In Marge Neal’s article on RG Steel the headline was stark, cold and to the point -
Those words impacted close to 2,000 workers at the RG Steel Plant at Sparrows Point. Most will lose their jobs. Remember when the cameras were there? Remember when Governor Martin O’Malley, RG CEO John Goodwin and Union International President Leo Gerard announcing a line of credit had been secured, enabling the plant to restart the “L” furnace?
Where are they now? No photo ops, but—and there is always a but—we have this little ditty that kicks sand in the faces of those workers and the people of this community and state.
As headlines go, this one adds insult to injury. Gigantic cranes for port of Baltimore are en route from China. That’s right, you heard me, China! How much did this merchandise from abroad cost? $40 million. Now you think with a steel mill right next to the port, 2,000 hard working Americans that supply steel for things made out of this stuff, there might be some work there? Ya think!
I almost forgot about the $100,000 the guv spent on a little trip awhile back. You know the one I’m talking about. No it ain’t Towson, even though he’s been there many times wheeling and dealing. Need a hint, how about a boat ride to where the cranes are coming from? You got it! China!
You remember the governor’s trip over there. I’m talking about this one: “O’Malley (D) is traveling with a 68-member delegation, which includes government and business leaders and educators, on a trip with stops in China, South Korea and Vietnam. The costs for most members are being covered personally or by their companies or institutions.”
There is a matter of $100,000 of travel incidentals though.
Heck, the governor’s entourage rivals that of the Rolling Stones on tour.
I wonder if the conversation of the price of cranes came up. No wonder we have a trade deficit. He brags about gaining $40 million in business deals and turns around and gives it right back, although the devil is in the details of the deals he is supposedly bringing home.
Oh, I almost forgot about this deal. It seems that we can’t build something as simple as a passenger gangway to get on a boat, so we pay Spain (whose economy is about to tank) $2.9 million to build one for us for the Port of Baltimore.
Seems like of lot of stuff coming in but little going out in the way of exports—you know, stuff we make in the good old U.S.A.
The end result of doing business the democratic way is companies are hiring American workers but at far less wages and benefits in order to compete with countries like CHINA!
The lead paint is extra.
And all of this from the governor that champions labor and vice versa, thank goodness for that.
Can't feel sorry for Immlett though. He operates the same way and is the president's job czar. He sent half of his jobs overseas and his company GE paid $0 dollars in taxes. Probably built the darn cranes and got a tax credit. Just think, the people on Patch save the nation from a real - Dooms Day!
There is no pleasing some people. How many port jobs are going to be created with the increased volume at the port?
You just saw what overseas competition did to RG and Sparrows Point. How many other jobs such as Immelt's GE which shipped half its jobs overseas are lost in this manner. By the way Immelt is the president's job czar. Now a history lesson. In WW II the U.S. needed a tank to rival the German Panzer's and the U.S. auto industry came to the rescue in building the Sherman. http://www.allpar.com/history/military/arsenal-of-democracy.html
Do you really think your suggested way of protecting our US domestic industry is the solution rather than the key reason why Sparrows Point is not able to compete with the modern steel mills ?
1. The purchase of unique Cranes from a Chinese Company that can only be built in their facility. 2. The layoffs of 2,000 employees due to an aging steel mill, bad management, lack of capital and a poor economy 3. The Governor's successful trip to drum up business in Asia and you trying to tie them all together to write a smear piece about the Governor. That's "Yellow Journalism" at it's finest. It's bad enough that you would use these 2,000 people's livelihoods to take a cheap shot at the Governor.
The answer to your last paragraph lies in this link. Read it carefully. http://www.epi.org/publication/trade-deficit-2011-china-accounted-fourths/
You are correct in your assessment of your number two statement. So why would the governor attempt to salvage such a poorly run operation? Is the governor part of your - bad management - assessment? As to number three, the job numbers released today along with the sky is falling stock market, (woe is me) and the dismal number of less than expected new jobs added to the employment rolls tell me what ever the governor is drumming up with businesses in Asia, over here we are marching to a very different beat. Now as to the last statement, I don't write smear pieces, I write the truth. As to the livelihoods of the workers, are you suggesting the American workers can't build a crane in this country when we single handily won WW II with our economic and manufacturing prowess?
Zhen Hua is one of only two facilites in the world that can make a crane large enough to unload a Post Panamax ship That's a fact. That's why the other ports around the US are buying them there also. http://blog.portofvirginia.com/my-blog/2011/01/new-cranes-in-the-final-stage-of-voyage-scheduled-to-arrive-feb-8.html The Governor came back from China with some $70 million worth of business for Maryland. That's pretty impressive.
He has a lot to do with the funding of it, just ask his buddy Jeff Immelt from GE who now wears tee shirts just like O'Malley. Seems they both lost their shirts on that deal. I wonder how much money we lost in tax credits given to RG. We pay and they don't. Why don't you address my point of our industrial might? Are you saying that American could not take on such an endeavor of building a crane. The facts are economic as in cheap overseas labor and steel. We shortsighted our workers with the link I posted before that you never looked at.
There are only a few ports that are deep enough to accomodate a Post Panamax. Therefore there are only going to be so many cranes built to unload these vessels. There is no point in building a fabrication facility if one already exists. Get it?
Steve if you follow that logic, we would import everything. That is why I posted that link on the subject in dealing with the trade deficit. Rather than make our own space shuttle, why not just buy one from Russia? The reference to the shirts had nothing to do style. It was used as a cliche. Do you know what that is? That is your homework assignment. Look up the word and then apply it to what I wrote. It was a time tested comment. In order to establish creditability you first have to be credible, which I am.
Example, he states everything I write is a smear piece. Steve is this one of those smear pieces you speak of? http://dundalk.patch.com/blog_posts/blog-dundalk-optimists-honor-respect-for-law-program It's a personal thing with Steve. He gets so caught up with trying to catch me in a mistake he fails to be objective and when one does that they discredit themselves as in another smear piece he claims I wrote. http://dundalk.patch.com/blog_posts/kamenetz-keeps-promise-on-crosswalk-to-the-npcc He should have watched 60 Minutes last night about the private sector of the country moving forward with the space program. Steve you should remember your own words and reflect on them and you'll understand the word bitterness. If I was who you think I am and took the final step about our situation and you know what that is, you might have a point. I said as long as people play by the rules I have no problem with discourse. Who, knows maybe you've matured.
Mr. Buzz stretched the story a bit for a "cheap shot" for which he does have a track record. Remember, because he says it doesn't make it true. Everything isn't a conspiracy, although he wants it to be.
I wasn't easy sever owners ago. Pure economics Ron. If the governor wants to trip, excuse me, step onto the national stage he has to be accountable for his actions. If you are going to take the WSJ on you better have command of your facts. Your right we are a global economy and the mess in Europe is based on the Democratic principal of - show me the goodies, cause there ain't no money! Were are we? The stock market is sinking faster than the Titanic, the unemployment rate is ticking back up, the debt is out of control and pushing this country over a cliff. We can't even pay the interest on the deficit. Now that's one heck of a conspiracy. Cheap shot bloggers don't get past the editors here at Patch. You see after 39 years of gathering facts it's like riding a bike, you never forget how to do it. A conspiracy? You mean the cranes were made in Annapolis? The governor doesn't mind taking donations from the unions. I guess his band members were playing the fiddle while RG was packing up and moving on. Better get your tums out because there will be more coming out except this time I just used the governors name once. The guv has a blog, the county has a blog. How was this comment routed? Addressing the common folk is not he guv's forte I guess.
Another Big BuzzFail ! Ready! Shoot! Aim! Does anybody check his rants to see if they are actually based on fact ?