“Wisconsin officials apparently didn’t consider Gou’s track record problematic. Instead, they describe the billionaire, who charmed them with stories of his early days selling TV parts in the Midwest, as almost philanthropic. ‘My impression of him was, what a nice person,’ says Scott Neitzel, who led negotiations for the Walker administration. ‘An extremely genuine, down-to-earth tycoon.’ When asked if the state looked at Foxconn’s history, WEDC Chief Executive Officer Mark Hogan says, ‘We didn’t spend a lot of time on that because, in the end, we got to know these people so well.'” Bloomberg: Inside Wisconsin’s Disastrous $4.5 Billion Deal With Foxconn.

+ CityLab: Why Mayors Keep Trying to Woo Business With Tax Breaks (even though it rarely works out).

+ The public is not as pumped as the politicians when it comes to these deals. Example: “Amazon is reconsidering plans for a new headquarters in New York amid a torrent of public opposition.”