Friday, December 02, 2016 9:33:39 AM
Trump's Carrier scam proves he is a liar and a bad negotiator
By Georgia Logothetis
Friday Dec 02, 2016 · 6:22 AM CST
We begin today’s roundup with The New York Times editorial board and its debunking of Donald Trump’s lie that he “saved” American jobs:
Carrier still intends to send 1,300 jobs to Mexico (Mr. Trump said Thursday that more than 1,100 jobs will be saved, but that includes 300 positions that never were scheduled to leave the country). Over all, factory employment in Indiana is down by more than 20 percent since 2000; nationwide, it is down by nearly 30 percent. Stopping the outsourcing of jobs is a worthy goal, but it does not address the underlying trends in technology and public policy that are behind the demise of blue-collar jobs.
It would be naïve to believe that United Technologies — which had estimated it would save $65 million a year by moving the Carrier jobs to Mexico — would give in to Mr. Trump without an expectation of something in return. The State of Indiana has reportedly offered the company $7 million in tax breaks over 10 years to keep the jobs in the state. In addition, Mr. Trump is expected to ease up on his campaign pledge to slap a 35 percent tariff on Carrier air-conditioners imported from Mexico, a nice concession, given that Carrier will still be outsourcing more jobs than it is retaining in the deal.
Olivia Nuzzi at The Daily Beast:
Back then, he played the tough guy, promising to inflict painful tariffs on the company if they went through with it.
But in the end, Trump settled on a gentler strategy: allowing Carrier to outsource 1,300 jobs to Mexico in return for 800 jobs remaining in Indiana for economic incentives worth a total of $7 million, negotiated by the vice president-elect, Mike Pence, who for the time being is still the state’s governor and who introduced Trump on Thursday.
A spokesperson for the Trump transition didn’t respond when asked by The Daily Beast if Carrier would still be penalized for the 1,300 jobs they are outsourcing to Mexico.
Bernie Sanders on how Trump’s horrible negotiation skills set the stage for corporations to follow Carrier’s lead and use the threat of offshoring to milk out government giveaways:
In exchange for allowing United Technologies to continue to offshore more than 1,000 jobs, Trump will reportedly give the company tax and regulatory favors that the corporation has sought. Just a short few months ago, Trump was pledging to force United Technologies to “pay a damn tax.” He was insisting on very steep tariffs for companies like Carrier that left the United States and wanted to sell their foreign-made products back in the United States. Instead of a damn tax, the company will be rewarded with a damn tax cut. Wow! How’s that for standing up to corporate greed? How’s that for punishing corporations that shut down in the United States and move abroad?
In essence, United Technologies took Trump hostage and won. And that should send a shock wave of fear through all workers across the country.
Eugene Robinson:
So imagine you’re a CEO who wants to send, say, 5,000 manufacturing jobs overseas. Having learned from the Carrier example, you might begin by announcing that unfortunately you are forced to eliminate 10,000 jobs because of the crushing tax burden. Even if you really want to move the jobs to Vietnam or Kenya, just say you’re looking at possible sites for a new plant in Mexico. That’s sure to get Trump’s attention.
When Trump calls offering tax breaks or enterprise zone incentives or free rounds of golf in Scotland, whatever goodies he tosses in, hold out for a while — then reluctantly, in the spirit of patriotism and Making America Great Again, announce you’ve agreed to cancel half of the 10,000 job cuts. You’d still be meeting your original goal of eliminating 5,000 jobs, only now you’d also have a lower corporate tax bill and a tee time at Turnberry.
And then there’s this:
When President-elect Donald Trump visited a Carrier Corp. factory in Indianapolis on Thursday that won’t be closing following his intervention, a journalist who had deeply investigated the company’s plans to move jobs to Mexico wasn’t permitted inside.
The decision appears to have been made by Carrier and not the Trump team, which had regularly denied press credentials to news outlets during the presidential campaign.
Rafael Sanchez, the chief investigator at ABC affiliate RTV6 in Indianapolis, told The Huffington Post that he applied for credentials through Trump’s site and received an email Thursday morning that his request had been denied. Sanchez said he was surprised because he’d covered Trump’s rallies in the state and the Republican convention in Cleveland. When Sanchez approached the Trump team, he said he was told to contact Carrier...
On a final note, don’t miss this piece by Richard Painter at The New York Times:
The fundamental problem [with Trump’s conflicts of interest], of course, is one the founders envisioned: They did not want our government officials being paid off by foreign sovereigns. This is why the Constitution has the Emoluments Clause. We also have criminal statutes barring any quid pro quo involving public officials (bribery, solicitation of a bribe or offering of a bribe).
The possibility of quid pro quo will emerge every time somebody working for either the government or the Trump organization talks about government business and Trump business in the same conversation or with the same people. Nobody in the American government, including the president, should ask a foreign diplomat about any aspect of Trump business, including such matters as, for example, unsightly windmills that are too close to Mr. Trump’s golf courses. Such conversations will inevitably suggest a link between official government action and benefits for the Trump businesses. In other words, a bribe.
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/12/2/1606281/-Abbreviated-pundit-roundup-Trump-s-Carrier-scam-proves-he-is-a-liar-and-a-bad-negotiator
By Georgia Logothetis
Friday Dec 02, 2016 · 6:22 AM CST
We begin today’s roundup with The New York Times editorial board and its debunking of Donald Trump’s lie that he “saved” American jobs:
Carrier still intends to send 1,300 jobs to Mexico (Mr. Trump said Thursday that more than 1,100 jobs will be saved, but that includes 300 positions that never were scheduled to leave the country). Over all, factory employment in Indiana is down by more than 20 percent since 2000; nationwide, it is down by nearly 30 percent. Stopping the outsourcing of jobs is a worthy goal, but it does not address the underlying trends in technology and public policy that are behind the demise of blue-collar jobs.
It would be naïve to believe that United Technologies — which had estimated it would save $65 million a year by moving the Carrier jobs to Mexico — would give in to Mr. Trump without an expectation of something in return. The State of Indiana has reportedly offered the company $7 million in tax breaks over 10 years to keep the jobs in the state. In addition, Mr. Trump is expected to ease up on his campaign pledge to slap a 35 percent tariff on Carrier air-conditioners imported from Mexico, a nice concession, given that Carrier will still be outsourcing more jobs than it is retaining in the deal.
Olivia Nuzzi at The Daily Beast:
Back then, he played the tough guy, promising to inflict painful tariffs on the company if they went through with it.
But in the end, Trump settled on a gentler strategy: allowing Carrier to outsource 1,300 jobs to Mexico in return for 800 jobs remaining in Indiana for economic incentives worth a total of $7 million, negotiated by the vice president-elect, Mike Pence, who for the time being is still the state’s governor and who introduced Trump on Thursday.
A spokesperson for the Trump transition didn’t respond when asked by The Daily Beast if Carrier would still be penalized for the 1,300 jobs they are outsourcing to Mexico.
Bernie Sanders on how Trump’s horrible negotiation skills set the stage for corporations to follow Carrier’s lead and use the threat of offshoring to milk out government giveaways:
In exchange for allowing United Technologies to continue to offshore more than 1,000 jobs, Trump will reportedly give the company tax and regulatory favors that the corporation has sought. Just a short few months ago, Trump was pledging to force United Technologies to “pay a damn tax.” He was insisting on very steep tariffs for companies like Carrier that left the United States and wanted to sell their foreign-made products back in the United States. Instead of a damn tax, the company will be rewarded with a damn tax cut. Wow! How’s that for standing up to corporate greed? How’s that for punishing corporations that shut down in the United States and move abroad?
In essence, United Technologies took Trump hostage and won. And that should send a shock wave of fear through all workers across the country.
Eugene Robinson:
So imagine you’re a CEO who wants to send, say, 5,000 manufacturing jobs overseas. Having learned from the Carrier example, you might begin by announcing that unfortunately you are forced to eliminate 10,000 jobs because of the crushing tax burden. Even if you really want to move the jobs to Vietnam or Kenya, just say you’re looking at possible sites for a new plant in Mexico. That’s sure to get Trump’s attention.
When Trump calls offering tax breaks or enterprise zone incentives or free rounds of golf in Scotland, whatever goodies he tosses in, hold out for a while — then reluctantly, in the spirit of patriotism and Making America Great Again, announce you’ve agreed to cancel half of the 10,000 job cuts. You’d still be meeting your original goal of eliminating 5,000 jobs, only now you’d also have a lower corporate tax bill and a tee time at Turnberry.
And then there’s this:
When President-elect Donald Trump visited a Carrier Corp. factory in Indianapolis on Thursday that won’t be closing following his intervention, a journalist who had deeply investigated the company’s plans to move jobs to Mexico wasn’t permitted inside.
The decision appears to have been made by Carrier and not the Trump team, which had regularly denied press credentials to news outlets during the presidential campaign.
Rafael Sanchez, the chief investigator at ABC affiliate RTV6 in Indianapolis, told The Huffington Post that he applied for credentials through Trump’s site and received an email Thursday morning that his request had been denied. Sanchez said he was surprised because he’d covered Trump’s rallies in the state and the Republican convention in Cleveland. When Sanchez approached the Trump team, he said he was told to contact Carrier...
On a final note, don’t miss this piece by Richard Painter at The New York Times:
The fundamental problem [with Trump’s conflicts of interest], of course, is one the founders envisioned: They did not want our government officials being paid off by foreign sovereigns. This is why the Constitution has the Emoluments Clause. We also have criminal statutes barring any quid pro quo involving public officials (bribery, solicitation of a bribe or offering of a bribe).
The possibility of quid pro quo will emerge every time somebody working for either the government or the Trump organization talks about government business and Trump business in the same conversation or with the same people. Nobody in the American government, including the president, should ask a foreign diplomat about any aspect of Trump business, including such matters as, for example, unsightly windmills that are too close to Mr. Trump’s golf courses. Such conversations will inevitably suggest a link between official government action and benefits for the Trump businesses. In other words, a bribe.
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/12/2/1606281/-Abbreviated-pundit-roundup-Trump-s-Carrier-scam-proves-he-is-a-liar-and-a-bad-negotiator
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