State Sen. Jennifer Shilling
Press Release

Ryan departure leaves Foxconn future in question

Foreign corporation had banked on special favors from Ryan, Priebus and Walker

By - Apr 12th, 2018 11:51 am

MADISON – The retirement of Speaker Paul Ryan, combined with Gov. Scott Walker’s uncertain political future and the earlier ouster of Reince Priebus from Trump’ White House, is once again raising questions about the future of Foxconn in Wisconsin. The Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer had already been dogged by a history of unfulfilled job announcements and broken promises. Now, the departure of another high-ranking Republican backer of massive tax breaks for the foreign corporation is creating more uncertainty for state taxpayers.

“Wisconsin families who are on the hook for this $4.5 billion corporate giveaway are nervous,” said Senate Democratic leader Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse). “Are we going to spend millions of dollars only to have the rug pulled out from under us by a foreign corporation with a record of broken promises?”

Foxconn’s reputation for abandoning projects and failing to deliver on thousands of promised jobs has been well documented. Development plans by Foxconn in places like Pennsylvania, Indonesia, India, Vietnam and Brazil all failed to materialize or meet promised expectations.

“It’s clear that the $4.5 billion Foxconn gamble has become an albatross instead of the golden goose Republicans thought it would be,” added Shilling. “Hardworking families are concerned that billions of dollars are being taken from our local schools, roads and communities to subsidize a foreign corporation with a terrible track record of workplace abuses, toxic pollution and broken promises. With Speaker Ryan’s departure, the risk to taxpayers is likely to increase exponentially.”

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

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Comments

  1. Terry says:

    Oh God let us hope Walker’s FoxCON fiasco can be stopped. We simply cannot afford more taxes for corporate welfare to subsidize a Taiwainese billionaire’s company. Please, we must vote Walker out in November and put an end to this 4.5 Billion dollar republican boondoggle!! We could’ve had 18,000 homegrown jobs and 200 million annually in new tax revenue just by listening to the solid majority of Wisconsinite’s who demand cannabis be re-legalized, all for a few hundred grand in build out while saving millions on prisons and criminalization. Let’s embrace the FREE market not the BLACK market anymore. We need jobs and businesses up north, not more Corporate Welfare for foreign companies!

    Dump Walker 2018
    Legalize cannabis!

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