V&M Star's Letter to the Editor

[Rick Rowlands]

Did any of you read the letter to the editor in last Sunday's Vindicator from Roger Lindgren, former president of V&M Star Steel?

He writes, "It is obvious that the plant is being built to serve a market opportunity, to improve the company's competitive advantage and is not in response to a government incentive".  That sentence confirms something that I have believed ever since this all started, and that is the fact that V&M knew all along they were going to build here but delayed making the announcement so they could milk the Mahoning Valley of all the freebies that they could grab.  Had Jay Williams, Tim Ryan et al. not lifted a finger to help V&M would STILL have built its plant here!  So now we have over $20 million of government dollars, our tax money, just dumped into a black hole to help a private concern, and it backfires big time!   It is obvious that the word "jobs" is like crack cocaine to politicians, and the more crack (jobs) you offer them the more outrageous they get at finding ways to give them money they stole from us!