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Wisconsin State Legislature Signs Off On $3 Billion Foxconn Incentive Package (venturebeat.com)
On Thursday, legislators in the state of Wisconsin approved a nearly $3 billion incentive package for the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, Foxconn, in exchange for it investing approximately $10 billion in the state and building a factory that could employ up to 13,000 workers. The legislation is now headed to Republican Governor Scott Walker's desk, where he is expected to give it his seal of approval. VentureBeat reports: The bill passed the Wisconsin State Assembly on a 64-31 vote, after previously passing the state senate on a 20-13 vote. The move signals the start of what will likely be an important experiment in just how much generous incentive packages can do to help create new tech hubs. Governor Walker has said that the Foxconn factory â" the company's first in the United States -- will help transform Wisconsin into "Wisconn Valley." While on a trade mission this week to Japan and South Korea, Governor Walker told reporters that many of the companies he met with on the trip were already "every interested in how they could come to Wisconsin and partner for that new ecosystem." However, there are still a few details that need to be finalized before Foxconn can start breaking ground -- most notably, where the company will build the factory. The factory was set to be built in either Kenosha or Racine County, Wisconsin, before Kenosha dropped out of the running earlier this week.
...now it's 13K. the trend is not your friend.
Scott Walker doesn't want pay teachers a living wage vs. subsidizing a company that "may" create 13,000 jobs. Each job better pay about $250K for this to even remotely make sense. Who voted for this dick?
but I think they'll be lucky to get 1/4 of the promised jobs after handing over lots of money.
It doesn't work that way. This deal is stupid, but it is not THAT stupid. No money is "handed over". The subsidies are tax breaks, and if the jobs aren't created as promised, then the tax breaks are voided.
The difference is how many they'll directly hire vs indirect effects.
A fast food place might serve 300 people at lunch. If 13,000 Foxconn employees eat burgers, they'll need 43 new fast food places to serve them. If a dozen people are working at each fast food place, that's 520 jobs making lunch for Foxconn employees. Obviously they don't all go to a fast food place every day, but that's the concept. Not just fast food either, of course, some will go to Olive Garden for lunch. On most days, there will be several non-Foxconn employees working at Foxconn's building - electricians, security guards, HVAC people, fire alarm people, somebody checking the fire extinguishers ...
If they each stop at an area gas station once a week, that's 1,800 paying customers a day at gas stations. Which will require 20 new gas stations employing 100 people or whatever. Go through that for all the different things 13,000 people buy in a week.
Then realize that the gas station employees need lunch, and the fast food employees need gas. The employees of the new bank branch need lunch, as do the tradesmen who don't work for Foxconn, but handle Foxconn's needs for air conditioning, electrical work, etc. So there are more restaurants and gas stations needed, etc.
We're seeing these effects in the area where I live. Toyota moved here and the local businesses hired more people - the Toyota employees need to have their oil changed, so the quick line place hired more people. 13,000 Toyota employees buy 3,000 pairs of glasses every year, or so there's another job or two providing eyeglasses to Toyota employees. Nearly every company in the vicinity is hiring more people, and new businesses are opening around the Toyota campus. The three to one ratio implied by the two stories is about right. STEM jobs typically generate about 4.2 other jobs indirectly. So three "created" (spurred) for each Foxconn job is a reasonable number.
Romneycare deal passed congress solely on the Democratic vote. Zero Republicans voted in favor.
The party of obstructionism under Obama has become the party of incompetence under Trump. You guys are a dumpster fire, and wholly committed to dishonesty