IS IT TRUE? October 20, 2011 Just What is Job Creation
IS IT TRUE that it was announced yesterday that Berry Plastics will be closing down its facility in Madisonville, KY and that the 124 jobs in that plant will be either eliminated or transferred to other Berry locations?…that we are sure that the executive team at Berry Plastics has carefully considered what is best for their business model and that at the present time and based on future projections that this decision is right for Berry Plastics?…that about 20 jobs will be added at the former Rexam facility in Vanderburgh County that was acquired by Berry about 6 weeks ago?…that Madisonville, KY while not within the defined Evansville MSA is very much a part of the Evansville region of economic influence and that many of the dollars earned by those 124 people would have been destined for Evansville retail establishments, Evansville based entertainment, and Evansville health care facilities?…that the net employment in Vanderburgh County will soon be plus 20 yet the Evansville region will see a change of minus 104?…that Evansville’s small gain is at the expense of Madisonville’s large loss?
IS IT TRUE that if this restructuring would have occurred as a result of the closing of a facility that is more than 100 miles away that today we would be treated with smiling politicians and economic developers claiming to have created 20 jobs?…that if we are as a country all in this together that such celebrations should never take place and the disingenuous claims of “creating†jobs from conditions more conducive to economic cannibalism should be seen as just what it is, political posturing?…that a similar no gain situation occurs when a foot doctor from Newburgh moves his or her office to Evansville?…that unless that move results in additional business and hiring that the net change to the MSA is a great big zero?…that expansions from other places is fair game for celebration and that our gain is also a gain for the home office?…that we wonder just how many of the jobs that have ever been claimed as “created†were really just moved from one place to the other?…that we have been treated to this locally when the Ford Center is touted for jobs “created†when it really just moved those jobs from Roberts Stadium to the downtown?… that this is SNEGAL reporting and that even a kid can figure this one out?
IS IT TRUE that the Board of Zoning Committee that was scheduled to meet at 4 PM today will not be having a quorum?…that the possibility to pass something that will allow for a pole barn indoor tennis facility in Wesselman Park has just been punted until November 17, 2011?…that this is safely beyond election day so the threat of votes will not be able to be used by opponents of the indoor tennis facility this time around?…that we are still gathering information with regard to SNEGAL or even SNEILLEGAL shenanigans regarding the scheduling of meetings to discuss the requirements to even consider moving forward with the current proposal?
IS IT TRUE that the Bank of America is no longer the largest bank in America from an asset management perspective?…that all of the stunts that they have pulled including the recent $5 charge per month for debit cards is catching up to them?…that is what happens in the FREEMARKET where COMPETITION flourishes and consumers have a choice?…that we predict that the Bank of America will be backing off of the $5 per month fees soon?…that if the Bank of America had a monopoly that they would raise the fees to $10 and tell its fee payers to go pound salt?
I think if you dig a little more you’ll find that the Madisonville Berry plant was a satellite operation of Rexam plastics which Berry acquired this summer, I believe when the Madisonville plant was built by Rexam the theory was to spread it’s manufacturing around the area so capacity could be easily ramped up and down quickly. They also did own a plant in Flora Ill that could be next on the chopping block as Berry consolidates manufacturing and streamlines the operations.
An interesting side note to Rexam, it was originally Sunbeam plastics started by Ellis Carson, at one time I do believe most of the folks that started Berry also worked for Carson at Sunbeam and because of riffs left and formed Berry. It’s kind of ironic that a local company started by a local guy went from very small to being bought and owned by a international company only to be bought again by another local company bringing it back home. Carson was a very interesting character that loved Wolf’s BBQ and aviation, there was a ton of rivalry between Rexam and Berry over the years as the link below will show just one instance.
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/mar/23/plastics-firms-at-odds/
JMHO
Yes, I remember that dust up. I like the California laws better. Non-compete agreements are flatly illegal in California. There is no way period to be restricted from working for any company that is willing to hire you. That does not mean that you can just steal patent protected intellectual property, it just means that you are free to work where you can without fear of reprisal. If you steal drawings or trade secrets you are in just as much trouble as you are here. The rules here are oppressive to entrepreneurs and to product development. Imagine that there are two places in town that could use your talent and that you have a non-compete with one of them. You are then their slave unless you wish to move. Even here blanket non-competes have been struck down by the courts when they are restrictive to the point of being ridiculous. Ridiculous is a bank in Evansville having a blanket non-compete that it wishes to apply to banks that do not compete locally. Don’t laugh, such restrictions are pretty common.
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