Connecticut taxpayers robbed by their elected officials and the Lockheed Martin Corporation
The politicians and industry officials were beaming. The media was singing their praises. The Connecticut General Assembly had just voted to give Lockheed Martin $220 million in public funds.
The question was not whether Lockheed Martin was going to get paid for producing a new line of helicopters. The question was whether, in addition to payment and excessive profits, a state government would pay the Lockheed Martin Corporation even more money in return for a promise that the company would produce those machines in their state.
And Lockheed Martin found a willing partner in the form of Governor Dannel Malloy and the members of the Connecticut General Assembly.
Yesterday, Connecticut’s elected officials voted – almost unanimously – to give Lockheed Martin $220 million in corporate welfare. Counting principal and interest, the cost to Connecticut taxpayers will exceed a quarter of a billion dollars over the next twenty years.
In return, Lockhead Martin, a $50 Billion a year company, has promised to keep Sikorsky’s headquarters in Connecticut for at least a decade, add up to 550 new jobs at the Sikorsky plant and build some new helicopters here in the state.
The underlying threat was that If Connecticut’s taxpayers didn’t cough up the blood moneyConnecticut taxpayers robbed by their elected officials and the Lockheed Martin Corporation - Wait What?: