Received this in the mail yesterday, about Nippon Steel taking over US Steel. Note the line at the bottom “Tell your elected officials to support the Nippon Steel and U S Steel partnership”.
I’m sure the US Steel honchos want the deal to go through. They undoubtedly have a “change of control” clause in their contracts with the company, that will have them walking away with tens of millions in their pockets.
At least Nippon is probably intending to make steel.
If a USian PE group took over, their priority would be to suck the company dry, then dump it into bankruptcy, to rob all the other stakeholders. Then, in bankruptcy, the company could dump it’s defined benefit pension obligations on the PBGC, break the union, and unilaterally impose wage and benefit cuts. Then the PE group could buy the company out of bankruptcy, proclaim the company now “competitive”, having robbed the workers blind, and borrow Billions. Then suck those Billions out of the company, and dump it into bankruptcy again. As others have said, in many countries, what USian PE groups do is fraud, but, in the US, it’s shiny.
That mailing was motivated by fears of xenophobia, in that Nippon Steel feels the need to ask people to press their politicians to not oppose the deal. We old phartz remember the squawking, in the 80s, when Japanese companies bought several high profile US properties. The xenophobia is much more vicious than it was 40 years ago. Recently, Ford has been pressured by politicians to back away from an EV battery plant in Michigan, because the plant is a JV between Ford and a Chinese company. A few years ago, there was much huffing and puffing in the US because a European company, which ran operations in several US ports, was being taken over by a company in a Muslim country, Dubai Ports. Then there are laws in places like Florida, that prohibit Chinese citizens buying real estate. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that a push by a US PE group that wants to loot US Steel, will be dressed up as xenophobia, when the motive is actually greed.
The entire thing is a pyramid. The US wants to top it. Any other country would like to top it.
There is simple game play such as sharing out the industrial base with Mexico as is happening. And sharing it out with Japan and the UK as we all turn to demand side economics.
Note in the shuffling of ideologies the EU is going to supply-side economics. That sucks for them but it is their turn. There are forces in capitalism causing this.
The conflation though is elsewhere. In that game theory we have a political choice about dictatorships. We are not obligated to support China in any form. Quite the opposite. The Muslim nations do not honor free elections or civil rights. In particular freedom of religion is $crewed with. But all of their actions in governance are crappy. We are not obligated to promote their respective governments.
You seemingly are assuming prejudice when these are policy decisions. The policies are not directed at individuals because of their religion or nationality.
Immigration is an issue. The Brain Drain of top people coming to the US is damaging to the countries people leave for education, jobs, and freedom. Those left behind face poverty and authoritarian regimes. The innocent and weak are abused and killed.
Here in the US innocent workers compete with illegals for jobs. The employers take advantage of both groups. The buyers take advantage of the employers. The taxes are relatively higher on those who pay them because everyone else is not paying their taxes above board on labor.
That does not have to be prejudice. I do not say it with malice towards anyone.
Denying these issues does not work either.
Can we deny a lack of freedom?
Capitalists will buy the rope for their own hanging. We do not have to do that.
