Foxconn Reconsidering Plans for a Wisconsin Factory Heralded by Trump

[HumblePi]

This story is a little complex so I'm going to do a synopsis. It was heralded a year and a half ago as the start of a 'Midwestern manufacturing renaissance'. Foxconn, the Taiwanese electronics behemoth, would build a $10 billion Wisconsin plant to make flat-screen televisions, creating 13,000 jobs. President Trump later touted the project as “the eighth wonder of the world" and it would be right there in Wisconsin. Former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and state lawmakers had agreed to more than $4 billion in tax credits and other inducements over a 15-year period, an unusually high figure, for a plant in Mount Pleasant, near Racine.

Basically Foxconn told Republican governors and Trump, "If you cut me 5 billion in taxes, I will invest 10 billion here in plants and bring 13,000 plant jobs for your voters. So they did, they gave Foxconn those billions in tax breaks. But now, Foxconn is saying we will build a research facility, a 'technology hub' instead. No jobs for those republican voters but jobs for highly skilled computer software engineers -probably foreign ones. Oh, and it will be an 'advanced manufacturing plant' meaning 'robots'.

The little towns, in which the plant would be located are at least half a billion out. It cost them that much to seize land and give it to the Foxconn company. So, the plant got free lands, etc. It's calculated that it would take the state until 2043 to recoup the $3 billion handout, which was the largest such subsidy in the state's history. Even if all 13,000 promised jobs went to Wisconsinites, the tab would be more than $230,000 per job created. This company has a history of doing this, all over the world they promise big plans and get great deals but they do not deliver and they always say the same" market changed, we changed the plan " Yesterday, Foxconn spokesperson announced that they have had a change of plan and the great factory in Wisconsin is never going to happen. The State of Wisconsin got screwed out of billions of dollars.


Foxconn Reconsidering Plans for a Wisconsin Factory Heralded by Trump

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/30/business/foxconn-factory-wisconsin.html

It was heralded a year and a half ago as the start of a Midwestern manufacturing renaissance: Foxconn, the Taiwanese electronics behemoth, would build a $10 billion Wisconsin plant to make flat-screen televisions, creating 13,000 jobs. President Trump later called the project “the eighth wonder of the world.”

Now that prospect looks less certain.

Pointing to “new realities” in the market, the company said Wednesday that it was reassessing the plans, underscoring the difficult economics of manufacturing in the United States. “The global market environment that existed when the project was first announced has changed,” Foxconn said in a statement.

=============================================================

This was Scott Walker, Trump, Paul Ryan and Foxconn exec. doing the 'gold shovel' groundbreaking in Wisconsin

They promised Wisconsin 13,000 new jobs and billion dollar factory but in the end, absolutely nothing. It worked well to get blue collar votes for the 2016 election. Thanks to Scott Walker, Paul Ryan and Donald Trump, Wisconsinites were royally screwed in one of the biggest scams in recent history.

 

[OrphanSlug]

This was a disaster from the start, anyone that did not see that was fooling themselves in a haze of economic stupidity.

 

[beefheart]

Trump voters = suckers!

 

[Mycroft]

This story is a little complex so I'm going to do a synopsis. It was heralded a year and a half ago as the start of a 'Midwestern manufacturing renaissance'. Foxconn, the Taiwanese electronics behemoth, would build a $10 billion Wisconsin plant to make flat-screen televisions, creating 13,000 jobs. President Trump later touted the project as “the eighth wonder of the world" and it would be right there in Wisconsin. Former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and state lawmakers had agreed to more than $4 billion in tax credits and other inducements over a 15-year period, an unusually high figure, for a plant in Mount Pleasant, near Racine.

Basically Foxconn told Republican governors and Trump, "If you cut me 5 billion in taxes, I will invest 10 billion here in plants and bring 13,000 plant jobs for your voters. So they did, they gave Foxconn those billions in tax breaks. But now, Foxconn is saying we will build a research facility, a 'technology hub' instead. No jobs for those republican voters but jobs for highly skilled computer software engineers -probably foreign ones. Oh, and it will be an 'advanced manufacturing plant' meaning 'robots'.

The little towns, in which the plant would be located are at least half a billion out. It cost them that much to seize land and give it to the Foxconn company. So, the plant got free lands, etc. It's calculated that it would take the state until 2043 to recoup the $3 billion handout, which was the largest such subsidy in the state's history. Even if all 13,000 promised jobs went to Wisconsinites, the tab would be more than $230,000 per job created. This company has a history of doing this, all over the world they promise big plans and get great deals but they do not deliver and they always say the same" market changed, we changed the plan " Yesterday, Foxconn spokesperson announced that they have had a change of plan and the great factory in Wisconsin is never going to happen. The State of Wisconsin got screwed out of billions of dollars.


Foxconn Reconsidering Plans for a Wisconsin Factory Heralded by Trump

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/30/business/foxconn-factory-wisconsin.html

It was heralded a year and a half ago as the start of a Midwestern manufacturing renaissance: Foxconn, the Taiwanese electronics behemoth, would build a $10 billion Wisconsin plant to make flat-screen televisions, creating 13,000 jobs. President Trump later called the project “the eighth wonder of the world.”

Now that prospect looks less certain.

Pointing to “new realities” in the market, the company said Wednesday that it was reassessing the plans, underscoring the difficult economics of manufacturing in the United States. “The global market environment that existed when the project was first announced has changed,” Foxconn said in a statement.

=============================================================

This was Scott Walker, Trump, Paul Ryan and Foxconn exec. doing the 'gold shovel' groundbreaking in Wisconsin

They promised Wisconsin 13,000 new jobs and billion dollar factory but in the end, absolutely nothing. It worked well to get blue collar votes for the 2016 election. Thanks to Scott Walker, Paul Ryan and Donald Trump, Wisconsinites were royally screwed in one of the biggest scams in recent history.

1. Sounds to me like Wisconsin needs to rethink and renegotiate the terms of their agreement with Foxconn.

2. Since Foxconn isn't following through on their initial agreement, perhaps Wisconsin should seek remedy in court.

3. This turn of events has nothing to do with Trump.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Yep, crony capitalism works in (not so?) mysterious ways. Of course, if you call creating such 'deals' "enterprise zones" or "opportunity zones" (or if they involve a professional sports team?) then that (automagically?) makes it an entirely different situation.

 

[Sampson Simpson]

Just enough "interest" to dupe people into thinking Trump was going to bring their jobs back. Wouldn't surprise me if the entire thing wasn't a scam to win voters over

 

[MrPeanut]

1. Sounds to me like Wisconsin needs to rethink and renegotiate the terms of their agreement with Foxconn.

2. Since Foxconn isn't following through on their initial agreement, perhaps Wisconsin should seek remedy in court.

3. This turn of events has nothing to do with Trump.

It isn't a turn of events. Tons of people said it would be a horrible deal from the start, but Trump and Walker didn't think so.

 

[pilot16]

Just enough "interest" to dupe people into thinking Trump was going to bring their jobs back. Wouldn't surprise me if the entire thing wasn't a scam to win voters over

Of course its a gimmick. They also said if Walker didnt win re-election they might reconsider. Now its punishment. Looks like this was planned and the WI GOP is playing it up.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news...ony-evers-foxconns-changing-plans/2720215002/

 

[HumblePi]

1. Sounds to me like Wisconsin needs to rethink and renegotiate the terms of their agreement with Foxconn.

2. Since Foxconn isn't following through on their initial agreement, perhaps Wisconsin should seek remedy in court.

3. This turn of events has nothing to do with Trump.

It has everything to do with Trump, Ryan and Scott Walker. All they had to do was look at Foxconn's history. They did the exact same thing in Pennsylvania. This was pure and simple an election tactic to get blue-collar workers in Wisconsin to vote republican in the 2016 election. This big event quickly turned into a celebration of Trump. Walker, Pence and Ryan, in whose Congressional district the massive plant was to be sited. They gushed about Trump’s economic leadership, Pence declared: “Under President Donald Trump, America is back.”

The first matter that should have concerned everyone was the company itself. Foxconn has a long history of abusive labor practices in its overseas plants, including those used to supply Apple. Conditions in the company’s Chinese plants were so bad that in 2010 there was a rash of suicides among overworked employees. The company installed nets on its plants to discourage workers from jumping to their deaths. Foxconn later claimed to improve its labor conditions but the company is far from a high-road employer. Foxconn was also exempted by Governor Walker from filing an environmental impact statement, drawing criticism from environmentalists.

Oh yeah, they knew exactly what Foxconn was and they knew that announcing the big 'deal' would bring in a whole lot of Wisconsin blue-collar voters out to vote Republican as a big 'thank you' to Trump.

 

[poweRob]

So much winning.

 

[Rexedgar]

1. Sounds to me like Wisconsin needs to rethink and renegotiate the terms of their agreement with Foxconn.

2. Since Foxconn isn't following through on their initial agreement, perhaps Wisconsin should seek remedy in court.

3. This turn of events has nothing to do with Trump.

Sure it does. Trump has “spiked the ball” before crossing the “goal line” many, many, many times

 

[MrWonka]

1. Sounds to me like Wisconsin needs to rethink and renegotiate the terms of their agreement with Foxconn.

2. Since Foxconn isn't following through on their initial agreement, perhaps Wisconsin should seek remedy in court.

Actually, yes they are. This is ultimately a private company, and they are allowed to decide what they want to do at their own facility based on market factors. They lied to Scott Walker, Paul Ryan, and Donald Trump, and the morons bought it because they were so eager to look like economic champions they didn't do the diligence.

Furthermore, another one of the giveaways that Republicans gave Foxconn was a special rule allowing them to quickly and easily appeal almost any court ruling against them to the state supreme court.

3. This turn of events has nothing to do with Trump.

Yes, it does. It has everything to do with Trump and Republicans in general. This is why tax cuts for Millionaires and Billionaires are such a colossally stupid idea. You're giving them boatloads of money on the hopes that they will create jobs with it, but you have no guarantees at all. Billion Dollar companies have all kinds of options. They can invest when, where, and on whatever they feel like investing. If the market doesn't look good they can choose not to invest at all. If the market does look good they will invest whether you give them tax cuts or not.

Instead of giving a foreign company billions of dollars to hire uneducated workers they could have and should have spent those billions on reducing the cost of education for the citizens of Wisconsin. A highly educated workforce will attract all kinds of good companies just like what happened when Amazon went to DC and NY. Better still those well-educated youngsters are more likely to start their own local business with ties to the state that is far more likely to stick around than a Taiwanese company that's only there for the tax cuts.

 

[pilot16]

Actually, yes they are. This is ultimately a private company, and they are allowed to decide what they want to do at their own facility based on market factors. They lied to Scott Walker, Paul Ryan, and Donald Trump, and the morons bought it because they were so eager to look like economic champions they didn't do the diligence.

Furthermore, another one of the giveaways that Republicans gave Foxconn was a special rule allowing them to quickly and easily appeal almost any court ruling against them to the state supreme court.



Yes, it does. It has everything to do with Trump and Republicans in general. This is why tax cuts for Millionaires and Billionaires are such a colossally stupid idea. You're giving them boatloads of money on the hopes that they will create jobs with it, but you have no guarantees at all. Billion Dollar companies have all kinds of options. They can invest when, where, and on whatever they feel like investing. If the market doesn't look good they can choose not to invest at all. If the market does look good they will invest whether you give them tax cuts or not.

Instead of giving a foreign company billions of dollars to hire uneducated workers they could have and should have spent those billions on reducing the cost of education for the citizens of Wisconsin. A highly educated workforce will attract all kinds of good companies just like what happened when Amazon went to DC and NY. Better still those well-educated youngsters are more likely to start their own local business with ties to the state that is far more likely to stick around than a Taiwanese company that's only there for the tax cuts.

At some point though I do have to wonder if thats what the voters really want? Look at the coal workers for example. Trump promised them the moon while Hillary basically said its a dead industry and proposed training and education so their kids wouldnt have to be coal workers or have no skills. They overwhelmingly chose Trump. I think a lot of my experience at least, has shown me that people bristle when you try to offer help or further education. They take it as an insult quite often. Its odd but it seems true quite often.

 

[MrWonka]

At some point though I do have to wonder if that's what the voters really want? Look at the coal workers for example. Trump promised them the moon while Hillary basically said its a dead industry and proposed training and education so their kids wouldnt have to be coal workers or have no skills. They overwhelmingly chose Trump. I think a lot of my experience at least, has shown me that people bristle when you try to offer help or further education. They take it as an insult quite often. Its odd but it seems true quite often.

I think the point, however, is that those voters are idiots who were fooled as well.

 

[reinoe]

I don’t see how this is “trumps fault” in anyway.

The Wisconsin governor, Scott Walker, is the one who gave away all those billions. It was the Wisconsin governor who authorized all the seizure of land. It was the Wisconsin legislature that didn’t ask questions.

Wisconsin GOP has done this multiple times; most notably with the Milwaukee Bucks and the billion dollar giveaway handed to the millionaire owners.

When the people of Wisconsin get tired of being taken for a ride then Scott Walker will be removed from office. In the meantime it appears that the people of Wisconsin enjoy being fleeced.

 

[Rexedgar]

I don’t see how this is “trumps fault” in anyway.

The Wisconsin governor, Scott Walker, is the one who gave away all those billions. It was the Wisconsin governor who authorized all the seizure of land. It was the Wisconsin legislature that didn’t ask questions.

Wisconsin GOP has done this multiple times; most notably with the Milwaukee Bucks and the billion dollar giveaway handed to the millionaire owners.

When the people of Wisconsin get tired of being taken for a ride then Scott Walker will be removed from office. In the meantime it appears that the people of Wisconsin enjoy being fleeced.

Trump “spiked the ball” short of the goal line! “..........I think we can call this the eighth wonder of the world?”

https://www.fastcompany.com/90178173/trump-calls-wisconsin-foxconn-plant-the-8th-wonder-of-the-world

 

[upsideguy]

I think the point, however, is that those voters are idiots who were fooled as well.

The 2018 election pretty much revealed that the Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan path that Trump barely negotiated to achieve an election win in 2016, is closed to him in 2020.

The Foxconn bait and switch, the second time they have done so (see also Harrisburg PA), is just further evidence that that path is gone.

https://lacrossetribune.com/communi...cle_a3951304-99cd-5021-9759-5b4418cb2266.html
Bait and Switch: Foxconn already scaling back plans for size of Wisconsin factory | The Milwaukee Independent
Foxconn Consistently Lies About Jobs and We?re an Easy Mark
[Subject]

1. Sounds to me like Wisconsin needs to rethink and renegotiate the terms of their agreement with Foxconn.

2. Since Foxconn isn't following through on their initial agreement, perhaps Wisconsin should seek remedy in court.

3. This turn of events has nothing to do with Trump.

You try to take credit for the upside, you get the blame when it doesn't work out. The fool never should have stood in front of the camera and said this was because of him.

 

[JustHanging]

This story is a little complex so I'm going to do a synopsis. It was heralded a year and a half ago as the start of a 'Midwestern manufacturing renaissance'. Foxconn, the Taiwanese electronics behemoth, would build a $10 billion Wisconsin plant to make flat-screen televisions, creating 13,000 jobs. President Trump later touted the project as “the eighth wonder of the world" and it would be right there in Wisconsin. Former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and state lawmakers had agreed to more than $4 billion in tax credits and other inducements over a 15-year period, an unusually high figure, for a plant in Mount Pleasant, near Racine.

Basically Foxconn told Republican governors and Trump, "If you cut me 5 billion in taxes, I will invest 10 billion here in plants and bring 13,000 plant jobs for your voters. So they did, they gave Foxconn those billions in tax breaks. But now, Foxconn is saying we will build a research facility, a 'technology hub' instead. No jobs for those republican voters but jobs for highly skilled computer software engineers -probably foreign ones. Oh, and it will be an 'advanced manufacturing plant' meaning 'robots'.

The little towns, in which the plant would be located are at least half a billion out. It cost them that much to seize land and give it to the Foxconn company. So, the plant got free lands, etc. It's calculated that it would take the state until 2043 to recoup the $3 billion handout, which was the largest such subsidy in the state's history. Even if all 13,000 promised jobs went to Wisconsinites, the tab would be more than $230,000 per job created. This company has a history of doing this, all over the world they promise big plans and get great deals but they do not deliver and they always say the same" market changed, we changed the plan " Yesterday, Foxconn spokesperson announced that they have had a change of plan and the great factory in Wisconsin is never going to happen. The State of Wisconsin got screwed out of billions of dollars.


Foxconn Reconsidering Plans for a Wisconsin Factory Heralded by Trump

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/30/business/foxconn-factory-wisconsin.html

It was heralded a year and a half ago as the start of a Midwestern manufacturing renaissance: Foxconn, the Taiwanese electronics behemoth, would build a $10 billion Wisconsin plant to make flat-screen televisions, creating 13,000 jobs. President Trump later called the project “the eighth wonder of the world.”

Now that prospect looks less certain.

Pointing to “new realities” in the market, the company said Wednesday that it was reassessing the plans, underscoring the difficult economics of manufacturing in the United States. “The global market environment that existed when the project was first announced has changed,” Foxconn said in a statement.

=============================================================

This was Scott Walker, Trump, Paul Ryan and Foxconn exec. doing the 'gold shovel' groundbreaking in Wisconsin

They promised Wisconsin 13,000 new jobs and billion dollar factory but in the end, absolutely nothing. It worked well to get blue collar votes for the 2016 election. Thanks to Scott Walker, Paul Ryan and Donald Trump, Wisconsinites were royally screwed in one of the biggest scams in recent history.

Damn, this sounds a lot like Ken Ham's Ark Encounter in Kentucky.

 

[JustHanging]

Sure it does. Trump has “spiked the ball” before crossing the “goal line” many, many, many times

Yep, Trump was taking credit for the success.

Now he will shirk personal responsibility and blame someone else for the failure. It's the Trump and conservative American way.

 

[Chomsky]

Yep, crony capitalism works in (not so?) mysterious ways. Of course, if you call creating such 'deals' "enterprise zones" or "opportunity zones" (or if they involve a professional sports team?) then that (automagically?) makes it an entirely different situation.

"Automagically? Hah! I've got to remember that one! :thumbs:

 

[Chomsky]

At some point though I do have to wonder if thats what the voters really want? Look at the coal workers for example. Trump promised them the moon while Hillary basically said its a dead industry and proposed training and education so their kids wouldnt have to be coal workers or have no skills. They overwhelmingly chose Trump. I think a lot of my experience at least, has shown me that people bristle when you try to offer help or further education. They take it as an insult quite often. Its odd but it seems true quite often.

Perhaps that's why they are out-of-work coal-miners in WVA, (errantly) waiting for government to bail them out. In life you tend to get what you put into it, including using your brain and being honest with yourself. This last (self-honesty) is the most important. Without that, you're going nowhere.

 

[Chomsky]

I think the point, however, is that those voters are idiots who were fooled as well.

The more desperate or desirous a person is, the easier it is to hoodwink them. I'd go as far as calling that a corollary.

 

[Fearandloathing]

1. Sounds to me like Wisconsin needs to rethink and renegotiate the terms of their agreement with Foxconn.

2. Since Foxconn isn't following through on their initial agreement, perhaps Wisconsin should seek remedy in court.

3. This turn of events has nothing to do with Trump.

Really? And Trump didn't take credit from the start?

This guy has thrown out so much bull**** and hate he's owed degrees of magnitude in retribution

And pardon me if I don't believe anything you say

 

[Chomsky]

The 2018 election pretty much revealed that the Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan path that Trump barely negotiated to achieve an election win in 2016, is closed to him in 2020.

The Foxconn bait and switch, the second time they have done so (see also Harrisburg PA), is just further evidence that that path is gone.

https://lacrossetribune.com/communi...cle_a3951304-99cd-5021-9759-5b4418cb2266.html
Bait and Switch: Foxconn already scaling back plans for size of Wisconsin factory | The Milwaukee Independent
Foxconn Consistently Lies About Jobs and We?re an Easy Mark
[Subject]



You try to take credit for the upside, you get the blame when it doesn't work out. The fool never should have stood in front of the camera and said this was because of him.

To the bolded:

Yep, I called the bolded the day of the election, too. Though I think Ohio and Florida are likely his, so I'd have to re-examine the map to take a total count.

But he only won the trio you mentioned by the skin of his teeth, and he's slipped far more than that since then. Trump's fall will be at the hands of what I call "Midwestern Sensibility". Midwestern Sensibility is definitely real, and that's what will cause Trump to slip in the Midwest. Midwesterners, particularly Upper Midwesterners, are indeed conservative, but they don't allow their conservatism to otherwise over-ride their sensibilities. There's a lot to like about that (& them).

Unfortunately, I can't speak for Indiana! :2razz:

 

[Fearandloathing]

At some point though I do have to wonder if thats what the voters really want? Look at the coal workers for example. Trump promised them the moon while Hillary basically said its a dead industry and proposed training and education so their kids wouldnt have to be coal workers or have no skills. They overwhelmingly chose Trump. I think a lot of my experience at least, has shown me that people bristle when you try to offer help or further education. They take it as an insult quite often. Its odd but it seems true quite often.

Perhaps in West Virginia thatr's true.

But here, in all sectors facing the same fate, from lumberjack to fisher to miner to grave digger; people know when the end is at hand and the smart one DEMAND education and retraining. One of the things you Americans always bitch about is that our mills and processing plants are more modernized, workers more technological and yet you won't consider re-training, but rather extensions to 100 weeks of unemployment and other incredibly stupid ideas.

FFS you don't need even a triple digit IQ to figure out coal mining is going nowhere and even where new mines are opening (usually cokeing coal) it's all automated - no one sends humans into a mine shaft anymore. But, they bought the lie they wanted and got what they deserved, as all those who choose to follow a carnival huckster always do.

It takes effort to be as stupid as those who bought the lie of new mining jobs! But wait, there's still a chance for a career as telephone operators, or wait, maybe hula hoops are coming back.

The world has moved on. You need to be able to read now.