From the AJC this morning:
Georgia town hopes to benefit from VW
Trenton has been hit hard by bad economy.Volkswagen expects suppliers will create nearly 10,000 jobs.
Volkswagen is the latest foreign carmaker to transform the South into the new Detroit. BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, Hyundai and Nissan have set up shop from South Carolina to Mississippi. Georgia landed Kia in 2006.
Trenton has been hit hard by bad economy.Volkswagen expects suppliers will create nearly 10,000 jobs.
Volkswagen is the latest foreign carmaker to transform the South into the new Detroit. BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, Hyundai and Nissan have set up shop from South Carolina to Mississippi. Georgia landed Kia in 2006.
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When I drive north-east to Greenville SC or Charlotte NC (which I do frequently) on I-85 I pass the following:
- Michelin's North American HQ
- Contientials North American HQ
- A BWM plant
- A Mercedes Plant
- And Nissan is up in Tenn somewhere
If I were to go north-west I would pass:
- Pirelli's North American HQ
- A Volkswagon plant
If I were to go south or south east I would hit:
- A Kia plant
- A Hyundai plant
- A Nissan plant
And if you headed to Texas or Kentucky I believe you would hit 2 Toyota plants
"Above all, these states had longstanding cultures that made it difficult for unions to organize. "When the manufacturers were deciding where to open plants, they chose right-to-work states because they wouldn't have to use union labor," says U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia. Indeed, none of the major auto-assembly plants in the South is unionized"
Time was, the Big Three were the U.S. auto industry. No longer. Over the past two decades, enticed by cheap labor and massive incentives, a second auto industry has emerged: nonunion, Southern-based, and foreign-owned. Large plants, with names of Asian and European carmakers emblazoned upon them, now dot the Southern landscape. By moving aggressively into Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Georgia, and Texas, foreign manufacturers—call them the "Little Eight"—have transformed the economic geography of the nation's auto industry and the political debate surrounding its future.
And the real kicker?
ReplyDeleteMy tax dollars from my job that I work in Georgia are going to bailout failed auto companies in Detroit of which Chrysler is owned 30% by Fiat, 46% but the UAW and the rest by... oh right, you and I.
Can someone please explain to me why Japanese, Koreans and Germans are building cars in America, employing Americans and selling to Americans and GM can't make a profit?
Outsourcing my ass! Insourcing!
Why doesn't Obama tell GM "Look at what is going on down South, make your factories and your employees run like that!"
Oh I know why... Team Obama is funded by the Unions and failing rust-belt states like Michigan, Illinois and New York.
... on that note, how many cars to they make in California??
The notion that the government has no business interfering in free markets would hold a lot more water if all those foreign auto plants you drive by weren't the recipients of almost $4 billion in corporate welfare from the various states to build those plants. But when it comes to handing car companies taxpayer money hand over fist, yes, let's focus on Big Bad Organized Labor.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. Unions are great. The best way to stay competitive globally is to pay a HS dropout $80'000 a year to bolt fenders on.
ReplyDeleteOh I knew someone would take that angle... but here's thing smarty pants:
ReplyDeleteIncentives to lure successful companies is called an "investment", you see it "pays off" because successful companies actually create jobs, they pay taxes, they actually produce things that people like, which in turn creates an "economy" and more investment.
Welfare to failing companies puts entire regions of the country on life support and dependent on tax payer bailout to continue failing business models.
When a person is highly qualified for their skills they are recruited and enticed to come work for companies. They are paid high salaries and awarded bonuses for their work. Why? Because they are good at what they do and society values them.
When a person is not qualified and no one wants the skills they offer they go the unemployment office for their dole and get foodstamps so they can survive on the lowest rungs of society.
To confuse the two is ignorant.
One has worked, one bleeds us dry.
"$4 billion in corporate welfare"
ReplyDeletewelfare: receiving financial aid from the government or from a private organization because of hardship and need.
incentive: something that incites or tends to incite to action or greater effort, as a reward offered for increased productivity.
-Dictionary.com
Let's not confuse the two.
Finally, the real incentive is the Southern states are right-to-work states.
http://www.nrtw.org/rtws.htm
Wait, let me write this down, hang on... [scribbling] "socialized...business...OK...so long as...nobody's...getting...foodstamps"
ReplyDeleteAre you being purposely dense? Or purposely ignorant?
ReplyDeleteTax payer money to attract good companies vs. tax payer money to bailout failed companies. One is welfare, one is incentive.
Are you arguing for the merits of federal bailouts? You are being typically vague and annoying.
I thought we weren't getting personal on this thing?
ReplyDeleteAs I said clearly before, it must be hard for someone who believes strongly in a free market to start rationalizing between which kind of government subisidies are OK and which aren't and maybe blame isn't completely with the unions. Then you and James started yelling about HS dropouts and foodstamps and pretending I'm being some kind of asshole when really I'm just making a comment. I don't sit around all day and think about these things anymore, I don't keep up with political news that much anymore, so I'm not nearly as well armed with facts and figures as you guys are.
So now its a subsidy?
ReplyDeleteStates need to create favorable business climates in order to provide jobs to their citizens. The better the companies they attract the better the jobs are (not to mention more jobs and the supporting jobs they create in parallel industries)
Some states do that with low corporate taxes, cheap real estate, tax incentives, highly educated work force etc etc. I'm just going to assume you understand this concept.
In my opinion this is no different than an employer offering compensation as an incentive to attract highly value employees. If you want to consider a signing bonus or a high salary a subsidy that's fine, call it whatever you want, but there is a distinct difference between this money and "welfare" or "bailouts"
The difference being one goes to attract success and one goes to sustain failure.
I have been consistent in this argument, I'm not rationalizing anything. Doesn't matter if it was bank bailouts, insurance bailouts or auto bailouts. Rewarding failure is highly illogical (i think Mr. Spock would agree)
Also note that I included a highly educated work force as an incentive. The South is woefully lacking here and that is the only reason states like NY and California still have the tech industry and the financial industry... well NY did have the financial industry, but we all know how that went.
ReplyDeleteNothing gets the economy going like new restrictions!"These new national rules build on California's ground-breaking standards to tackle global warming pollution from cars and trucks," said Frances Beinecke, president of the National Resources Defense Council. "Starting in model year 2012, the new standards will deliver cleaner, higher-mileage cars nationwide, cut global warming pollution, and save drivers money every time they fill up."
ReplyDeleteWoo hooo! Following California's lead will really get Detroit back on track!
Following California = Like following lemmings off a cliff.
ReplyDeleteBut it's a green cliff! It will lower lemming emissions by 4%!
ReplyDeleteCan't sell cars? Let's make them more expensive! That will help!
ReplyDelete