The Denver Post

Trump’s deal with Carrier

- Re: Mark Zaitz, M.A. Tkacik,

“Carrier says it has deal with Trump to keep jobs in Indiana,” Nov. 30 news brief.

President-elect Donald Trump’s first policy move should be acknowledg­ed and celebrated by all Democrats (like me). Standing in the way of Carrier moving jobs to Mexico is a positive, and an affirmatio­n that is opposite from “getting the government out of the way of business,” the battle cry of conservati­ve Republican­s. Whatever threats and deals were made is a first step toward preventing businesses from being excessivel­y beholden to stockholde­rs and maximum profit without any accountabi­lity to the American working class. If Trump uses the bully pulpit to shame more businesses and create more public/private partnershi­ps that keep jobs here, bravo.

BBB If I told you that President-elect Donald Trump pledged to force United Technologi­es to “pay a hefty tax,” only to then reward the company with a hefty tax cut while sending 1,300 jobs to another country, would you say that was someone willing to make America great again? Or someone passing off a favor as a deal?

Is the Carrier arrangemen­t a deal or no deal? United Technologi­es, the parent company of Carrier, will still get to lay off most of the targeted Indiana workers, nearly 1,300, and replace them with much cheaper labor in a foreign country. It also gets partial compensati­on from the state government, convenient­ly from the Indiana governor and vice president-elect, Mike Pence. Instead of worrying about a potential tariff, United Technologi­es can anticipate possibly a major reduction in the federal corporate tax rate.

How’s that for punishing corporatio­ns that threaten to shut down in the United States and move abroad?

 ??  ?? President-elect Donald Trump speaks to workers at Carrier, the air conditioni­ng and heating manufactur­er, last Thursday in Indianapol­is. Tasos Katopodis, Getty Images
President-elect Donald Trump speaks to workers at Carrier, the air conditioni­ng and heating manufactur­er, last Thursday in Indianapol­is. Tasos Katopodis, Getty Images

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