Despite mounting evidence that Trump’s tax cuts and trade wars are hurting American workers and manufacturing, he continues to push the “proof” of how awesome it all is. On Thursday, Trump is set to visit Foxconn in Wisconsin, a new manufacturing plant projected to add thousands of jobs. However, just like all of Trump’s other brags about his effects on the economy, there’s more to the story.
Building the plant that will be used to make Governor Scott Walker and the Republicans look good come midterm time is costing taxpayers in the state millions of dollars.
According to The Wall Street Journal:
‘In an effort to land the plant, municipalities months later added their own sweeteners. The town and the county where the facility will be built, Mount Pleasant and Racine County—south of Milwaukee—offered a $764 million incentive package. And Wisconsin added another $134 million to the tab to improve state highways and local roads in the area around the Foxconn site.
‘The state is on the hook for 40% of the public bonds that finance the local expenses if the project flops.’
Reality: June 22, Foxconn Chair Terry Gou, said they plan to replace 80% of workers w/robots in 5-10 years. In 10 years it's possible Foxconn will have utilized credits for construction of a facility w/equipment, & credits for a workforce that will be 80% replaced by 2028. https://t.co/vlmlFZMjwj
— Gordon Hintz (@GordonHintz) June 26, 2018
Walker and Trump have also failed to note in all their bragging about how many jobs Foxconn will create exactly how many jobs Wisconsin has already lost. Just as Trump bragged about all the one-time bonuses companies promised their employees because of the tax cuts, wages haven’t risen significantly and thousands of layoffs have offset any new jobs added.
Trump to tour Taiwan giant Foxconn's factory as trade trouble rumbles with Harley-Davidson up the road https://t.co/i0RJZryixT pic.twitter.com/zKL3Krqkoe
— Bloomberg (@business) June 28, 2018
The full effects of this deal are not being discussed by Republicans, but Democrats are calling them out on it.
‘State Democrats have attacked the governor for the deal, saying it is too expensive and the process by which the state promised billions to Foxconn lacked transparency. They have also raised concerns that Foxconn won’t fulfill its promises.’
The incentives offered by Wisconsin and its municipalities to Taiwan’s Foxconn since it announced a $10 billion megaplant in the state have gone up by nearly $1 billion, on top of initial $3 billion incentive package to lure manufacturer. Taxpayers pay.https://t.co/Z46tHWNUMp
— Alfons López Tena #FBPE (@alfonslopeztena) June 27, 2018
Just as with everything else Trump does, there are always hidden truths that the public is not being told. Foxconn may or may not add thousands of jobs, but at what cost? And who benefits?
Featured image via Getty/Win McNamee
