,
6 tweets,
3 min read
Read on Twitter
.#Wisconsin story. The #Foxconn boondoggle, by @AustinCarr. I fear @GovEvers & his successors will be doing damage control on this Scott Walker legacy for many years to come.
More on the #Foxconn boondoggle -- I don't disagree with anything @SykesCharlie says here. We should be clear, though, that although Trump does a cameo at the end of this story, this massive corporate welfare project was a Scott Walker production.
Right from the start, Walker as governor took the view that state government was there to serve business: to cut their taxes, make labor and environmental regulations easy to live with (or dodge), and ladle out incentives with a smile in exchange for the promise of jobs.
Walker treated with contempt the contrary (and traditional in Wisconsin) theory that government could best serve business by providing services like good roads, excellent public education & strong environmental protection to everyone. Businesses who want more could go elsewhere.
Foxconn was to be the crowning glory of Walker's approach to government: a big commitment of taxpayer dollars to a large, generous corporation that would produce thousands of jobs for which Walker and his party could claim exclusive credit. Foxconn would get Walker a third term
Things didn't work out that way. But Wisconsin taxpayers are still on the hook for Foxconn job subsidies, and will be for years. And Republicans in the legislature who backed this corporate welfare project start to finish are still there as well. This story is not over. [end]
