Dear Editor;
If you are looking for reliable information in Letters to the Editor, then caveat emptor, buyer beware. It would be a full time job to correct all the "mistakes" and a lifetime endeavor to follow all the rabbit trails the writers throw up to obfuscate their errors in fact. For instance, in response to the claim that Toyota left California for Texas because they wanted a more favorable business climate, one writer's "rebuttal" spends a lot of time talking about Fox News and "tin foil hat kooks." Obviously he's unaware of the maxim that you only resort to name calling when you've lost the argument and have nothing else to offer.
What he finally did get around to is that Toyota will realize "massive cost savings" by "consolidation" in Texas. These same savings from consolidation would also be realized if they had moved everything to California wouldn't they? They didn't choose California; they chose Texas. Why? Maybe it's because California charges high taxes, imposes significant regulations, makes it hard to start a new business and has billions of dollars in debt for pensions owed to retired public employees. Texas has more limited regulations, charges NO state income tax, reduces barriers to entry and creates a more dynamic business climate. The business climate in Texas is usually rated in the top 5 while California is usually in the bottom 10 (and dead last in some!). Texas has four times the job growth of California over the last 20 years and unemployment is 50% less than California's. Put all that in your "tin foil hat kook" pipe and smoke it!
Another writer on the same subject claimed that Tesla was building a $5 billion plant in Lathrop, California and would employ 6,500 people which more than make up for the loss of Toyota employees. That couldn't be more wrong. Tesla does plan to build a "gigafactory" but Tesla CEO Elon Musk says it is "improbable" that it will be built anywhere in California. Please review the previous paragraph if you are still wondering why. To be sure, Tesla has begun modifying an empty plant in Lathrop that will be involved in manufacturing parts. Initial plans call for them to employ 125 people and their website currently shows 17 job openings. All the other "pie in the sky" conclusions that the writer makes are economic sophistry and purely delusional.
Don't expect them to admit to these mistakes as they have never admitted to any of their other errors. Do expect them to change the subject, challenge on matters irrelevant to the discussion at hand, and continue to support a Big Government agenda at the expense of the Constitution and individual liberty. I expect they will continue to call people names, misstate opposing positions, and knock down straw men that they have concocted. If I err in fact, I expect to be called on it. If you want to crawl around in the inner workings of my psyche, my heart, and my motivations, don't bother.
Take everything you read with a grain of salt and do your own research. As Reagan was fond of saying "trust but verify."
Sincerely,
Bill Garvin
