Friday, January 30, 2004
"BENEDICT ARNOLD COMPANIES": I heard part of a John Kerry South Carolina stump speech yesterday. Kerry decried the loss of manufacturing jobs in the U.S. and declared his intention to get tough on the "Benedict Arnold companies" who move operations overseas. One wonders whether he has spoken to his wife about this particular line. After all, she inherited some $500 million from Heinz ketchup, a firm that boasts that "Heinz is the most global U.S.-based food company, with a world-class portfolio of powerful brands holding number-one and number-two market positions in more than 50 countries." Heinz has factories in Europe (Britain, Ireland, France, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Italy, Poland, Russia, Germany and the Netherlands), Africa (Botswana and Zimbabwe), and Asia (China, Japan, Korea, India, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand).
If Kerry were serious about this rhetoric, he should call for firms close to heart and home to take the lead by abandoning their overseas factories (especially ones in Africa and Asia that are highly unlikely to adhere to American labor, safety, and environmental standards) and coming back home. Don't hold your breath.
If Kerry were serious about this rhetoric, he should call for firms close to heart and home to take the lead by abandoning their overseas factories (especially ones in Africa and Asia that are highly unlikely to adhere to American labor, safety, and environmental standards) and coming back home. Don't hold your breath.
