No Runny Eggs

The repository of one hard-boiled egg from the south suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (and the occassional guest-blogger). The ramblings within may or may not offend, shock and awe you, but they are what I (or my guest-bloggers) think.

Archive for July 8th, 2009

$236-$410 million, as well as an “in” with Obama, DOES beat $195-$215 million

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Thomas Content reported on the elements of Wisconsin’s $195 million play for General Government Motors’ new subcompact car production facility, and despite the claims at the time from Gov. Jim Doyle that Wisconsin’s offer was better than Michigan’s, Wisconsin’s offer fell far short by every objective measure. The summary:

– The biggest chunk of the $195 million offer was a 10% tax break on the value of new capital investment plugged into the DemoBudget. Since it was estimated that retooling the plant would cost GM $700 million, the break would be $70 million.

– An additional $45 million in state aid included an unspecified amount of “stimulus” money. The Janesville Gazette reports that the $45 million also included a 7% payroll tax credit.

– Rock County, the county in which Janesville lies, was willing to kick in $20 million.

– The city of Janesville offered to provide $15 million in cash, as well as take over the GM plant’s wastewater facility, worth $1 million per year. The wastewater offer was not included in the $195 million total above, but would add $20 million to its worth over 20 years.

– The city of Beloit, just a bit south of Janesville and hurting in its own right, pledged $2 million.

– The Gazette also reported that private interests were willing to kick in $42 million, including reductions on health insurance premiums from a local insurance company.

Meanwhile, Michigan offered a total of $779 million-$1,011 million in incentives over, depending on the news source, 20 to 25 years, for not only the subcompact production facility, but also the non-closing of a Pontiac stamping facility originally slated to close and the promise of at least 20,000 Michigan GM employees over that 20 years. The AP, via WILX-TV, reported that most of the money was a continuation of tax breaks GM had previously received, but that $300 million was new tax breaks. The Journal Sentinel stated that $236 million was directly related to the Orion facility deal.

The Wall Street Journal reported that local moneys were worth an additional $102 million and that Michigan was going to use $130 million in federal money for “worker training”. Since a total of 1,600 jobs would be “saved” between Orion and Pontiac, and that 1,200 jobs were in Orion, I would estimate that, on top of the $236 million of Michigan state money the Journal Sentinel said was directly related to the Orion deal, another $174 million of federal and local money is related, making the total haul for GM $410 million.

In comparison, Tennessee, the third wheel on this bicycle, offered a “mere” $20 million in job-training funds and an unspecified amount of long-term tax breaks. Tennessee was counting on GM factoring in a nearly-new $225 million painting facility built at Spring Hill as part of its recent $1 billion retooling of the facility, compared to a requirement to build a new painting facility in Orion (and presumably, Janesville) to carry the day, but Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen said that GM wanted something north of $250 million to stay in Spring Hill.

Even if Wisconsin, or Tennessee for that matter, matched Michgan’s offer, The Wall Street Journal reports there were also poltiical considerations. The first two criteria for the competition, as told to Tennessee’s delegation, were “community impact” and “carbon footprint”. While Rock County’s unemployment is, at the moment, slightly higher than Oakland County’s (the county where Orion lies), the fact that those formerly employed by GM in Janesville are already on the unemployment line, while those employed by both GM and Chrysler in Oakland County are not yet counted, skews that. Further, the Journal Sentinel reports that the Orion facility is powered by methane from surrounding landfills, a “green” energy source.

The bad news doesn’t end there. The Journal Sentinel further reports that, while Janesville is still technically on “standby”, the local incentives to reactivate the plant are now off the table.

Learning At The Feet Of The Master

President Obama has been in Russia the past few days. You may have heard about it. That is you may have heard about it if something other than Michael Jackson’s funeral had been in the news for the past week. Anyway….President Obama ostensibly went to Russia to discuss arms agreements, trade, council the Russians on the importance of honoring contracts and other important President kinds of stuff….at least that’s what Obama wants you to believe he is there for.

The real reason Obama went to Russia is for some one on one counseling from Obama’s Sensei of controlled economies, Vladimir Putin. Please watch this previously secret, anonymously released Russian economic training video:

In the video it is plain to see how the US media marvels at the Sensei’s ability to lower pork prices with a mere question:

“‘They’re very high,’ said Putin,” Maceda explained. “‘It will be lower tomorrow,’ was the quick reply.”

Later the Sensei is able to reemploy an entire cement factory by shaming the owners into the rehiring:

“And this showdown at a cement factory near St. Petersburg,” Maceda said. “When orders dried up, managers shut the plant laying off hundreds until Putin shamed the bosses, even tossing a pen and ordering one of them to sign a promise to rehire every worker. Now other towns are hoping for some of Putin’s special attention.”

Wow!  Obama really is the grasshopper. 

In a commencement speech yesterday, President Obama said:

The future does not belong to those who gather armies on a field of battle or bury missiles in the ground

Apparently the future also doesn’t belong to those who pass stimulus bills, loan shark money, or take over entire industries.  The future for central economy controllers like Obama, is to merely speak and make it so.

D-I-V-O-R-C-E

by @ 5:01. Filed under Politics - National.

I don’t normally post these kinds of things.  In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever posted another chain email.  However, this one is so good it needs to be shared:

Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists, and Obama supporters, et. al.:

We have stuck together since the late 1950s, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know that we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has run its course. Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right so let’s just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.

The Separation Agreement:

Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.

We don’t like redistributive taxes so you can keep them.

You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU.

Since you hate guns and war, we’ll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military. You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O’Donnell. (You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them.)

We’ll keep the capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street. You can have your beloved homeless, homeboys, hippies and illegal aliens. We’ll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO’s, and rednecks.

We’ll keep the Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood.

You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we’ll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us. You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we’ll help provide them security.

We’ll keep our Judeo-Christian values. You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U.N., but we will no longer be paying the bill.

We’ll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find.

You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors. We’ll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right.

We’ll keep The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the National Anthem. I’m sure you’ll be happy to substitute Imagine, I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing, Kum Ba Ya, or We Are the World.

We’ll practice trickle down economics and you can give trickle up poverty your best shot.

Since it often so offends you, we’ll keep our history, our name and our flag.

Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to other like minded liberal and conservative patriots and if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the spirit of friendly parting, I’ll bet you ANWAR which one of us will need whose help in 15 years.

Sincerely,

John J. Wall
Law Student and an American

P.S. Also, please take Barbara Streisand & Jane Fonda with you.

May I add that as property settlement we would give the Liberals all of the Continental 48 states that have Pacific sea shore and all states from D.C. north that has Atlantic seashore and I’ll toss in Pennsylvania and Hawaii if you agree to this deal today!

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