impact.
6. Film and TV incentives are programs that 31 states have to lure productions to their area, but they often cost more than they generate in tax revenue.
7. Kansas and Missouri have been competing with tax breaks to move businesses across the state line, resulting in a net loss of $331 million in tax revenue.