Foxconn pricetag keeps climbing

Three billion dollars is a lot of money. Especially when it comes out of our pockets. I assumed that $3 billion would be enough to get Foxconn up and running in Southeastern Wisconsin. That is how much lawmakers pledged in tax dollars to land Foxconn to the Badger state, the largest state subsidy ever provided to a foreign company. But already the pricetag is getting higher. Turns out the manufacturer of flat screens will also require $134 million in road improvements near the plant. And that money will be paid for with dollars allocated for road projects elsewhere in the state. So much for those potholes being filled anytime soon. That money is on top of the $252 million already bonded by the state for the expansion of the nearby interstate. The utility company servicing that part of the state says it will need to build a new substation to provide energy to the plant. And Governor Walker wants to spend another $7 million to attract workers to the plant. Meanwhile, Foxconn has missed the deadline for depositing the $60 million it was supposed to pony up to buy the land where the plant will be built. It is too early to say the project is unraveling, but it sure seems that $3 billion just doesn’t buy what it used to.