The Feds Bailout of Bell's Brewery

[James Lefler]

Here's a copy of a Letter to the Editor I sent to the Gazette.  They emailed me back that it has been accepted for publication:

 

Dear Letter to the Editor,

 

I read with interest your article on “Stimulus bonds may help Bell’s Brewery expand”.  It challenged my principles of less spending and smaller Government when faced with what appears on the face to be a ‘good’ thing for Kalamazoo County.  After reflection, I decided this use of stimulus money, and any stimulus program in general, is not good for our economy.

First, $12 million dollars for 36 jobs over 5 years is not an efficient use of our tax dollars.  Let’s do the math – say an average of 18 jobs per year over the next 5 years (starting with zero now, and 36 five years from now).  $12 million divided by 36 equals $66,666.00 per job.  That’s if all 36 jobs are realized; a recent State audit of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation found that only 28% of proposed jobs actually were generated in this State¹. This appears to be a quite large welfare check, transferring tax payer dollars to employees. How about letting the tax payers keep this money and invest it personally and privately with Bell’s, without the inefficiency of the current bureaucratic system?

Secondly, there is no money.  The Federal Government currently borrows $.42 for every dollar spent ² and this would be no exception.  Again, the calculator; $12 million times .42 equals roughly $5 million dollars.  Current tax payers would dole out $7 million, and we put our kids and grandkids on the hook for the remaining $5 million as we must go to our ‘global partners’ with our hat in our hand for that loan.  This type of borrowing and spending is unsustainable.

Thirdly, the Government never gives anything to anybody it doesn’t take from someone else.  We must wean ourselves off of our over-reliance on Government to redistribute the wealth of the people and stop the Government from picking winners and losers, as this so-called stimulus bond package envisions, even if it means locally.    Somewhere, some other company cannot expand because the Government took $12 million away; somewhere another company can’t get started because the Government sucked the $5 million in capital it was trying to obtain out of the lending market.  Good honest competition, with absolute minimal Government interference, is what produced the greatest economy in the world, not any Government law or mandate, and this type of free market interference by any Government is the heavy weight holding this economy back.

1.      http://www.mackinac.org/13496

2.      http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703976804575114151637806636.html

 

James Lefler, Mattawan

[e-mail]

269.806.9026

 

Mr. Lefler is a current resident of Texas Township, and is a Republican Precinct Delegate for the 2^nd Precinct in Texas Township, and is a Board member of the Southwest Michigan Tea Party Patriots.

 

[Scott Arnett]

Well done Jim!