Senator Corker: GM Hit ME Up for Spring Hill's Survival, New Plant

by Robert Farago

Published: June 12th, 2009

senator corker gm hit me up for spring hill s survival new plant

Hi Robert – Per your mention of Sen. Corker, I just wanted to clarify that GM ASKED for a meeting with Sen. Corker and other Tennessee officials this week to discuss Spring Hill. They also asked our state to submit a proposal for the new sub-compact plant they plan to put in Michigan, Wisconsin or Tennessee. Thanks, Laura LeflerPress SecretaryU.S. Senator Bob Corker

Robert Farago

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Chitbox dodge on Jun 13, 2009

as a resident of this state im going to enjoy watching him kiss some uaw ass. during the hearings he was mighty quick to slam the big 3 makers, drag out costly flights, and generally conduct hisself in a manner that management and and labor should always be adversarial. you folks will soon learn what kind of first rate bully and ass this guy can be. i have been watching him push chattanooga and this county at large straight into bankruptcy for a while now with absolutely no accountability. and FYI... this guy has spent the fourth highest amount of taxpayers money in the senate on personal jet flights. "ya'll, best watch his ass"

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Johnthacker on Jun 13, 2009
So how does this all fit into the “King Obama is micromanaging” narrative? He’s now commanding “his” company to help out a Republican senator in a Republican state? It fits perfectly into the "if GM becomes Government Motors then all decisions will be made politically" narrative. Undoubtedly Tennessee was told that if they don't play ball, then their jobs will be cut for political reasons. It's already been decided that GM will make all its decisions on a political basis now; Tennessee can either play along or see its tax dollars go to other states. Criticizing the hypocrisy makes as much sense as complaining that people who think that pork barrel spending should be reduce should, after losing the battle on the amount of spending, just let all their district's taxes go to build bridges in other districts. Or that people who favor higher taxes or gas taxes should just voluntarily write checks to the US Treasury if their bill doesn't pass. In any case, another state using its own money to lure a company bothers me less than a state getting federal money from my state as well to lure or save a company. I'd still oppose it, especially if it were my state, but it's still somewhat less of an issue. Influence is always a two-way street with government. It's hard in some cases to tell if companies are bribing politicians or if politicians are extorting from companies, and it's not clear that it really makes a difference.

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Matt51 on Jun 13, 2009

Auto jobs are highly desirable. Wherever a car company locates work, they are going to ask for concessions or aid. GM will ask for it, Honda got tax breaks and state assistance (although a much more modest amount, Honda is a good company to deal with).

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U mad scientist on Jun 13, 2009
This is why business and politics shouldn’t mix. I agree, we need to enforce this on the business community. The world would be better off with less politics in the office place.

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