Wayne County exec pushes energy park on Asian trip From The Detroit News

[Richard]

Ficano says the county is "looking to fill the supply chain in the battery and advanced-energy industries." He wants to cluster high-tech battery makers and suppliers in western Wayne County.


He left Michigan Saturday and is traveling with Gov. Rick Snyder in Japan, South Korea and China.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110928/...#ixzz1ZlHaiNWQ

So what would be wrong in encouraging US companies and employees instead of flying overseas to sell jobs out ?

[Huggybear]

Ficano says the county is "looking to fill the supply chain in the battery and advanced-energy industries." He wants to cluster high-tech battery makers and suppliers in western Wayne County.


He left Michigan Saturday and is traveling with Gov. Rick Snyder in Japan, South Korea and China.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110928/...#ixzz1ZlHaiNWQ

So what would be wrong in encouraging US companies and employees instead of flying overseas to sell jobs out ?

You missed two points here.

One, there are no purely American companies capable of manufacturing Li-Ion batteries - every manufacturing operation in the States is a joint venture with an Asian company or is an Asian company. That, and all the lithium carbonate is controlled by the Chinese. The purpose of missions like this is to get foreign companies to open plants in the U.S. so that U.S. workers can work in them. Unless you really believe that right after the machines come here, containerloads of Asian workers will too.

Second, the bigger point is that Ficano is bypassing Detroit - already built up as industrial land, much of it already brownfields, and with plenty of space to spare - to put all of this development into greenfields using the Aerotropolis concept. Seriously. Jails for Detroit, high-tech for Belleville.

[Richard]

The Chinese already made it clear that they will be controlling and limiting rare earth materials which is why CFL light bulbs will be in the $15 per bulb range.

So instead of investing in local companies for research so this country becomes self sufficient we wish to remain under another countries thumb.

It clear with as in with the solar companies the Chinese come here suck up incentives to build the factory then sends the technology and research back home and keep the factory here for assembly only which translates to low pay non skilled jobs.

It also cuts out US investment because they circumvent the made in the US Gov military contracts.

So why would they spend millions to build a plant with higher labor costs and EPA regulations here when they can do it there at half the costs?

Do a little research on Chinese run plants in the US and see how happy the employees are.