Foxconn and Wisconsin

“Before the Chinese manufacturing giant foxconn pledged to spend ten billion dollars and create thirteen thousand jobs in Wisconsin, the company made a similar promise in Brazil.

Six years later, Brazil is still waiting for most of those jobs to materialize.”

From the NYTimes. September 20. 2017.

Once upon a time up in Wisconsin people dwelt

Amidst the pinewood forests in a happiness heartfelt.

There was cheese and sausage in abundance -- polka too!

Ev’ryone was prosperous and paddled a canoe.

Then one day a coterie from far across the sea

Crept into the state for mischief making (wait and see!)

Like morning glories twined around an unresisting plant,

They squeezed the politicians with their optimistic chant:

“Your fair state does intrigue us; we would like to make a deal.

We’ll give you jobs and money and a tax base that’s unreal.

Just give us land and subsidies; keep unions far away,

Your Badger State will then enjoy an unbroken payday!”

The burgomeisters dithered -- could they get a guarantee

That this here foreign outfit would deliver faithfully?

“How can you doubt our motives?” they were asked in sad despair.

“Have we not brought this blessing to assorted lands so fair?”

“The Nizam of Hyperbole gave us a building site,

And now his people cry our name out all the day and night.

Down where the Brazil nuts grow we promised wealth untold,

And all the jolly people there now go out panning gold.”

Benching better judgement, all the leaders did concur

That they would trust a miracle to suddenly occur.

The gates were thrown wide open and the coterie began

Cutting trees and hauling rock (in charge of a kinsman.)

The countryside was ravished and the taxpayers were bled,

While the coterie built nothing but a dinky little shed.

And as for jobs created for Wisconsin hoi polloi,

They never even hired just one lousy office boy!

After many years and many dollars had gone by,

The politicians finally saw who was the big fall guy.

They demanded punishment for all those bright pipe dreams

That caused all of their people to rely upon moonbeams.

By then that coterie of fiends had fled back overseas

With nothing left behind besides a pair of broken skis.

There wasn’t anyone to blame  for all this shocking madness --

Except themselves, the politicians knew with growing sadness.

Up there in Wisconsin people still fry up fresh smelt.

But in their heart of hearts all of their hopes already melt.

Whenever someone promises to increase their income,

They slap on lots of tar and fluff and then yell: “Kill the bum!”