Tesla uses the government to “help” people buy its devices – via the $7,500 tax kickback the government offers to people who buy Tesla’s devices. How about GM using the government to “help” pay for the renovation of its buildings?
The Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan has been GM’s corporate HQ for decades but GM has been moving out, piecemeal, over the past several years because GM has gotten smaller over the past several decades. GM wants to demolish at least two of the iconic towers and renovate one of the remaining ones for its own use – but only if GM doesn’t have to pay for it.
GM wants the taxpayers of Michigan – state and local – to pay for it.
To the tune of about $350 million. If not, GM hints it will have the whole complex demo’d and thereby leave Detroit in much the same position New York City found itself in after the similarly iconic World Trade Center Towers were demo’d by “evildoers” who – to their credit – didn’t have the effrontery to present a bill for their services to the city of New York.
According to The Detroit Free Press:
“GM confirmed in a statement . . that full demolition is a possible alternative to its proposal to partially demolish and renovate the complex, after it faced pushback from a chorus of lawmakers opposed to helping publicly fund a plan to tear down two towers and renovate three. That plan has also drawn critics from the architectural and preservation communities, who called it shortsighted and ill-conceived.”
Italics added – to prevent the mewly verbiage from passing without parsing. It is not about “helping” GM. It is about forcing the public to “fund” the demo’ing and renovation of GM’s office complex. That is the straight truth and ought to be said so because it is so.
Of course, billion-dollar corporations using government to “help” them is nothing new – and it’s not just GM. It is the inevitable result of corporatism – the fusion of corporate and state power. There is another term for this, too. It was coined by a Leftist by the name of Mussolini – who has somehow (along with another Leftist who emulated him) become a Rightist, a truly phenomenal etymological-philosophical sleight-of-hand.
Sidebar aside, corporatism is the business of the United States now.
Corporations such as GM are “too big to fail,” so when they do the state “bails them out.” This last occurred – as regards GM – back in 2009, when GM faced bankruptcy and dissolution as a consequence of poor management.
But the natural course of things was not permitted – as it always is for small-time operations that are not big enough to become partners with the government. Probably because small-time operations are not big enough to buy themselves enough (or even any) government. Viz, in this respect, the government that was purchased by the Bidens, with money obtained via their control of the very same government! They bought enough government – probably with some of the billions they sluiced to Keeeeeeeeeeeeevvv – to pardon their own looting!
GM hasn’t got that kind of influence. But it has more than you or me. We can’t get the government to “help” us remodel the bathroom. But if you own a landmark building that’s become dated and needs a makeover . . .
There has been some pushback.
“A bipartisan coalition opposed to public funding for the RenCen redevelopment has already emerged. Incoming Republican House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, who has changed his tune on corporate subsidies, described the idea that taxpayers would pay for the RenCen project as insulting. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, told the Detroit Free Press she opposes $250 million in public support. The district she represents includes part of northwest Detroit, where she said residents have pushed for investments in their neighborhoods and wouldn’t see any impact from the proposed redevelopment.”
Italics added. To point out that the little fish don’t object to the big fish feeding. They just want to be fed, too.
Everyone wants a bite. Ideally, a bigger one than the one taken out of them.
The idea that businesses ought to pay for their own buildings – and renovations – is as quaint as the idea that people ought to pay for the education and other costs associated with the raising of their own children. And it is precisely because so many people do believe that someone else ought to be made to pay for the education and other costs associated with raising their own children (and other such things they want someone else to “help” them have) that we have arrived at the point where billion-dollar corporations expect – and demand – that someone else “help” them pay for the costs of building and renovating their office spaces.
This sickness has metastasized to such a terminal stage that even hugely profitable businesses such as professional sports franchises shove their paws into the pockets of electricians and others who make an honest living to “help” pay for a new Feetsball stadium in their town.
The argument being it will bring in more “revenue” than is extracted to pay for it.
GM doesn’t much use the Renaissance Center anymore because it stopped using much of the office during the mass-psychosis event that people still stupidly refer to as “the pandemic.” GM is in the process of moving its headquarters a few blocks away from the Renaissance Center, to the Detroit Tower – which owned by a corporatist by the name of Dan Gilbert. He is worth almost $24 billion, according to Forbes – and so could “help” GM without the “help” of government.
But why do that when you have the government to “help” you?
. . .
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If I was a betting man, I’d say theres a better than average chance that the newest Porkulus CR contains copious amounts of cash to ‘help’ GM. Cant expect RePubes to stand up against the corporatists. Thats like opposing baseball, hotdogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet. Plus Rs are chicken shit cowards to boot.
My accountant recently told me that our LLC needs to lease a car next year. If thats the case then I’ll go with a Subaru, or Toyota. Fuck GM, Fuck Ford, may they die screaming.
This is the “new and improved” corporate business model. See how much money stolen from tax “payers” you can get from the “benevolent” tax collectors. The collectors won’t mind. It gives them an excuse to steal more, and put part of that in their pocket.
Downtown redevelopment of these towers-$850-$1,000 per square foot minimum (construction costs only) for a cube farm excluding the expense implosion demo and remediation of the existing structures. Then add the non-functioning 10-year or greater payback green (LEED) features they all insist upon. All at the taxpayer’s dime? Maybe GM should pay for this themselves based on them rolling in profits…harrumph. Mary is better at picking curtain colors than building cars, she has got to go or so will GM.
What happened to the Chevy’s that were built to the Bob Seger song “Like a Rock”.
There it is . . . Yet another reason to hate GM.
Never forget that this is an institution that demolished bankruptcy law by providing relief to non-secured stakeholders over secured creditors via government intervention during their last bankruptcy.
And we are supposed to be surprised that they learned that grifting is a viable business model.
Turmoil in the Clowngov:
‘Congressional “leaders” [sic] have struck a 1,500-page bipartisan deal to keep the government funded beyond a looming Dec. 20 shutdown deadline. It includes 500 pages of “health care” [sic] provisions.
‘House Speaker Johnson said the goal was for “a very simple, very clean” [sic, LOL] stopgap funding plan “to get us into next year when we have a unified government.” But he added that “acts of God,” such as hurricanes, required disaster aid and other additions to the package.
‘Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) complained it was akin to a year-end omnibus, which conservatives abhor. And Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, called it “a total dumpster fire.”’
https://thehill.com/business/budget/5040567-government-funding-deal-shutdown-deadline/
This is what the death throes of a dying empire look like — 1,500 pages of turgid boilerplate to keep the giant, flailing fedgov stumbling along for a dozen more weeks. #FAIL #BOZOS #COPROPHAGIA
Helping Obamacare: the simple mechanism at the heart of the Uniparty. Its pawl clicks into place on January 3rd:
https://ibb.co/DD8bQvb
The Scamdemic caused Allstate Insurance to stop using their large office campus in (metro Chicago) Northbrook, IL and they SOLD it in 2021.
What a novel concept!!!
Instead of forcing the state to buy or renovate it, they simply sold it on the open market.
Based on what’s likely to happen in MI, sounds like IL taxpayers dodged a bullet on that one.
The “iconic” Michigan Central Station was recently reopened after a $1 billion restoration, and from what I can gather Ford paid for it without government money:
https://michigancentral.com/a-new-beginning-ford-to-reopen-michigan-central-station-after-multi-year-historic-restoration/
The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, 10 standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’ – Revelation 18 v9-10
This is why monopoly (or duopoly or triopoly) is so bad. They were so busy trying to please themselves they forgot what they were there to do: Sell cars. There’s only so much DEI a corporation can tolerate before it runs out of money.
“Where was I going to go? Detroit?” – Saddam Hussein on arrival in hell after Satan kills him
And what about Detroit? For much of my life Detroit was a mess, continuing to hold on to the idea that some new thing will just spontaneously revitalize the area. That’s how the Ren-Cen was built to begin with. Whatever was the flavor of the day had the Detroit chamber of commerce, city hall and all those endless committees for economic development shouting ME TOO! Thing is, no one wants to live there, and no one wants to build anything there. Because as soon as someone buys a piece of property they have to start paying taxes. And maybe they have to settle up all the back taxes owed too. Anyone with a tax attorney will be advised to stay very far away from the Motor City.
And why would you want to build there? Shipping? The Great Lakes are only open in the summertime. So you’re shipping by rail. Except that truck transportation is more flexible and the roads go everywhere. Or if it’s small objects you’re making, just fly ’em.
The only reason that the city of Detroit should pay to renovate the buildings is if they own them. Perhaps gm should give them to the city or stop paying their property taxes on said buildings and let the city seize them. That way the city can waste their own money on their own property.
Well, that’s the big fear isn’t it? Jingle mail to the city, defaulting on the taxes. What are they going to do with all that office space? Open up the ultimate laser tag course?
Why in the hell should we taxpayers “help” GM any more? We “helped” them out to the tune of 50 billion dollars back in 2009, and the company never paid us back. Are they going to “help” the consumer with a worthless device when someone’s EV gets them stuck in BFE in the Winter, or when someone is on a road trip miles from the next charging station that may or may not work? Yeah, I did not think so. But, taxpayers always were the endless cookie jar for the greedy.
‘Corporatism is the business of the United States now.’ — eric
Indeed. ‘Health care’ [sic] and ‘defense’ [sic] both occupy outsized shares of the US eclownomy, impoverishing citizens with the vast scale of their grift.
A smaller sector, regularly subjected to ritual flogging by Eric, is ‘insurance’ [sic]. Here’s a New York Slimes headline today on that subject:
Insurers Are Deserting Homeowners as Climate Shocks [sic] Worsen
‘Without insurance, it’s impossible to get a mortgage; without a mortgage, most Americans can’t buy a home.’
Looks like the engine of corporatism is starting to wheeze and cough. All is not well, comrades, despite Orange Exuberance. Even in Japan — corporatist to its very core — auto makers are struggling. Another NYT headline today:
Honda and Nissan Are in Talks to Deepen Ties and Possibly Merge
Stenographers couldn’t find any facts to append beyond the headline, so it’s not worth linking. But yes, Nissan needs a bailout, sooner rather than later.
Ironically, RenCen was developed by …. FORD. GM only bought it in 1996. Now it’s a white elephant on their hands. But wait, there’s more:
The Renaissance Center (RenCen) in Detroit, Michigan has asbestos-contaminated fireproofing and HVAC ductwork insulation that will need to be abated before any renovation or demolition:
Fireproofing
The fireproofing used in the RenCen was called “Monokote” and contained vermiculite from Libby, Montana, which is known to contain amphibole asbestos.
HVAC
The HVAC piping and ductwork insulation in the RenCen from the 1970s when the building was completed also contains asbestos. — AI summary
Well, durn. Looks like GM’s got a World Trade Center situation on its hands. Better call Saul — errrr, Larry Silverstein. He’ll take care of that mess in a jiffy. 😉
Sadly, that’s probably the prime reason why they’re actually ballsy enough to ask government for “help” burning down their HQ, because of the asbestos. Someone probably figured out that maintaining all that empty office space costs money, proposed destroying it. Then in the course of some meetings were presented with “Yep, you’ve got asbestos” test results. Then on page 6 of the Powerpoint the contractor showed all the federal dollars available for mitigation. This got them thinking out of the box and several mid-level MBA types, looking to climb, came up with the harebrained scheme to get the feds to cover the cost of everything.
But why not? Everyone else is grabbing what they can…
Hey government! My marriage failed! I need you to pay for the divorce attorneys… oh and child support too! thanks.
To think people in the West believe feudalism ended in the 15th century…
Sadly this trend will end up as tragic as that of Il Douche Bag. What will replace it may not be any better, however. Which Asian nation, Russia, China, India, be the one that emerges as the business model for the future? I don’t see any of them (except, perhaps, Russia) offering anything like a free market model.
Can anything remotely like an Austrian economic model be achieved? With the entire planet seemingly built upon envy it is doubtful. Envy, the original “Green” movement.
From the outside looking in, I think Switzerland is at least a little closer to the Austrian model than pretty much anywhere else. Certainly not perfect, but seems like they’re more about free markets than most countries.