Bernie Sanders takes it apart in a WaPo editorial. It’s the kind of deal that David Cay Johnston has been decrying for years because it’s extortion and costs taxpayers. And by the way, Gov. Mike Pence (Unpopular – Indiana) could have swung this deal months ago without Donald Trump’s input, in fact he offered the deal and it was turned down.

Fact remains it’s a bad deal.  Lying Crooked Trump said it was a bad deal while campaigning:

“Over the years, I’ve watched, for years, for 10 years, for 12 years, for 15 years, beyond Obama, and I’ve watched as politicians talked about stopping companies from leaving our states,” Trump said. “Remember, they’d give the low-interest loans. Here’s a low-interest loan if you stay in Pennsylvania. Here’s a zero-interest loan. You don’t have to pay. Here’s a this. Here’s a tax abatement of any kind you want. We’ll help your employees. It doesn’t work, folks. That’s not what they need. They have money. They want to go out, they want to move to another country, and because our politicians are so dumb, they want to sell their product to us and not have any retribution, not have any consequence. So all of that’s over.”

Just a short few months ago, Trump was pledging to force United Technologies to “pay a damn tax.” He was insisting on very steep tariffs for companies like Carrier that left the United States and wanted to sell their foreign-made products back in the United States. Instead of a damn tax, the company will be rewarded with a damn tax cut. Wow! How’s that for standing up to corporate greed? How’s that for punishing corporations that shut down in the United States and move abroad?

Republicans will cheer this like a victory, as they cheer every Trump fart now, hoping it all works out for them, but as usual they are massive hypocrites.  They were the people, just a few years ago as I recall, who cried that government shouldn’t be picking winners and losers by handing out loans.  Remember Solyndra?  It was the poster company for what the evil Obama administration shouldn’t ever do.  But it’s okay if you’re a Republican (“IOKIYAR”).

The push to move the company and jobs came from the hedge funds that own the bulk of the stock of the parent company United Technologies.  Carrier was as profitable as it could be in Indiana, they were pushing for this move for years to improve the bottom line.  So yeah, there are government contracts that could be held over the company’s head for a bit. But when all this dies down the hedge funds get their way and Donald Trump and his billionaire minions in his cabinet will look the other way when the jobs they “saved” do go because greed demands it.