Network Schools – Wayne Gerseny to https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/04/03/magazine/thomas-piketty-interview u w B l.html?h I’ll smid=url-share the Is for

Common Dreams reporter Jake Johnson has been tracking the Foxconn con job in Wisconsin for several months and his latest reports are scathing for those who advocate the use of federal, state and local funding to offer “economic incentives” to private corporations. As reported in this blog in August 2017, the State of Wisconsin, reportedly unable to find funds for schools during the prior year’s legislative session, DID manage to find $3,000,000,000 to entice the Taiwanese tech firm Foxconn to build a factory in their state, a factory that promised to bring 13,000 manufacturing jobs to the state. As the aphorism says, if something seems too goor to be true, it probably is… and Foxconn is proving to be no exception. Here’s the latest report from Jake Johnson:

As Reuters reported on Wednesday, the Taiwanese tech firm—which Walker lured to Wisconsin with over $4 billion in taxpayer subsidies—is now saying “it intends to hire mostly engineers and researchers rather than the manufacturing workforce the project originally promised.”

In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Louis Woo, a special assistant to Foxconn chairman Terry Gou, said the company is completely walking back its plan to build $10 billion factory in Wisconsin.

“In Wisconsin we’re not building a factory. You can’t use a factory to view our Wisconsin investment,”Woo said.

As Reuters notes, FoxConn “initially said it expected to employ about 5,200 people by the end of 2020; a company source said that figure now looks likely to be closer to 1,000 workers. It is unclear when the full 13,000 workers will be hired. But Woo, in the interview, said about three-quarters of Foxconn’s eventual jobs will be in R&D and design—what he described as ‘knowledge’ positions—rather than blue-collar manufacturing jobs.”

Oops! No factory??? No jobs for working class voters who supported Mr. Trump’s and Mr. Walker’s union busting? Unsurprisingly, the GOP leadership in the state is blaming this on Tony Evers, the recently elected governor who, they allege, scared Foxconn away by trying to renegotiate with them. The unfortunate truth of the matter for the GOP is that Foxconn’s latest announcement is a follow up to an earlier announcement they made in early November, before Mr. Evers even took office.

Jake Johnson concludes his article with this quote from President Trump, who came to the groundbreaking ceremony in Wisconsin when Foxconn announced their plans:

“I’m thrilled to be here in the Badger State with the hardworking men and women of Foxconn working with you,” Trump declared during the event. “Moments ago, we broke ground on a plant that will provide jobs for much more than 13,000 Wisconsin workers. Really something. Really something.”

Will Mr. Trump come to the funeral to bury the $3,000,000,000 for the 13,000 jobs that are unlikely to ever materialize… $3,000,000,000 that could have gone into the Wisconsin economy had the Governor “found” the money to pay teachers in the state?