Letter to the Editor: Naïve

Assembly speaker Robin Vos attacked Governor Tony Evers as naïve for thinking he could make changes to Wisconsin’s deal with Foxconn. Talk about “the pot calling the kettle black”.

The Republicans have promised Foxconn $4 billion and have received in return a guarantee of nothing. Foxconn gave a vague commitment to build some sort of a plant, and that workers would be hired, but no guarantee that any of those workers had to be from Wisconsin.

Foxconn’s theme song could be a line from a Steve Miller song, “Take the Money and Run”.  In 2013 they took money from Pennsylvania and promised a flat panel display plant and all Pennsylvania got was an empty office in Harrisburg. Vietnam negotiated a deal with Foxconn in 2007 and Brazil did the same in 2011, collectively Foxconn has received $12 billion from those countries, and in return Foxconn has built nothing.

The ink was not even dry on Wisconsin’s deal with Foxconn before they began backpedaling on what kind of plant would be built in Wisconsin.  The Republicans are now trying to blame the collapse of the Foxconn deal on Evers, but they negotiated the deal, and had they studied Foxconn’s history they should have known Foxconn would not hold up their end of the deal.  

This much is sure, Foxconn will never deliver on their original commitments, they never have, and “a tiger cannot change its stripes”.  The take home pay for their employees in China averages $211 a month, why would they pay $50,000 a year for employees in Wisconsin?

But whatever happens the Republicans will blame Evers. If he tries to hold Foxconn to their original commitments, the Republicans will claim he was not enthusiastic enough. If he renegotiates he will be blamed for undermining the Republican’s supposedly perfect deal.  

Charles Frisk

Green Bay, Wis.