This is not how capitalism is supposed to work
Filed under Meddling By Government. In this case, distorting of the marketplace (though that doesn't seem to matter much any more - much to the demise of us all later on). In my local paper, The Citizen, was this story. Can you spot the sentences that caused my head to shake?
Plant's revival boosts town's spirits
Hopes are running high that the creation of a wood pellet manufacturing plant in town will help give this community of 4,600 people an economic shot in the arm.
The site of the former Timco Lumber Company, once the largest employer in Barnstead and one of the largest lumber companies in the Northeast, is being transformed into a wood pellet manufacturing company that will be a producer and supplier of wood pellets for private households and commercial businesses.
Lakes Region Pellets, located on Depot Street in Barnstead, plans to start making pellets as early as next week. Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer Gregory True sees the light at the end of the tunnel and believes that this is one of the steps in boosting the local economy.
"What we're trying to do, essentially, is to figure out Obama's stimulus plan," True said. "Those stimulus dollars are there somewhere; we just need to find out where."
Timco once employed more than 130 direct employees who were all laid off in 2003 when the business went bankrupt, leaving the property like a ghost town for the past six years.
True said he has hired 20 employees since operations began in April in an effort to start the first phase of production. Once the pellet company is in full operation, there could be 30 to 35 jobs created directly, which could produce up to 10 tons of product per hour. Another 100 jobs will be created indirectly by outside loggers, truckers and other contractors.
True is certain that the pellet company will grow to its full potential.
"It's not a matter if," True said. "It's when we get it done because it will get there."
On site there is a five-megawatt generator that True plans to operate, which will create an additional 20 jobs directly with 100 jobs created indirectly from outside lumber services.
Down the road, True said the opportunities on the property are endless, suggesting that there could be symbiotic relationships that could eliminate waste and at the same time keep a company in business. If a fish farm were to be built on the property, the carbon released from the generator could be used to grow algae, which could be used to feed the fish.
"Unemployment is high right now," Selectman Gordon Preston said. "We're looking for any federal grants to get this place up and running as soon as possible"
Preston said the town has been in contact with the United States Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. He said he is trying to find out what parameters Lakes Region Pellet needs to meet in order to become a "designated energy facility."
Preston said he should hear back in the next two weeks about what exactly is needed to qualify the site as one of these facilities.
"Obama put money aside and told the USDA that he wants money going into energy," Preston said.
According to Preston, if Lakes Region Pellets becomes a "designated energy facility" it could become a catalyst for more jobs in the logging industry. The pellet company currently is paying $20 per ton for logs.
If it can meet certain parameters to be a designated energy facility, those loggers would be matched $20 per ton by the government for providing for a designated facility.
OK, so I made it easy, but here's the bottom line: did you see any reliance on "the marketplace"? I saw a lot of reliance on Government, but not a lot on "meeting customer demand" - you know, that old fashioned way of doing business as companies tried to compete with each other for customers in the open marketplace. Sadly, this is not the only example of capitalistic dependency upon government. In this case, it seems, the founder is not looking to the marketplace in which to succeed; rather, he is concentrating in (bluntly put) seeking out the teat of government to use government regulation, classification, and money for his success.
Not independence in the marketplace, but dependence on government.
Back in the '80s, solar energy was all the rage - I bought a solar hot water heater and 4 solar space heater thermosiphoning air panels. All worked great the first couple of years - my electric bill (I foolishly bought an electric heat house) plummeted downward.
Then, the laws changed, the tax credits that had the manufacturers dangled in front of customers vanished - and so did the customers who realized the true cost of what was being peddled. When it became THEIR money entirely (instead of artificially supported by Government) that had to be laid out, the wallets closed down. And so did the companies.
As the mini-computer industry was starting its death throes, I moved from the Rte 495 / 128 area in MA to NH. I heard shortly afterward that the new owner (who had loved the solar equipment and who had bought the house because of it) had to rip out the solar heater - no company could repair it.
Dependence on Government - so ask yourself and tell me, WHY does Obama want us all so dependent on his Government so fast?
Independence = Freedom
Dependence = Slavery
