As near as I can figure from a recent story in the newspaper, our government representatives, state and local, are scrambling to find money to give to Menards because of a distribution center they are thinking about building on the city’s North Side. It looks like they have come up with about a half-million ($500,000.00) so far, and it appears the County Council will soon decide whether to sweeten the deal with another $75,000.00 of our public money.
It isn’t clear if Menards has even asked, or demanded the money as a condition for their project. Whether or not, it is unlikely Menards would turn it down.
Menards is a closely held, family corporation with annual revenues of around eight billion dollars ($8,000,000,000.00) according to reports I have read. It appears that most, if not all the company stock is held by members of the Menard family. John Menard seems to be the principal stockholder. Being a private corporation, financial information about the company is hard to come by.
Forbes lists John Menard as one of the world’s wealthiest people, with a net worth upwards of five billion dollars ($5,000,000,000.00). That makes him #196 on the list of the world’s billionaires, one of the 1 percent who owns most all of the world’s wealth. It’s a great club that the rich have, but you and I aren’t in it. Are we?
The distribution facility reportedly will provide 80 jobs at $11.57 per hour. Assuming those jobs were full-time, 40-hour per week positions, that would yield an annual wage of about $24,000. Our local economic development guru cheerfully reports that this is about what distribution center jobs pay. That is about two grand more than the 2009 U.S. poverty level for a family of four.
Menards has a checkered past, according to reports. Their employee policies are shocking, and enforced with an iron hand. Conflicts between executives and employees are dealt with by docking pay, demotions, or banishment to another city. Employees often quit because the sanctions imposed are so severe and unaffordable. That doesn’t sound any more employee-friendly than the poverty wages. Of course, these are hard times, and no doubt our embattled working class would eagerly snap up these jobs.
On the environmental front, it is reported that Menards has paid several million dollars in fines for violations. Those include unlicensed transportation and disposal of ash containing cancer causing hazardous substances such as arsenic and chromium. It appears that part of that included John Menard himself taking the stuff home in his personal pickup truck and disposing of it in his household trash.
In 2003, the Minnesota attorney general charged that Menards manufactured and sold arsenic-tainted mulch in packaging labeled “ideal for playgrounds and for animal bedding.” Warning labels from the CCA-treated wood were found in the mulch.
In 2005, Menards agreed to a $2 million fine after Wisconsin DNR officials found a floor drain in a company shop that they believed was used to dump paint, solvents, oil and other waste into a lagoon that fed into a tributary of the Chippewa River. The sanction broke the previous record fine of $1.7 million set by Menard in 1997.
And there is more. A lot more. Maybe you should look it up yourself. But, Menards may have changed its ways. Do you think?
All this makes me wonder why those who supposedly work for us are searching so eagerly to find money to give to Menards. It’s not like they need it. I suspect that the already-rich Menard family could find a half-million or so just by looking under their sofa cushions.
Well, if history is any indication, there is scarcely a doubt that their government will come up with our money to give to these folks. I can’t think of a case where “officials” haven’t broken their necks to give Big Business millions upon millions in gifts and tax breaks. It seems like it happens every day. And if business doesn’t keep its part of the agreement, it seems there are no consequences. After all, “claw-backs” (as those consequences are called) aren’t “business friendly.” We can’t have that, can we?
No wonder people around the country are getting upset about corporate ownership of the people’s government.
Where did it all begin? When will it end? Or will it?
— John C. Kite
Terre Haute
Flashpoint
FLASHPOINT: Corporate welfare for Menards?
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FLASHPOINT: Legislative session reflected Hoosier priorities
The 2013 session of the Indiana General Assembly came to an end just a few weeks ago with the final passage of our state’s next two-year budget.
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FLASHPOINT: A legislative session of missed opportunities
Given the nature of politicians, grand claims of accomplishments and overblown rhetoric about “historic” efforts are to be expected at the close of any legislative session.
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FLASHPOINT: Again in 2013 General Assembly, middle class generally ignored
Last year, the people of Indiana entrusted the Republican Party with some of their most precious possessions.
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FLASHPOINT: Indiana lawmakers reinforced school safety mechanisms
Nothing is more important to me than the safety of my children. Every parent has felt that instant, apprehensive rush when their child plays too close to the street or falls down while playing soccer and it is our responsibility as parents to implement every safety mechanism we can muster to protect our kids.
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FLASHPOINT: Lessons from the legacy media — get it right, first
Enough mistakes and maybe we’ll learn: When in doubt, leave it out.
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FLASHPOINT: Hoosiers got steady hand in recent session
As the General Assembly began its work last November, as Speaker of the House, I pledged a renewed spirit of bipartisanship with legislators working together to solve our state’s most pressing challenges. As this year’s legislative session concludes, representatives from throughout the state — Republican and Democrat — have joined together to address those issues at the forefront of Hoosier minds: maintaining our state’s fiscal integrity, spurring job creation and expanding education opportunities for every Hoosier family.
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FLASHPOINT: Time has arrived for overhaul of TV news
Former FCC Chairman Alfred Sikes gave an address in 1992 in which he claimed television news was too superficial and too focused on visuals.
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FLASHPOINT: Fiscal cliff, Obamacare have already raised taxes enough
Our history is rich with stories of people who have immigrated to the United States for a chance at the American Dream. The American Dream, in its truest form, is the opportunity to achieve success by working hard and playing by the rules; to make it on your own and to say, “I earned this.”
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FLASHPOINT: Expanding Medicaid coverage makes sense for Indiana
Since last summer’s U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act effectively gave states the option to expand Medicaid, policymakers across the country have debated if and how to extend health programs to millions of uninsured Americans.
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FLASHPOINT: Improve public education, stop experimenting with it
In January, the four of us who serve as the Democrats on the House Education Committee outlined our hopes for the 2013 session of the Indiana General Assembly, particularly in joining with Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz to offer common sense solutions to improve the quality of education for our children. With the halfway point of this session past us, we remain optimistic that positive steps can be taken … but that optimism is tempered by the reality that education policies are being directed by a legislative majority that has a radically different agenda.
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Healthcare law anniversary no reason for celebration
March 23 marked three years since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law, yet this is not an anniversary that deserves celebration.
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FLASHPOINT: Defending state’s authority is attorney general’s obligation
The law of the land recognizes the authority of states to license marriage.
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FLASHPOINT: Stability key for state’s future
Hoosiers have the unique luxury of being the fiscal envy of the nation due to the sound fiscal policies of the last eight years.
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FLASHPOINT: House budget offers Medicaid solution for Indiana
This week, my U.S. House Budget Committee colleagues and I introduced a federal budget resolution for fiscal year 2014. Our budget is a responsible plan that stops spending money and balances in 10 years — largely through making key reforms to drivers of our debt like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
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FLASHPOINT: Problem gambling in Indiana: A new understanding of community concern
The week of March 3 was designated as National Problem Gambling Awareness Week.
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FLASHPOINT: Eastern time in Indiana defies common sense
Nobody complains more than Hoosiers about changing their clocks. And there’s a valid reason — daylight-savings time in Indiana’s Eastern Time Zone is painful.
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Praying for civil resolution to debate over gun control
Guns are lively ammunition for passionate debate these days.
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FLASHPOINT: It’s not too late to expand health services
This week, state leaders euthanized the biggest, boldest Hoosier jobs proposal of the 2013 session of the Indiana General Assembly.
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FLASHPOINT: You can’t go back again — and that’s OK
Our progressive colleagues have been telling us for years that the 1950s were a horrid time.
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FLASHPOINT: The fierce urgency of now — nation needs to protect youth
The alcohol-fueled alleged serial rape of a 16-year-old Ohio girl by two of her similarly impaired classmates — not to mention the drunken videotaped commentary of others — points yet again to the imperative that adult America renews its commitment to address as a true national community those issues that most threaten the health, safety and forward development of youth.
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FLASHPOINT: A pastor speaks out against Sullivan’s ‘traditional prom’
I am a pastor in Sullivan, Ind., and I am outraged.
Recently, two young students applied to walk the Grand March together in the school prom in Sullivan. -
FLASHPOINT: 0wning firearms is a First Amendment exercise, too
Following the hysteria generated by gun prohibitionists in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy, a nationwide rush on gun stores began as citizens bought semiautomatic modern sporting rifles, handguns and ammunition, in effect “making a political statement” about proposals to ban such firearms.
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FLASHPOINT: Maintaining the priority
Recently a newspaper article has been written about a change in the by-laws of the Indiana High School Athletic Association which speaks directly to attempted undue influence exerted upon students below the level of grade nine and their parents.
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FLASHPOINT: The fairness of marriage
What is the current Indiana law concerning marriage? Our state defines marriage in a singular way — between a man and a woman.
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FLASHPOINT: We ask state legislators to abide by their oath of office
All of us relish giving unsolicited advice to our elected representatives.
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FLASHPOINT: Mentoring is having major impact on public education
While managing local utility services, Mike Martin found a new way to energize his community, and students are starting to benefit.
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FLASHPOINT: Common Core standards should be common sense
Years ago, when state officials and education experts came together to create new model standards for schools, they probably never expected it to be controversial.
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FLASHPOINT: Milestone year for Rose-Hulman
The Rose-Hulman campus traditionally quiets down this time of year, yet for me I sense a renewed energy from the phenomenal year just closing.
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FLASHPOINT: ISU’s reasoning flawed in flight school planning
ISU and the taxpayers of Indiana and Vigo County are being led down a path of deception once again.
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FLASHPOINT: Incessant attacks on Christianity by the ACLU
It is obviously apparent that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is continuing its onslaught against religious freedom in the United States.
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FLASHPOINT: Legislative session reflected Hoosier priorities
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