A story told in tweets.
In 2017, Congressional Republicans passed and President Trump signed what the Washington Post described as “the most significant overhaul of the U.S. tax code in 30 years.”
When I was chair of @HouseBudgetGOP, we began to change the debate with the Roadmap for America’s Future. Now, all these years later, those early ideas of tax reform have become law and hundreds of millions of Americans are better for it. pic.twitter.com/a099Dl8IL5
— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) November 30, 2018
Less than a year later, a flagship American corporation, General Motors — proud recipent of approximately $50 billion in federal assistance after the Great Recession — took its reduced corporate tax rate and announced plant closures in Ohio, Michigan and Maryland. Lots of layoffs. If only we had seen it coming!
This tax expert warned Congress that the GOP tax bill could lead to outsourcing. GM just announced more than 14,000 U.S. layoffs pic.twitter.com/eNJzy8fVj2
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) November 28, 2018
Oh man! Maybe the president should have read that tax bill he signed a little more closely.
Anyway: After GM caught a ton of heat for its downsizing plans it deigned to offer laid-off workers the opportunity to move into other positions at factories elsewhere.
I understand how GM’s recent news is affecting our colleagues, families and communities. Our focus remains on helping employees…
— Mary Barra (@mtbarra) December 14, 2018
But the United Autoworkers, which represents workers in GM factories, is claiming the company is instead filling those positions with temps. That's a savvy business move by GM; you don’t have to extend to temps benefits like health insurance.
So what’s the buzz about GM today? Crunching the numbers to see if domestic manufacturing jobs can be saved? A close scrutiny of whether shareholder-servicing isn't the best way to run a company? Nope, the buzz is this:
Should General Motors scrap its name? Morgan Stanley says maybe https://t.co/pxTz5iZmp4
— Bloomberg (@business) January 8, 2019
Yes, that's right: “General Motors Co. management may want to contemplate a name change to get investors thinking differently about the more than century-old company that’s trying to transform itself,” reads the opening paragraph in a Bloomberg story.
Talk about misaligned priorities. The layoffs will take effect in March.