Like those smaller companies that now won't exist because there aren't 25k upper middle class families to support and/or milk? A rising tide lifts all ships.
I suspect that the marginal business improvement of a mere 25,000 new jobs to a given New York small business is pretty insignificant. Yes, some people and businesses will benefit, but it isn't remotely universal.
I have a fairly simplistic criteria but it's fiscally sound. If they are receiving more in subsidies and breaks than they provide in tax revenue and job creation, corporate welfare. If they receive less in subsidies and breaks than they provide in tax revenue and job creation, beneficial incentive.
I'm not sure I agree that picking corporate winners should be the purpose of government, even if it is profitable to government. Even if that was a morally awesome role of government, I'm not convinced that anyone can predict with any reliability the costs and tax income of a move like this and I've personally never seen a retrospective analysis of the accuracy of those predictions.
My preference is for governments to encourage business in an evenhanded way, as opposed to specialized tax breaks or tax-funded, business-specific infrastructure like stadiums.
