Durham sure didn't.

Our city agreed to open the government piggy bank for EMC Corp. just days after Dell filed for divorce from the Triad.

"It's not you, it's me," the computer maker told a city scorned. (Translation: Desktop computer sales are lagging.)

Then: "I need to be free to take a new path." (We're switching to more laptop production, and we can't retrofit this plant.)

After five years and an initial offer of more than $280 million in incentives, Dell just up and left.

The $1 million Durham offered EMC doesn't sound that bad in comparison. But we're in a recession. Stuff, as in "public works," needs to get done. And doing stuff, unfortunately, costs money.

Besides, who's to say EMC won't come back five years from now and push for another million - or $5 million? Who's to say they won't just leave?

That's the tricky little game you play when offering incentives. It's always a gamble.

Durham is the best city in North Carolina, with some of the best universities, entertainment and cultural options, and a young and able work force. EMC is already here and probably would expand here without the incentives offer. Throwing cash at every hot company that calls diminishes our best qualities.

It's just a shame. And a sham.