TTAC Called It: GM Turns Down $56m Tax Credits for SUV Plant
Published: August 29th, 2008
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According to the AP [via MLive.com], GM has said "no thanks" to a $56m tax credit and grant package designed to save its Moraine, Ohio SUV plant. Ohio Department of Development spokeswoman Kelly Schlissberg said the state is "disappointed and will continue to look for alternate uses for the plant, which employs about 2,400 workers." The General plans to close the plant by 2010, or sooner, because of "a customer shift to smaller vehicles." In other words, it wazzunt me.
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So now GM is bad for turning down $56mil to keep a plant open making SUV's that are not selling. Southern states are giving Honda and Toyota $150 mil to $200 mil to bring in factories with only 1500 jobs and they are offering GM only $56mil for 2400 jobs.
I still have problems with states offering huge sums of money to lure or keep private enterprises. It's always a double edged sword, but the taxpayers always end up at the mercy of the corporations. The General received tax breaks for their Janesville Wisconsin plant, but it is also scheduled to close. State Government is threatening lawsuits to regain the money. Er, sorry folks, the money is all gone. We went through a similar situation when Chrysler bought out AMC. Chrysler made promises and took the money, then closed most of the plants because of market conditions. It was great watching the bluster of out then Governor, and all came to naught. Of course, I always enjoy listening to the legislators claiming that some new product could be built in these plants. Funny thing is, Both GM and Chrysler had fairly old plants in Wisconsin. Chrysler's plants went back to the Nash era and GM's went back to the Sampson Tractor days. It always becomes a case of, ignorant legislators who want to appear that they are keeping the jobs, but they don't have a clue about the very industry they want to invest (?) in. Besides, with the present shortfall Wisconsin faces with their budget, maybe financial prudence should be the road to take, although it seems to be the road less traveled.
Could any of these old plants be totally removed and turn the land back to farming? I understand that marijuana is a good cash crop. This would provide work for a few of the laid off workers and the rest wouldn't care.
As mentioned above, Moraine, Ohio is about 8 miles S. of the Dayton city limits on I75. I know many people who did & do work there. The Trailblazer that I traded in on my Mazda 3 came from there. My father drove past this plant for 33 1/2 years on his way to Dayton Power & Light. Dayton has been ravaged by the downfall of manufacturing in general & GM in particular. NCR, Meade paper/data products, & Reynolds & Reynolds aluminum all got started in the Gem city (along with Delco - Dayton Electronics) & of course Dayton Tires of South Central low rider 3-wheel motion fame. At one point every body by fisher & every single brake drum that GM made came from the stamps off of 3rd , Fourth, * Fifth streets . Although there are still about 800,000 people in Montgomery county, less than 110,000 live in the city limits proper. I can not complain about growing up there, first in a rough area know as DeSoto Bass or simply, "The Bass" & then later in the suburb of Trotwood, but I am not nostalgic. Dayton, Oh is the epitome of an era that is long since bygone, never to return. The thing I fear the most, is that GM will go bankrupt, thus effectively stranding tens maybe hundreds of thousands of former employees & immediate family members in the Miami Valley. That would be bad.