It's hard to get too excited about the 1,031 new jobs coming to the Global TransPark.

Yes, it's great that the project – often called a boondoggle for the last 17 years it sat idle – is contributing to the economy in Eastern North Carolina. And certainly any jobs and paychecks are welcome during these tight economic times.

The problem is the cost. All government efforts to recruit business have this flaw – spend taxpayer money in hope that the company that receives it will help repay the state and the hardworking taxpayers.

So far, the TransPark has received more than $80 million in state and federal funding. It had no anchor tenant until last week, when Spirit AeroSystems announced it would place a facility there.

But Spirit is getting a big slice of pie, too. An incentives package worth more than $125 million was used to lure the Kansas-based aircraft parts supplier. The Golden LEAF Foundation will spend $100 million to build the facility, which the state will own and Spirit will rent. The lease rate hasn't been announced yet.

So, between incentives to Spirit, government money to hype the TransPark and tobacco-settlement funding, those new 1,031 jobs cost about $296,000 each. That's splitting the $305 million among each of those workers. Obviously, there are other jobs generated by the TransPark – about 365 among the 12 tenants there. But it's easy to see that this isn't the most cost-effective way to stimulate the economy.

Of course, in the distant future, this price tag could be chicken feed compared to the money generated by the TransPark. But it's been 17 years so far, and there's little to show for it. How much longer will it take before the people of North Carolina get their money's worth?