Jim Hightower

James Cash Penney -- yes, the founder of J.C. Penney's -- believed in doing unto employees as you would have them do unto you. "Golden Rule principles, "he said, are just as necessary for operating a business profitably as are trucks, typewriters, or twine." Well, in today's multinational corporate world, Mr. Penney's principles have been tossed out the window . . . along with thousands of American workers. The only Golden Rule these guys are following is the one that says. "Those with the Gold . . . Rule." Ask folks in Tennessee. Jim Hightower . . . right back with their story.
[Commercial]
Jim Hightower talking about a boot company that's booting American workers and taxpayers right in the tail bone.

For half-a-century Acme Boot was a solid family-firm based in Clarksville, Tennessee. But in 1985, in an attack of VooDoo Economics, a corporate-takeover specialist named William Farley teamed up with Junk- Bond King Michael Milkin to take-over Acme Boot Company. Since then, the VooDoo been hitting the fan.

To pay for his buyout, Farley raided Acme's $10 million cash reserves, mortgaged its main plant, closed two other Acme plants, tossed out 700 workers, and cut wages. Last December, workers learned Farley was opening a new Acme plant . . . in Puerto Rico. Acme started hiring 200 Puerto Rican workers, and fired 200 Clarksville workers.

Now follow the bouncing ball there, because this is the tricky part: you and I are subsidizing this runaway plant through federal tax-breaks and job-training funds. This makes less sense than a Rooster wearing overalls, but there it is.

Our government lets Acme bring all its profits from Puerto Rico back to the US . . . and not pay A DIME in taxes on them. We also subsidize each Puerto Rican worker that companies like Acme hire. The subsidy averages $27,000 per worker, per year -- which is about twice what the companies actually pay the workers.

Federal law even allows Acme to import boot parts from India and Brazil, assemble them in Puerto Rico . . . and sell them here with a "Made in the USA" label.

This is Jim Hightower saying to Bill Clinton . . . STOP THIS! GIVE THE BOOT TO THESE SUBSIDIES!