Foxconn is Confusing the Hell Out of Wisconsin (theverge.com) 102
Josh Dzieza, writing for The Verge: The secrecy and vagueness are frustrating to critics. How do you prove that Foxconn won't build an enormous LCD factory during an industry glut or create a research campus larger than MIT in rural Wisconsin other than by pointing out that experts -- and even, occasionally, Foxconn executives -- say it makes no sense? State House Minority Leader Gordon Hintz recently appointed himself to the board of WEDC, and Foxconn's continued promises of 13,000 jobs make him palpably furious. Speaking in slow, measured tones in his Madison office as he packed for a trip, he said the state needs to "right-size" the project to something realistic, likely a few hundred research jobs, and that Foxconn needs to be honest about its plans. "For something that had a 25-year payback, building a factory because the president wants you to for reasons that have nothing to do with market viability is insane." Hintz believes Foxconn is trying to slow-walk the project until 2020, continuing to use it to win Trump's goodwill in the trade war and waiting to see who's elected. Foxconn has responded. Nilay Patel, writing for The Verge: Today, Foxconn responded to that piece by... announcing another innovation center in Wisconsin, this one in Madison, the state's capital. The building, which currently houses a bank, actually sits directly across the street from the Capitol building, and it will continue to house the bank because Foxconn did not announce when it would be moving in. Here are some other things Foxconn did not announce: how much it had paid for the building, how many floors of the building it would occupy, how many people would work there, or what those people would be doing. It did announce that it would be rebranding the building "Foxconn Place Madison," however.
Fuck Foxconn. (Score:2, Insightful)
Throw em off the building.
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Orange Man Bad (Score:5, Insightful)
This is just one of the effects. Of course, Foxconn has no intentions doing an economically demented move. But tricking the, ahem, "stable genius" in the white house, why not? It is the job of politics to keep companies like Foxconn under control and if politics proves incapable, everybody suffers.
Re:Orange Man Bad (Score:5, Interesting)
Hintz believes Foxconn is trying to slow-walk the project until 2020, continuing to use it to win Trump's goodwill in the trade war and waiting to see who's elected.
He's got it exactly right. And this was obvious right from the start, their move never made any business sense whatsoever, but it was a brilliant piece of politics. Just look at what's happened to Huawei, who didn't have the foresight to pull a Foxconn on Trump.
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Foxconn had the Apple-in. Huawei keeps getting caught with employee-poaching malware and phone homes and IP theft, then they tried to pretend Interpol warrants weren't shit. It's kind of incomparable. Plus the Chi-Coms don't actually OWN foxconn.
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Nice Freudian with the "tief." Your subconscious is more honest than your conscious. That implies you know it is wrong, but you're being paid, so you said it anyways. Or at least, tried to.
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To be fair, it was not really difficult to trick Trump. Because it was indeed obvious from the start and Trump either does not even have the minimal business-savvy to see that or he simply did not care. (Never attribute to maliciousness what can be adequately explained by stupidity, but Trump has both in spades...)
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Get help, urgently.
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But tricking the, ahem, "stable genius" in the white house, why not?
We're all going to feel very foolish when we learn that Trump hobby is designing really elegant houses for horses.
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But tricking the, ahem, "stable genius" in the white house, why not?
We're all going to feel very foolish when we learn that Trump hobby is designing really elegant houses for horses.
No, actually, in that story he's still a crazy clown. If he's secretly a Cossack that would explain a lot, though.
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Sadly flattery will get you everywhere with this guy. I'm thinking that he is starting to slip mentally. I'm not referring to his policies, like or dislike them as you may, I mean some of the stuff he focuses on saying, it seems like his mind is faltering.
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I'm thinking that he is starting to slip mentally. I'm not referring to his policies, like or dislike them as you may, I mean some of the stuff he focuses on saying, it seems like his mind is faltering.
Starting to? What makes me worry is when he can't pronounce some common word, multiple times in a row. That looks strokey AF. Oringins indeed.
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This is his brain on coke.
question (Score:2)
Does "confusing the hell out of" really mean "playing with like a cat plays with something it's gonna kill?"
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Wait, you thought Foxconn could kill Wisconsin?
Ivan, are you sure you know what a Wisconsin is?
Re: Where are the American LCD manufacturers ? (Score:1)
Standish was a really excellent LCD manufacturer and even based in Wisconsin. We used a few custom displays made by them at a company I worked for in the 90s. They are gone now as far as I can tell. I suspect it has all migrated to China.
7.25 USD per hour minwage is to high for that (Score:2)
7.25 USD per hour minwage is to high for that
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$7.25 per hour minimum wage is to high as penny loafers are to swimming.
Political mess (Score:5, Insightful)
But before leaving office, [Scott Walker (R)] undermined [Tony Evers (D)]’ power over the project by signing a bill that moved the Foxconn liaison out of the governor’s administration and into the state’s economic development corporation, WEDC, and prevented Evers from appointing a new WEDC CEO until September. So far, Evers has taken a cautious approach.
This mess has been brought to you by the Republican party.
Re:Political mess (Score:5, Interesting)
You see, when you raise taxes, you're making a trade-off. You're deciding that the programs you need to fund with those taxes will benefit your society and economy more than the businesses that you're going to scare away with your tax increase. That is, the tax increase has the benefit of improving government services. But has the negative of hurting your economy by scaring away businesses from setting up or expanding in your jurisdiction. By supporting the tax increase, you are making a tacit admission that you believe the benefit of improved services outweighs the loss of business caused by the higher taxes.
So either you believe the tax increase is justified and thus should apply to all companies. Or you look at the possibility of a company like Amazon or Foxconn setting up shop in your jurisdiction, and decide the tax increase does more harm than good, and you keep taxes lower for all companies. You don't get to pick and choose who has to pay a high tax rate and who gets to pay a lower tax rate. Scaring off one Amazon with your tax increase has the same economic effect as scaring off several hundred small businesses with your tax increase. So it's all or nothing - either the tax increase is worth it, or it isn't.
So unless you believe all companies should get a similar tax break, supporting these one-company deals expose you as a hypocrite. If you truly believe that your economy can be improved by offering a company such a deal, then you are implicitly admitting that your current level of taxation is too high, and your economy could be improved by lower taxes for all companies. Offering such a deal to attract a single company, while refusing lower taxes for all other companies means you are a hypocrite. That's the situation New York City found themselves in with Amazon, and whether deliberately or by accident, they ended up making the philosophically self-consistent choice and scaring Amazon away from the deal.
Walker is (was) in a different position though. He likely felt the state's current level of taxation was too high, and genuinely believed the state's economy could be improved by offering a lower tax rate to attract more business. He probably wanted a more broader tax decrease but was unable to get enough support for it; but was able to get enough support for the Foxconn deal. So his offering Foxcon tn the deal was likely consistent with his economy philosophy. And tucking control over it into the WEDC was just a way for him to keep it alive for 9 more months after he left office.
Evers' position is more untenable. If he thinks the state's current level of taxation is the right amount or too low, then philosophically there is only one justifiable choice for him to make - kill the Foxconn deal and rescind all the tax breaks and incentives (basically what NYC did to Amazon). So he shouldn't care at all Foxconn says it'll do, since in all likelihood they'll pull out when he kills the deal. Attempting to keep the deal fully or partly alive just exposes him as a hypocrite. You can only support such a deal while remaining philosophically self-consistent if you also support similar tax breaks and incentives for everyone.
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I'll try ELY5ing.
If people see your shop sign that says HAIRCUT: $10, they'll present you with a Hamilton and request service.
If you have no signage, they're likely to inquire. Your answer of "how much you got" will put them off, but many will still present a Hamilton for you to pluck.
If you do this, then immediately accept $1.50 from someone else, in plain sight, how likely do you think it is they'll come back? Maybe if you start cutting the $1.50 deal with them. Perhaps. But wait, no, they're still expect
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I'm afraid your essay is lost on Republicans, who think all taxes are bad, except regressive ones like the sales tax, and who think subsidies are bad, except anything that benefits Big Oil, and who thinks regulations are bad, except again anything that benefits Big Oil.
Re:Political mess (Score:4, Informative)
Only insomuch as Evers is unable to immediately rescind Walker's deal ($4.5 billion in incentives and subsidies according to TFA).
The people elected Evers on the very basis that he would kill the deal. The fact that his ability to do so was taken away AFTER Walker lost the election shows that Walker is undermining the will of the people which is completely undemocratic.
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What a load of horse shit.
You Republicans are always saying taxes scare business, the businesses aren't even paying shit for taxes. 40 years ago businesses and individuals each paid about 50% of State taxes, individuals now pay over 90% of State taxes. Their total tax load is almost non-existent. Just because they're still whining does not imply that it is actually something that effects the numbers, or that they would pull an Ayn Rand - Atlas Shrugged and go on strike by refusing to participate in the econ
They don't sound confused. (Score:1)
They just sound stupid.
it ain't hard (Score:2)
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Especially since Hell isn't in Wisconsin [gotohellmi.com] in the first place!
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Every rural village is full of people who believe they are much more smarter than those fancy hippies from the city.
That is true in both Wisconsin and California.
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They want government to meddle with business in every way,
Hypocrite. Companies only exist due to government meddling in the first place.
And this ladies and gentlemen (Score:2, Interesting)
For one thing the politicians are going to be dependent on bribes^XCampaign Contributions to win since they just borrowed several billion dollars that'll have to be paid back for jobs that will probably never materialize (or pay less if they do). Now you're gonna have to stop investing in roa
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Honestly dude, I'm usually about 99% opposed to you politically, but given as I live in NY, i actually agree with you on this one. Amazon was playing bullshit and NY called them out on it. Probably the first time in many years (maybe ever) the state gov't here did something that didn't make me wish my wife was ok with leaving the state.
Let them keep their bs 2nd headquarters in VA, which is obviously to put them as close to the beltway corruption... I mean lobbying zone as they can get.
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Why is anyone even attempting to maintain the fiction that the Democrats care about the American working class? They told them to get fucked in the last election. The future is women and minorities, aka the Obama coalition
I can't think of too many places left that do not employ women and minorities... By "American working class" you must mean us white guys.
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You may not agree with the trade off between the benefit of the jobs and any tax breaks agreed to (I'm not sure if it was a good, bad or neutral deal for NYC), but there definitely were going to be a significant number of jobs.
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It doesn't take bribes. In my community, there are no big companies with bribes, but the local R's always want to make it rain cash on any business that already is profitable and doesn't need it. They'll create "special economic zones" with tax giveaways even when nobody promises to create a single job, and no big companies even want to move in! They don't even resort to the "jobs" nonsense unless their proposal encounters resistance.
On principle, they support giving money away to anybody already well-off.
Fox Con (Score:2)
It's not like they were subtle about it. They even have "con" in their name.
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Republicans (Score:2, Funny)
Wisconsin should "thank" former Republican Scott Walker and current politician Donald Trump for the Foxconn mess.
They put the "con" in Wisconsin.
Oh come on (Score:2)
Making decisions based on the whims of someone that can't believe that Mt Vernon wasn't named after the occupant, you can't really fault them now can you?
Level the playing field (Score:1)
Since FoxConn isn't actually doing any of what it promised in return for majorly corrupt incentives then vote to rescind them. No more tax breaks. No more illegally diverted lake water. Nothing. Let them reapply for standard breaks open to any company.
Then see how much they really want to continue this charade. If suddenly they lose their sweetheart deal and the ability to continually string the state government along then I'm guessing they'll decide that they really don't want to have anything to do with W
Foxconn is Confusing the Hell Out of Wisconsin (Score:1)
FoxCon is ... (Score:2)
... out-foxing and out-conning Trump.
I live 2 miles from the Foxconn factory (Score:3)
A recent local news article said that Foxconn was starting to lease its land (did it grab it from farmers through imminent domain?) to local farmers.
I guess some of the build-out plans have changed...
Its in the name (Score:2)
fox CONn