About a year ago, Bush traveled to Canton, Ohio (20 electoral votes), to rally support for his third tax-cuts-for-the-wealthy proposal in three years. Specifically, he visited a manufacturing plant owned by Timken Company to highlight the kind of benefits Americans will enjoy if only Congress would heed his call for more tax cuts.
As we all know, a month later Congress passed the cuts and Bush got exactly what he wanted. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as well for Timkin.
Five months after Bush’s photo-op in Canton, Timkin announced that its earnings were down and it would have to cut 900 jobs.
Adding insult to injury, as Hesiod noticed yesterday, the same company Bush held out as a model for the success of his administration’s economic program is falling on even harder times. Timkin has closed its plant and laid off 1,300 workers.
Timken is slashing a quarter of its employees in Canton, and as workers facing layoffs consider their future, the ripple effect is already beginning.
“How can I afford to get married, afford a house payment, maybe kids, if I don’t have a job?” said Timken employee Shawn Higgins.
Timken is Canton’s biggest employer, and it is reported that 1,300 jobs are to be cut. Former Mayor Richard Watkins, who led the city for 12 years, knows how enormous the impact of such a downsizing can be.
“It isn’t just about Timken,” said Watkins. “Other jobs are affected. If (people) can’t spend money, the smaller entrepreneur won’t be able to stay in business.”
Ironically, it was a little more than a year ago when President George W. Bush visited Timken’s world headquarters heralding his tax cut and job creation plan. Now this very company’s job cuts will be a major blow to the economy in Canton.
Unfortunately, this seems to be part of a trend.
For some reason, Bush photo-ops seem to act as a good luck charm — in reverse. On several occasions, the president has visited a small business or government agency, only to have bad things happen to them shortly thereafter.
* In January 2002, for example, Bush visited a job-training program in Oregon called Youth Opportunities in Northeast Portland, which helps low-income teens earn high-school degrees and find steady employment. While visiting the program, Bush praised its success and said it deserved support. Three weeks later, Bush cut its federal funding.
* In May 2003, Bush went to Nebraska to tout his plan to create jobs through tax cuts. Unfortunately, the White House chose the Airlite Plastics Company in Omaha to serve as Bush’s backdrop. Because the factory had to shut down for Bush’s speech, the company announced a few days before the event that over 300 factory workers would lose all or part of a day’s pay as a result of Bush’s trip.
* In April 2001, Bush visited a Boys and Girls Club in Wilmington, Del. Though the president praised its fine work, and said he’d like to see similar programs opened statewide, Bush’s budget eliminated funding for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
* In March 2001, Bush visited Egleston Children’s Hospital in Atlanta and talked about his budget plan. “My job as the president is to submit a budget to the Congress and to set priorities, and one of the priorities that we’ve talked about is making sure the healthcare systems are funded,” Bush said. He added, “The point I want to make in this haven of love, a place of deep concern about children’s health, is that we can fund priorities.” Bush then proceeded to cut the hospital’s federal funding.
Let this be a lesson to all of us. If your office ever gets a call from from the White House Office of Public Liaison saying the president would like to stop by for a visit, hang up.