It ain’t so just because people say it, even when they say it over and over.

Few areas of local government exhibit this truth more than the field of economic development. For several years now those who pay attention have been hearing leaders say that the great buffalo hunt is over. The buffalo, in this context, is the huge 500-job plant or 1,000-employee factory. No one believes they have a chance of landing economic development projects of this size. With most of those projects going overseas, everyone promises to spend more energy and time recruiting the smaller companies.

While our leaders are feeding us this line, Dell Computers starts sniffing around for a location to build a new factory and all of a sudden Gov. Mike Easley and legislative leaders go into a frenzied pursuit unlike anything ever witnessed. Around $242 million in incentives later, we get a plant that will supposedly employ about 1,500 and spin off other jobs. The Dell jobs themselves will pay somewhere in the neighborhood of $25,000 to $30,000 per year.

I’ve said before that the deal offered to Dell was too sweet by far, and there are plenty of people who agree with that assessment. The publisher of Southern Business and Development magazine, a trade publication for economic development professionals, says North Carolina gave away too much.

“While we don’t know exactly how the incentive package North Carolina offered Dell is set up, we do know exactly the history of large incentive packages given out to companies that have announced big deals in the South since 1992. That being the case, North Carolina paid too much for the Dell deal,” SB&D publisher Mike Randle told a researcher for the John Locke Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Raleigh.

The Dell deal is so large and outlandish that it is an easy target for criticism. But this deal, in particular, is not the real problem. When there is a chance to land these huge job producers, perhaps we should go after them.

What is not happening in North Carolina is a real commitment to incentives to help small businesses create jobs. That’s a problem that no one seems interested in tackling.

Just last week I heard about one of those small companies, one that with a few incentives or tax breaks would likely create a few dozen jobs very quickly. This man had a small business in Florida, sold it, and came to the mountains with plans to open a couple of small businesses. If his dream works out, he’ll likely have 30 or so employees within a couple of years.

What’s interesting is that this guy, like most others, isn’t asking for help. He’s under the radar, so to speak. Economic development officials almost certainly don’t know he exists. And the reason is simple: there aren’t any incentives for him and others like him, so they don’t go looking for them.

But what if, for example, the state and federal governments promised a year’s tax credit for all new jobs created, not just those created by large companies like Dell. That’s just one idea, but it would represent a real incentive for the companies that have two or three employees. It would help that business succeed and grow.

Right now in the mountains the realization of how little help there is for small businesses is really hitting home. The flood wiped out dozens of small companies, and many of them are finding that the only government aid is a loan. FEMA pumps millions into rebuilding homes but for the mom-and-pop businesses there is nothing. There are no real tax benefits and no employee-based or job-recreation incentives. Thankfully in Haywood County commissioners came up with a small pool of money to provide one-time emergency grants to some of these businesses (see accompanying article).

Incentives for small companies would serve another purpose. If you had to file paperwork at your local economic development office to get a tax credit, then local officials whose job it is to help stimulate job growth would learn about all these businesses. The local EDC could become a clearinghouse for information that would help it do just what its name implies.

So we can talk about taking steps to actively help small businesses create jobs, boost payroll and help local economies, but it is going to require direct action by the state and a renewed emphasis by local governments to make it a reality. What we all want is a business environment that encourages entrepreneurship and creativity. Small, dynamic companies are the future of our economy. For decades, nearly all of our economic development incentives have ignored this type of business, but it is time to develop an array of tax breaks and other community-based incentives that are aimed specifically at small businesses. Right now many are talking about the need but not doing anything about it.

(Scott McLeod can be reached at info@smokymountainnews.com.)