This page was last updated on September 26, 2011.
We need more Democrats; Dan Cogley; Beaver County Times; September 25, 2011.
Previous letters from Mr. Cogley I critiqued were “Try trickle-up effect,” “Elderly will be hit under GOP policies,” “Let politicians try unemployment,” and “Cuban missile déjà vu.” Letters from Mr. Cogley I didn’t critique include “Question in need of an answer” (4/7/11) and “Suggested cuts they won’t make” (3/14/11).
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“Horsehead Corp. is leaving, no thanks to our local representatives and the governor.”
[RWC] In the interest of full disclosure, I worked at the Horsehead (then St. Joe Lead or St. Joe Minerals) Potter Township plant during the summers of 1971-1973. The plant was non-union at the time, but it was unionized shortly thereafter. I also have at least one friend who will lose his job when the plant closes.
“Good union jobs leaving, nothing new, it’s happening all the time. Look at the state of Washington. Boeing wants to move it’s [sic] plant to North Carolina, also giving many reasons, cheaper this or cheaper that. Main reason is money, pay less in wages.
“But Washington state has a Democrat for a governor, and they are fighting to keep their good paying jobs right there. But the teapublicans are trying to pass legislation so Boeing can move, cut the price of labor, lower the lifestyle of the American worker to earn a descent [sic] wage (soon $5 an hour jobs, 10 hour day, no overtime, no breaks).”
[RWC] Surprise, Mr. Cogley has problems with the facts. First, the new Boeing plant (already built and operating since June 2011) is in South Carolina, not North Carolina. Second, Boeing is not moving a plant to South Carolina. The SC plant provides additional capacity (“more than 4,000 [new] workers once it gets up and running at full capacity.”) to build the new 787. According to Boeing, “it will keep the original Washington state plant open and continue to send the majority of its 787 Dreamliner business there. In fact, the company has added more than 2,000 jobs there since the 2009 decision to open a second production plant elsewhere.”
As for the ridiculous fear mongering, Mr. Cogley apparently wants us to forget the employees at the new South Carolina plant can choose to unionize whenever they want. What bothers Mr. Cogley is South Carolina is a right-to-work state and those employees cannot be forced to join a labor union as in Washington and Pennsylvania. Had Boeing built the additional plant in a closed-shop state like Pennsylvania, I suspect that would have been OK for Mr. Cogley.
As for “cheaper this or cheaper that. Main reason is money, pay less in wages,” no kidding. Why on Earth would a business not choose to locate a new facility where its production costs would be lower?
“Perhaps if we had a few more Democrats in our state government maybe, just maybe, we could have someone fighting for the working people to keep these jobs right here.”
[RWC] Translation: Mr. Cogley wanted PA taxpayers to subsidize Horsehead with grants, tax credits, et cetera to keep union dues/taxes flowing into the hands of labor union management to fund their political activities. I would like businesses to stay in PA and move here, but having politicians hand out special deals to their pet businesses/industries isn’t the way to do it. The “secret” is to minimize so-called business taxes (which you and I pay anyway) for all businesses and eliminate unnecessary regulations which also drive up business costs. Making PA a right-to-work state would be a good start.
By “working people,” I believe you’ll find Mr. Cogley is referring only those who pay dues/fees/taxes levied by labor union management. Had the plant been non-union, you can bet Mr. Cogley would not have written this letter, or would have claimed the move would not have occurred had the plant been unionized.
“P.S. Vote Republican and vote yourself out of work. Just look what G.W. and the Republican House and Senate did for us in the ‘90s.”
[RWC] More problems with the facts. Assuming “G.W.” means George W. Bush, he was Governor of Texas “in the ‘90s.” In any case, I’m confused. Lefties like Mr. Cogley constantly claim the Clinton administration was the good old days.
As a reminder, Democrats were the majority party in both houses of Congress from 2007 through 2010, had a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate for a short time, and had/have a president since 2009. What’s the unemployment rate?
© 2004-2011 Robert W. Cox, all rights reserved.