Welcome to Axis ProRata, a podcast that takes just 10 minutes to get you smarter on the collision of tech business and politics.

I'm Dan Pramak. On today's show, Trump's businesses are about to get an MRI and artificial intelligence prepares to take on Pictionary.

But first, tax breaks and broken promises. So this is a story we've seen and read countless times, right?

Company X agrees to move to a new city or state or maybe even just open a new facility there

in exchange for lucrative tax breaks and other government perks.

The most obvious recent example was the Amazon HQ2 saga, but it happens regularly with companies

you've maybe never heard of in locations you

maybe haven't been to. The intention of course is noble, right? Create jobs for local residents,

both directly in terms of how many people the company will hire, plus secondarily in terms

of new restaurants and other businesses that spring up to serve those employees.

The reality, however, is that job creation promises are not always kept.

A new UT Austin study shows that there have been 164 such deals in Texas since 2003, but

the companies walked back on the jobs promises in around one quarter of them.

And then there's the situation in Wisconsin right now, where Taiwanese electronics

manufacturer Foxcon seems to be hedging on the thousands of manufacturing jobs it promised,

a pledge that President Trump was so excited about that he flew to the site and dug a ceremonial

first ditch with a golden shovel. The bottom line here is that these promises are often

unenforceable, often unknown to the public, and unfortunately, on the rise.

And so are the corresponding tax breaks.

In 15 seconds, we'll go deeper with Axios reporter Erica Pandy.

But first, this.

Axios gives you the news and analysis you need to get smarter, faster, on the most important topics.

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