Another $50 Million in Tax Breaks. But What Does the Black Community Get? Columbus City Council just approved nearly $50 million in tax breaks for five private development projects. We're told this will create 188 new jobs while retaining about 1,300 existing jobs. Now let's ask the questions nobody seems interested in answering. How many of those 188 new jobs will go to Black residents? How many Black-owned businesses will receive contracts from these projects? How many Black construction companies will help build them? How many Black suppliers will benefit? How many of these jobs are located in neighborhoods where unemployment has been highest? For several of the warehouse jobs, the projected wage is around $20 an hour. Can a family in Columbus build wealth on $20 an hour while millions of public dollars are being used to support private development? Every tax abatement is money that is not immediately collected to support schools, neighborhoods, parks, and city services. City leaders say these incentives help keep employers from leaving and protect existing jobs. That may be true, but taxpayers deserve to know who is actually benefiting. The Black community has watched tax breaks, incentives, and development announcements for decades. Yet many Black neighborhoods continue to struggle with underperforming schools, vacant properties, lower household wealth, and fewer opportunities for Black-owned businesses. If public money is helping finance economic growth, then the public deserves transparency and measurable results. Show us the hiring numbers. Show us the minority contracting numbers. Show us the dollars going to Black-owned businesses. Show us whether these investments are helping close the racial wealth gap or simply making wealthy companies even wealthier. The question is not whether Columbus should grow. The question is whether Black taxpayers are receiving a fair return on the public investment they help fund. That is the grade the Black community should be paying attention to.