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Sep 24, 2009
Big (maybe) Auto Company (maybe) Coming (maybe)
Lots of ifs in the story, according to WKRG-TV in Mobile, (very first at 6:14pm last night), The Birmingham News (first with full details online at 6:10am) and The Press-Register. At the center is a billionaire (maybe) who fled his homeland China ahead of authorities. Official announcement will be in a little while. I hope all of the economic development types working on this will watch all of the fine print and not be so hungry to brag about bringing in new jobs that they miss the big picture. This isn't a Mercedes or even Hyundai we're dealing with. It's "Hybrid Kenetic Motors" and there's no financing lined up yet.
[UPDATE: Hold the champagne. Still a lot of questions...Al.com story here.]
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One jump ahead of the sherriff?
ReplyDeleteI'd be very, very wary of any promises by this guy.
What a poorly written article!
ReplyDeleteHere's one obviously glaring grammatical goof: "...a newspaper report as Volkswagen’s with the new..." (Hint: possessive versus plural - NO apostrophe.)
The 3d graph cites information from a federal lawsuit without introducing facts germane to the suit, or why it was necessary to use that source. Then, that information and source is completely ignored while the writer jumps to an entirely different train of thought - without even attempting to partially substantiate the previous thought! (Analogously, it's like saying, "She did that because, and yesterday I went shopping.")
Anonymous source(s) are used, yet justification for their anonymity is not rationalized to the reader.
Also, the article discusses something about which I make a simple equation - purchasing citizenship - citing a "Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, known as the EB-5 Visa Program" that exchanges an "...opportunity to be considered for one of 10,000 visas, or permanent-resident green cards, awarded annually" for "those who invest $1 million (or $500,000 in rural or economically distressed areas)."
Having access to such public information such as federal lawsuits and visa programs (even citing them in the story), one would imagine that federal import records and applications for substantial imports of machinery and materials would be similarly cited. However, they're not.
As well, the story's writer succinctly shares that "the EB-5 application process requires the site and details of the project to be revealed," but only much later in the story reveals that Governor Riley will be "making an announcement without the certainty of the project’s financing or completion."
It sounds to me like he's counting his chickens before they're hatched.
An astute writer would have led with this information - that Riley is making a premature announcement - one predicated almost wholly upon conjecture.
The story is not written in the subjunctive mood, and should be.
Overall, I give this article a "D". I should mark it "F," but then, universities teach journalism graduates how to write below the fifth grade level, so they SHOULD know better! One cannot write below a level, unless one first knows how to write above it.
(What does this say about America's "average" level of education?)
Once upon a time, Mercedes and Honda were exactly the same: start-ups. But at least this guy has a record of building a big auto company in China. Nothing our economic development folks have done during these years of great successes indicates they're not careful.
ReplyDeleteStart-ups and the entrepreneurial spirit are not in question in this case.
ReplyDeleteIt's the "no money down" taxpayer giveaway that is being done by the Governor.
The man has not even signed ONE piece of paper to purchase (intent), nor has he placed any money down (earnest money) on any deal, no surveyors are out scoping the land, NO NOTHING!
In fact, he has reneged on a promise to local and state authorities in Tunica, MS to build there.
Ripping the Birmingham "News" for their ABYSMAL FAILURE to INVESTIGATE and report the FULL news (I'm not a paid staff news reporter, but I can damn sure dig to find facts), here are a couple of links that are disturbingly eye opening... as if suspicions aren't aroused enough already by their poorly written piece.
Background on Benjamin Yeung, Hybrid Kinetic mega-plant in Tunica
By Mark Richens on August 31, 2009 4:05 PM
http://linkstomemphis.com/2009/08/background-on-benjamin-yeung-hybrid-kinetic-mega-plant-in-tunica.html
For investors in an iffy $6 billion auto plant in Mississippi, greenbacks get green card
Lindsay Chappell Automotive News August 31, 2009 - 12:01 am ET
(Use the Google cached version to read this story)
http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:TZqwlMgXQKgJ:www.autonews.com/article/20090831/ANA03/308319949/1131+http://www.autonews.com/article/20090831/ANA03/308319949/1131&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a
Kevin, what "taxpayer giveaway" are you talking about? No state incentives have been given to this company and, as the articles say, won't be until the company has investors lined up and an agreement is reached with the state.
ReplyDeleteI used "taxpayer giveaway" in the sense that, as of press time, there were no reports of any genuine exchanges or contracts.
ReplyDelete-BUT-
Toward that end, undoubtedly, the subject in question will be "courting" federal, state and local officials (and others in the corporate world) attempting to cobble together something that would remotely resemble manufacturing.
It'd be about as dubious as you, I and Tim approaching state officials and pitching the same pipe-dream loony idea without one red cent to demonstrate our seriousness or readiness to initiate any course of action, including land surveys and securing major construction contracts.
Doubtless, someone in the state governance will offer to give away land, select and favorable tax forgiveness, training and a host of other valuable taxpayer-paid tax amelioration "benefits". However, since the "announcement" that the firm in question "will" build, I suppose the only thing remaining is to watch and see.
Mississippi has already been Shanghaied by this conniver.
It's my opinion that once the rice is through cooking on these sweet and sour hybrid rice-burners, Riley will end up with eggroll on his face.
With the automobile industry struggling to survive, why does yet another automobile company want to start up--especially in the US?
ReplyDeleteIs this guy angling for bailout money even before one car rolls off the assembly line?
I'm still very suspicious.