Politician advocates seizing of Boeing plant, setting up democratic workplace

[eldirector]

Dear Boeing: We have a mostly empty airport, with lots of industry nearby. Our politicians also (tend to) have an IQ that outnumbers their fingers and toes. And it only rains here SOMETIMES.

What is a PointPoint presentation? Sounds political.

 

[jake blue]

Reading the title alone my mind immediately went to "Atlas Shrugged". However, even the seizure of Boeing's corporately-owned property, assets and on-hand inventory wouldn't be enough to make a viable 'democratically-operated business'. Aircraft manufacturing is an expensive and time-sensitive endeavor with parts and sub-systems arriving at the right time for final assembly from over 1,000 global distributors. Let them take over the Seattle plant and they'll find that all they have is a big warehouse full of half-assembled planes when the necessary parts stop arriving because the delivery contracts are signed for by the management. And how exactly do they propose to market half-assembled planes without the Boeing management team? Open the plant up to the public and have a garage sale? ("Yeah, I'm in the market for a late model, low mileage jet that can seat 300 and has lots of storage space.") The administrative costs of financing the entire manufacturing process until the final product is delivered, the health care and pension and infrastructure costs of a mammoth 'democratic' workforce and shop, and the licensing and regulatory hurdles incumbent on any aircraft manufacturer will quickly bankrupt any start-up attempt without the benefit of Boeing corporate's deep pockets to keep them afloat until payday.

These people live in some utopian dream world that is impractical and incompatible with the real world where the rest of us live.

 

[Expat]

Corporations need to begin fleeing these states. Socialist ideas need to be punished severely before it is too late.

 

[netsecurity]

Things will only get more Chavista-like as we move into an economically disastrous second term of the most raging socialist president America has ever known. They are playing their hand now because they have already suppressed economic growth long enough to make their crazy ideas sound acceptable to those who are most desperate.

The truth is that they have NO IDEAS. Socialism isn't a new idea, it is a stale policy that leads to failure. Look at where Venezuela is now. They have 50% inflation, and just passed a law that set profit margins on imports because the demand is so high to get things like toilet paper that people were paying outrageous prices for them. They are in constant crisis mode, implementing hard-handed socialist policies every day to try and plug the holes on their sinking ship. Socialism only leads to more socialism and dictatorship, it never balances out the equation and allows for prosperity as promised.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Corporations need to begin fleeing these states. Socialist ideas need to be punished severely before it is too late.

Agreed. Now, if only they'd leave their socialist infestations behind when/if they move.

 

[jbombelli]

Because those contracts BOEING has would just become the property of the workers?

 

[confused89]

I don't think that she knows what she is talking about. The workers can build other products like buses? If she only knew how much work it took to build a bus let alone the small details to keep them running 15 years after they have been made. I believe that she is a half a bubble off of plum.

 

[Manatee]

Hey. We survived that crazy Bachman woman. This one isn't any worse.

 

[cobber]

These people live in some utopian dream world that is impractical and incompatible with the real world where the rest of us live.

How would we distinguish this berk from the POTUS, in terms of utopian thinking? Seems to have become the mainstream with a segment of our population...

Corporations need to begin fleeing these states. Socialist ideas need to be punished severely before it is too late.

But we see where that went with Magpul...

 

[BogWalker]

All in favor of walling off Seattle before the infection spreads? After all, she was elected. That means the people there actually buy that crap!

 

[SeaCaptain49]

Things will only get more Chavista-like as we move into an economically disastrous second term of the most raging socialist president America has ever known. They are playing their hand now because they have already suppressed economic growth long enough to make their crazy ideas sound acceptable to those who are most desperate.

The truth is that they have NO IDEAS. Socialism isn't a new idea, it is a stale policy that leads to failure. Look at where Venezuela is now. They have 50% inflation, and just passed a law that set profit margins on imports because the demand is so high to get things like toilet paper that people were paying outrageous prices for them. They are in constant crisis mode, implementing hard-handed socialist policies every day to try and plug the holes on their sinking ship. Socialism only leads to more socialism and dictatorship, it never balances out the equation and allows for prosperity as promised.

Absolutely true. I'm astonished that far too many people don't understand this.

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

Boys and girls, this isn't anything new, or anything to be afraid of.
It comes and goes with tough times.
It'll die its own ignomious death.

 

[Cynical]

Boys and girls, this isn't anything new, or anything to be afraid of.
It comes and goes with tough times.
It'll die its own ignomious death.

True enough that its not new but its new to the U.S.A There are a whole lot of people that owe my kids an apology. Reagen had it right when he said "If we lose freedom here, there is no place left to go."

 

[Bummer]

Um....the machines are here? Does this ditz really think Boeing would leave THEIR machinery behind? CRAZY

The machines probably don't belong to Boeing.

Larger manufacturers spec and order the machines. The machines are actually owned by a bank or banks, then they are leased from the bank(s) by the manufacturer. It's all a tax shell game. If Boeing leaves the facility the machines will stay where they are with the bank(s) trying to sell or lease them to someone else. That may even include the building.

If the worker's cooperative can pull it off, they'll find that they're stuck with a different set of paper pushers at the top answering to the bankers, but without all the required sub-contracts that jake blue mentioned. It's a dandy fairy-tale, but making it work is a whole lot more complicated than "we're taking over".

 

[TaunTaun]

If the Indiana Republican Party wants to make a bold move, how about putting Mike Pence on a plane to Washington State right now with a Chamber of Commerce PointPoint presentation?

North Carolina tried this. Boeing was sued by the union employees and the national labor review board. The lawsuit was only dropped when they scrapped plans to build the planes outside of Washington...

 

[nate77]

that crazy Bachman woman.

You saw it on MSNBC, it must be true.

 

[zippy23]

we all know this, but democrat voters actually dont. They actually think the people they vote for are doing things for their best interests. Thats the real issue i have, you can show them proof that their ideology is wrong, proof that their candidates have screwed them, and it still wont matter, they are worse than religious fanatics. Religious people(minus muslims) believe in something and generally live very good peaceful lives. democrat voters are crazy fanatics that riot when they dont get their way. how can we fix this country? Texas needs to break away and abolish liberalism.

 

[octalman]

Don't for a minute think that Ms. Socialist actually cares one bit about workers or actual production of any product by democratic ownership. Her goal is to destroy the evil Boeing corporation and fat cat executives. When the executives are no longer in charge and the democratic ownership eventually falls into chaos, Ms. Socialist and her kind will come to the rescue. The workers will be hungry for leadership, and ripe for fleecing. Ms. Socialist will decide what products should be produced and determine job assignments for each worker. No need for high tech, sophisticated tools and machines to produce toilet seats Ms. Socialist preaches are so desperately needed for the sake of fairness to the Amalgamated Sewer Workers Democratic Union.

 

[IndyDave1776]

North Carolina tried this. Boeing was sued by the union employees and the national labor review board. The lawsuit was only dropped when they scrapped plans to build the planes outside of Washington...

I still don't understand how that ever got traction. What was illegal about the move? It smacked of gross misuse of government power to me. I have a feeling that if I had Boeing's money I would have been very tempted to employ, well, some creative Chicago-style solutions.

 

[TaunTaun]

I still don't understand how that ever got traction. What was illegal about the move? It smacked of gross misuse of government power to me. I have a feeling that if I had Boeing's money I would have been very tempted to employ, well, some creative Chicago-style solutions.

Union claimed that the move was retaliation against them by Boeing. Moving the work there would have been the start of moving the company out of Washington and the purging of union employees from the payroll. NLRB agreed and filed a lawsuit on behalf of the union.