Many Millions, State's Credibility Put At Risk By Walker Rail Moves
Veteran Milwaukee scribe and editor Dom Noth has done a masterful job explaining what's down the line for state taxpayers after an ideologically-driven Scott Walker broke a manufacturing and maintenance contract with Talgo, a Spanish train maker which had set up shop in Milwaukee.
Walker got props from right-wing talk radio for the move, but they won't be paying the freight to repair the resulting damage to Wisconsin's bottom-line:
...[Talgo] CEO Antonio Perez raised a crucial point in 2012 that lingers in international business conferences to this day, saying: "I don't see how any company in the future would choose to do business with a state when the state has shown that it cannot be trusted to honor contracts that it has signed.”
Talgo’s shrewd and aggressive attorney, Lester Pines, put it succinctly in a September 25 interview: “Talgo has been treated better by totalitarian governments than it has by Walker.”
Taxpayers have not yet absorbed the full weight of the lawsuit’s costs, despite the state having already spent $50 million on trains, and owing some $15 million more. The likely outcome is that [Spanish train maker] Talgo will own the trains and still expect more money, and the state won’t benefit at all because it reneged on the contract to buy, test and maintain the trains.I will definitely add Noth's work to a Wisconsin rail politics and finance piece I'd posted a few months ago.
6 comments:
But journal communications, whom you shill for as the self-proclaimed "blue" in the scam "purple" lie will say that this is all not true (disrespecting you as always).
journal communications will tell the public EXACTLY the opposite of this post in print and then their broadcast propaganda arm WTMJ-4 and WTMJ-AM will mislead even more (channel 4, subtly; 620 am with screeching lies across WI)
lee enterprise and gannet will jump on board, repeating the journal communications lie.
soon, wisconsin's right-wing echo-chamber will not only entirely disrespect you and your points here (though not by name) but they will create the illusion that everyone else knows you are wrong (but I will give you credit for being spot-on most of the time).
The media in Wisconsin is entirely dysfunctional and outright dangerous to the majority of Badger State Citizens. Our problem is not that we have a "divide and conquer" governor in Madison - koch brothers' little scotty walker.
The problem is that he is propped up with lies in the media most people consume -- even when we throw the stinky and rotting residue that ol' scotty leaves behind off, the same propaganda machine will manufacture another "rock star".
Yes anon @ 5:49 is dead on. There is no firewall between the paper, tv or radio. The paper is used to push the Overton window to the right. The Journal floats a "center right" proposal, the radio hammers the journal position as liberal, WTMJ tv brings on "centrist" Jeff Wagner or whoever to push the right wing message. Wallah. Rinse and repeat.
looks like SOMEONE got their paper mis-delivered again today.
I seem to recall a lame duck governor by the name of Doyle ramming this deal through at the end of his administration.
Not all kids want trains.
Doyle didn't ram this through. It took years. And once a contract was signed, the state became liable to Talgo. You can't just break contracts - that's sort of a business no brainer. Walker could have negotiated with Talgo but he chose instead to just cancel the whole thing. That's just stupid. I don't know how you justify doing business like that. I agree that Wisconsin's economy is suffering because of the uncertainty of dealing with a Governor who acts so capriciously. It really shows what an inexperienced rube Walker is.
Cancelling the contract provided immediate cancellation to a forever required subsudy.
Cancelling the contract was a far superior financial decision.
Walker will be re-elected over and over again for as long as he wants to remain governor of Wisconsin.
Twice already.
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