Hedge fund managers are looking for quick profits, so no surprise that things are going from bad to worse at central Wisconsin papermakers - - some history, here.
And the shuttered dairy taken over, then sold in Waukesha has yet to reopen or pay locked-out employees what's owed them, reports say.
Far too many profitable and stable Wisconsin companies have been purchased by New York hedge funds and run into the ground. The balance sheets of these companies are loaded with debt which isn't used to build the productive capacity of the business, but is siphoned-off for personal profit by the Vulture Capitalists. The most valuable assets of the companies are sold off with proceeds going to the same thieves, followed by a declaration of bankruptcy. The workers, local suppliers and municipal governments are stiffed. It's nothing more than legalized theft and it leaves communities devastated.
ReplyDeleteI propose that Wisconsin companies targeted by Vulture Capitalists be be converted into Employee Owned Enterprises, the financing of which could be provided by State and County governments as well as Private and Public Banks.
Those unfamiliar with the concept of Public Banks will find more information at:
http://publicbankinginstitute.org/
We know that Republicans will never move to save Wisconsin businesses from Hedge Funds because they are in love with the very idea of quick-buck Vulture Capitalism. Their Presidential loser Mitt Romney is one of the leading practitioners, having earlier in the year purchased the British National Blood Supply from the Tory Government. This means it is now entirely fair to call him a bloodsucker.
But Democrats should put Employee Ownership at the top of their agenda and stop the looting of Wisconsin's economy. Public banking can also be used to help state companies work their way through recessions or upgrade infrastructure, without having to sell equity to Wall Street.