Let’s call him Harry.
Not his real name, but Harry is a proud man and we’re not going to embarrass him with this story, though it’s not Harry who should be embarrassed but the rest of us.
Harry is the father of one of my best friends. Harry’s been working since age 12 or so when he helped out in his father’s drug store. He was drafted and served as a paratrooper in World War II. After the war he got married to Marie and they raised a family. All the kids, including my friend, became more successful than their parents were, which was their plan. And the grandkids are better off still.
A couple years ago Marie passed away and soon after that Harry had to sell their modest house and move into an assisted living place. He owned the house free and clear, but assisted living is expensive and after a short while the house proceeds were spent down and he had to apply for a government program that would keep him in his apartment.
That’s fine with me. Harry’s been paying taxes and Social Security all his life. Marie worked hard in the home raising kids — and, by extension, grandkids — who are also living productive lives and also paying their taxes. And, of course, he served his country directly at a time of great threat. So, whatever we end up paying to keep Harry in his home and in a dignified setting will wind up being only a fraction of what we owe him. We should be honored to do it.
But here’s the thing. In the jargon of WW II vets there’s a SNAFU. (I can’t spell that out in a family publication but you can look up what it means.) In order to get the government assistance he deserves he has to prove that he didn’t give a bunch of his money away to his kids in order to cheat the system.
And that’s where the problem comes in. You see, while his house was up for sale Harry’s son, my friend, paid his property taxes for him. No problem because when Harry sold the house a few months later he paid his son back.
Trouble is that the county workers verifying Harry’s eligibility came across the $4,000 check to his son. Now they need proof that my friend really did pay the property tax bill and that the reimbursement lines up to the penny.
Let me stop right here and make it clear that nobody should blame the county workers who are on the case. They’re just doing their jobs and no doubt there are a handful of unscrupulous people out there who might actually try to cheat the system in this kind of way.
But here’s where my blood boileth over. Foxconn.
The mammoth international corporate giant is getting a $3 billion dollar state taxpayer handout to build a flat screen manufacturing plant near Racine. In addition, they’ll get still more millions from local governments.
The big company was never asked to prove that they actually needed the money. In fact, they don’t claim that they do need it. Their argument is essentially that if they can’t get paid off here they’ll get some other state to pay them off there. The company didn’t so much as pay state taxpayers the respect of sending one of their executives to answer questions before a legislative committee.
The whole unseemly deal was rushed through the state Legislature and now the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation has been trying to ram it through their own board without so much as sharing the actual contract with members before they vote.
To his credit, one board member, Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee), demanded to see the actual language instead of an air-brushed staff summary. After weeks of stone-walling WEDC director Mark Hogan finally relented and said he would consent to cough up the actual contract, but only 48 hours before the final vote is scheduled.
So, folks, let us recap. Foxconn will get $2.85 billion in cash payments from you and me, yet the company and the state have tried to keep the details secret and Foxconn has never been asked to show that they even need the money in order to build the plant. Basically, it’s just extortion.
Harry, a WW II vet who worked and paid taxes all his life, is being subjected to the accounting equivalent of a rectal exam in order to get a fraction of what he’s contributed to the system just so he can live the rest of his life in something approaching dignity.
And one more thing. Assuming the contract is approved this week, the Foxconn deal will have gone from announcement to approval in about four months. It’s been six months for Harry, and he’s still waiting.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to correct the name of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.
