THIS Investment Makes Sense
Buried in the Business Section of today’s News-Journal is, IMHO, a much better economic development engine than the one handed to the DuPont Company:
State economic development officials will announce plans today to grant $2.4 million to Johnson Controls Inc. to support a planned expansion in Middletown, where the Wisconsin-based company operates a battery production facility…According to town officials, Johnson will invest $70 million in the new facility and add 150 to 200 new jobs at the site, where the council already has voted to suspend property taxes for 10 years. Company officials said they could not comment on their plans this week.
Gov. Markell, Alan Levin, et al, deserve credit for this significant development.
I admit that I’m critical of the Governor when, IMHO, he deserves criticism. But those who who would argue that, by and large, he’s undeserving of credit for what I consider to be a pretty broad range of accomplishments, should give his record a second look. This is a win-win for everybody, especially for those who will fill these jobs. I don’t think there are a handful of governors in the country who could get something like this done.
Good work, Governor! Until the next time you piss me off…
This is, of course, good news; however, it is also old news that was reported weeks ago in the media.
With all due respect before Dupont stuck its hand out for a donation from Delaware taxpayers for soybean studies they should have been forced to explain why they pocketed the quarter million dollars in Solar Panel research money from DEDO while they constructed and opened a Solar Panel manufacturing facility in China just recently. The factory ensures a return on investment to China that I cannot see evident in De. taxpayers investment in the intellectual property aspect of Solar. You should also scrutinize a little more closely the care packages to Astr Zeneca, outsourcing jobs, canceling its contract with a local PR company to instead outsource its marketing overseas causing that local company to barely stave off insolvency and move its operation to PA with a net loss of jobs to Delaware. A headline doesn’t create any jobs and the $60 M strategic fund investment in large businesses recently has resulted in a minuscule return on investment if any return at all to Delawareans.Beware of delusions provoked by illusions.
John Kowalko
Apropos of nothing, “Johnson Controls” is one of my favorite company names. Imagine how history would have changed if they had been able to work with Bill Clinton…