Buried in the ocean of news regarding our three wars has been what I think is the biggest U.S. economic story of the year: the federal government’s lawsuit against Boeing, seeking to prevent the opening of its $2 billion factory in South Carolina, for which 1000 workers have reportedly already been hired (in case you missed the news altogether: story, story, story).
Whatever the ultimate decision in the lawsuit, the very existence of the dispute will change the business landscape here in the U.S. for the next decade or two.
And yet the Administration is ‘snuggled up tight’ to General Electric which bankrupted the City of Schenectady and the Couty of Schenectady, New York when it moved over 75% of its manufacturing operations out of its Schenectady complex (close to 20,000 jobs were lost by Schenectadians) in order to avoid union interference in and obstruction of its manufacturing operations in that city.
So, is there hypocrisy at work here? The evidence speaks for itself.
GE is a blaring example of the corruption between business and politics, as is the Boeing story. GE’s CEO is Obama’s buddy on foreign trips and gets cushy deals, while all of its TV affiliates are 100% pro Obama all the time. Here Boeing chooses a non-union right to work state and gets attacked by its own government. Nice.
Of course, South Carolina just hurt itself by pulling the welcome mat from Amazon.
What this will eventually do, if The One succeeds, is cause Boeing to move to China. That’s a brilliant strategy. 1/20/13!