BlueOval bad for Marshall and Michigan

The opinion piece written by James Durian, CEO of the Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance, is the view of a non-resident employee doing a job that, if he succeeds at, will lead to bigger and better opportunities for himself long after he walks away from the disaster he helped create here in Marshall with the BlueOval EV battery plant.
Let’s look at the facts.

1. Durian claims this plant will create “high-quality, good paying jobs for thousands”. The number of jobs to be expected was recently stated at a Marshall Township meeting to be approximately 2,500. The majority of these positions will be line workers and Ford pays approximately $18 per hour to their factory workers, as reported in January of this year by Indeed.com and glassdoor.com. An annual income of less than $40,000 will not support families in the Marshall community. Only a handful of those in more executive positions will be able, if they so choose, to live in this area.
2. The battery plant will boost property values according to Durian. How is that possible? Those of us that live near the proposed plant will be subjected to air pollution, increased train and truck traffic, possible contamination of our wells and therefore our drinking water, and a giant eyesore of a factory with 24/7 outdoor lighting. For those who own homes directly across Michigan Avenue from the site, their home values will be greatly diminished as will those who live within the pollution and annoyance radius of the factory.
3. Durian also claims that the factory will contribute to the generation of tax revenues. Yes, there will be some increase in payments from citizens that work at the plant, just as there is whenever anyone joins the workforce anywhere in the state. This small increase will not come close to offsetting the 15 year tax abatement being given to Ford nor the cost to Michigan taxpayers of $680,000 per job created there. (Source Michigan Capitol Confidential)
4. Marshall does have a “unique culture and way of life”; mostly a rural way of life, quieter and more peaceful than that of larger cities. We respect the land and our heritage. Destroying acres of prime farm land, and homes, barns and structures that have been lovingly maintained for decades does not respect, nor reflect, the desire of the residents of Marshall township and city.
5. On a personal level, our home falls within the megasite region. It is a 75 year old log home, a local landmark, surrounded by acres of mature hardwood trees that was an American Legion Post at one time and a veterinary practice at another. It has been our home for 45 years, where we raised our family, celebrated births, weddings, holidays and every event of a lifetime. It is “home” and to us there is no other place we want to be. We do not want our home and woods leveled in the name of “progress”. We want to stay, we want our neighbors to stay and Ford to stay away.

The people of our area need to be heard. We have not been thus far. Only those who have signed nondisclosure agreements and have worked in secret for months are being given a voice in Lansing. This deal is not good for Marshall, nor for Michigan, as the costs to our land, our history and our tax dollars is far too high. All Michiganders should come together to make our voices heard that this is a really bad deal.
Janet Daniels Borders, DVM
Dale Ray Borders, DVM

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Dear ​Senator Peters,
Good afternoon. I was born and raised in Marshall, Michigan. I am emailing regarding the proposed Megasite in Marshall, Michigan. Please consider supporting Senator Rubio’s Revoke act of 2023. The loss of agricultural land, historic farmsteads, and natural spaces for threatened wildlife are among the many reasons this proposed site is dangerous for my community, but the one that infuriates me the most is Ford’s partnership with CATL. How can we as Michiganders and supporters of Veterans allow Ford to partner with our greatest geopolitical adversary and use taxpayer dollars to subsidize the project? To allow a company with direct links to the Chinese Communist Party to operate in our state is an immense betrayal to our community of Michiganders and Veterans. Again, I ask that you support the Revoke act of 2023 and stop Ford’s Partnership with China. Thank you for your consideration. 
- Respectfully sent,
PC

The average person, whether here in Michigan or elsewhere around the country, has been told by politicians and companies that subsidies work, but they don’t understand just how much they really cost. They see big numbers and just don’t have the context to understand at a gut level exactly how much money we’re talking about here. That’s why we’ve spent a lot of time trying to come up with examples that people can understand about what kinds of other things Michigan could be doing with this much money. 

• This one plant is potentially getting enough money from taxpayers to cover the state’s General Fund appropriations for the Departments of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy ($540 million), Natural Resources ($109 million) and Agriculture & Rural Development ($99 million) for a year, while also matching the $739 million sitting in the state’s various conservation, environment and recreation-related funds. Our retro license plates say “Water Winter Wonderland,” but if there were truth in advertising laws we’d have to change them to “Corporate Welfare Wonderland.”
• Local government officials regularly blame cuts in state revenue sharing for deficiencies in local public services, but this one battery plant project is getting more money than the $1.45 billion the state distributed in revenue sharing to all local and county governments combined.
• It’s roughly as much money as the state paid in unemployment benefits in 2021, while the COVID pandemic was keeping people across the state out of work.
• It’s four times as much as all Michigan homeowners were able to deduct in homestead property tax credits on their taxes that year.
• It’s also four times more than the total value of state tax credits for low-income and at-risk households, including the Earned Income Tax Credit as well as property tax credits for senior citizens, persons with disabilities and veterans.
• It’s more than the $1.5 billion in General Fund grants to the state’s colleges and universities.
• This subsidy deal is being advertised as “rural economic development,” which makes it all the more ironic that that turning farmland into a battery plant in Marshall is going to cost taxpayers three and a half decades’ worth of the state’s Farmland Preservation Tax Credit.
• In terms of investing in public safety, it’s more than the $1.6 billion in General Fund appropriations for the state judiciary, Attorney General, State Police…and the Department of Civil Rights to keep an eye on them all.
• If we want to invest in the future, it could pay off the entire $1.2 billion in outstanding general-obligation bonds with plenty of room to spare.
• It’s more than the $1.5 billion the state has sitting in the transportation fund earmarked for “fixing the damn roads” and other crumbling components of the state’s infrastructure.
• All this to dedicate so much money to one battery plant that at the reported $45,000 average wage and assuming reasonable inflation, Michigan’s taxpayers will effectively be subsidizing the plant’s entire payroll for the next 13 years – in a plant where three-quarters of workers will be earning less than the county median household income and making just 31 cents an hour more than the county’s $19.69/hour subsistence wage. (And, like you said, where labor force is already an issue for many employers.)

Thank you for taking the time and effort to reach out to us, and I hope that some of this information is helpful to add to your discussions whenever the topic comes up. Thank you for being someone who cares about this issue, and who wants what’s best for our communities. Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions, or if there’s any way we can help spread the word in your community. I’m always happy to come speak to community groups, or sit down with local elected officials to try to help them understand the issues in play.

John C. Mozena, President
The Center for Economic Accountability (a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit )
www.EconomicAccountability.org

s​The State of Michigan is going full-steam ahead with this corporate welfare project and corporate land grab despite so many red flags. This project inappropriately uses state and federal tax dollars. The amount of money spent in no way justifies the small return on the investment when compared to the enormous social, environmental and economic losses. This project is also a risk to our national security due to the Ford/CATL relationship. Ford has never manufactured an EV battery and can not do so without licensing technology from the Chinese Company CATL. Ford originally stated that Chinese managers will oversee the plant. Ford will be producing lithium batteries but CATL just announced it is working on a battery which uses sodium. Will the lithium batteries be old technology by the time the plant is up and running in 2026? As of now, China controls 50% of the world's lithium supply and CATL has the market share of battery sales world wide. Why are we bolstering a Chinese Mega company? This relationship makes America MORE dependent on China and the Chinese Government. Ford was just trying to get a patent to repossess one's car. What kind of technology will China be putting in every Ford car that is purchased by an American? Some software requires updates or you can't use them. Could my car suddenly freeze up in three years? We're not talking about Chinese toys. We are talking about this technology being used in a large percentage of American vehicles. We will be dependent on a technology controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. This is especially troubling as China continues to flex its muscle in the South China Seas. President Biden has vowed to come to Taiwan's defense. Could we end up at war with China? Maybe this is how China plans to control us? These are things we SHOULD consider before rushing into agreements. We must not be naive. Lastly, we are destroying nearly 2000 acres of farmland for this megasite. The Marshall Township Website calls it, "Some of the best farmland in Calhoun County" and therefore the state. Why are we destroying farmland during a global climate crises?! During a time of global food scarcity? America's Farmland is being lost to drought, flooding and fires. The breadbasket of the world - Ukraine, is currently being destroyed by Russia, causing people in Pakistan and Africa to go hungry. Why would Michigan destroy one of our most valuable resources when there are vacant industrial sites in our state? Agriculture is a multi-billon dollar industry in Michigan. This is some of the BEST farmland in Michigan yet we destroy it for EV Batteries, an unproven solution to our environmental crisis. Our Governor doesn't value farmland , but the Chinese Government does. China is rapidly buying up farmland across the country and it is becoming a growing concern among U.S. military officials. Some properties are located in close proximity to military bases and sensitive infrastructure. Stop the Megasite!