Quote:
Originally Posted by StoOgE
Oklahoma pitching a major employer under a EZ up tent in the middle of a field is about as on-message as one could get.
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They may not have popped up an extravagant de-luxe model tent for him but I guarantee you it's a 100% better message than the one sent in Travis county by both some of the southeast residents who derided Musk as a "billionaire playboy" and by the commissioners' delay.
I get that they have to go through the precedural motions of listening to the citizens, but I really hope these commissioners know what they're doing in delaying their decision. This game they're playing could have a disastrous outcome for the people of southeast Austin and turn into political suicide if Tesla decides Austin is more trouble than it's worth. If they end up overplaying their hand, we should all pay more attention to who gets elected into these offices. This should be lesson in the idea that just because their party affiliation aligns with yours, it should not be enough.
At some point the commissioners need to filter out all the paid lobbyists with their self serving agendas and the labor unions who would rather see the people of east Austin miss out on an opportunity to help clothe and feed their families, than for the labor union themselves to miss out on an opportunity to collect more union dues. This is a chance to add thousands of jobs at no cost to the tax payers.
I also find it very interesting that we haven't heard a peep from the Austin city council members to endorse something that would create jobs for an area that they themselves claim suffers from economic inequity. Not only was Oklahoma's governor present but Tusla's mayor also came out to meet with Musk. Not even a peep from Austin's mayor, Delia Garza, or the king of inequity Greg Casar. Sometimes I wonder if they prefer their constituents to remain poor so that they can evoke the emotional campaign rally cry of inequity. Despite her constant complaint of inequity, Garza has done nothing in her tenure to bring jobs to her district. This is her chance to stand up and do so.