California's last auto plant shuts its doors (California tax base collapsing)

Briebart ^ | 1 April, 2010 | Unattributed

[Ben Mugged]

Employees at the NUMMI plant work on the last Toyota Tacoma truck to come...

Employees at the NUMMI plant get a look the last Toyota Tacoma truck to...

FREMONT, Calif. (AP) - The last car has rolled off the production lines at California's sole auto plant. Workers are trickling out of the New United Motor Manufacturing plant in Fremont as they complete their tasks and the plant readies to shut down.

Nearby, job centers have been set up to help the newly unemployed figure out benefits, retraining and other options.

The plant made Toyota Tacoma trucks and Corolla sedans. The last Tacoma rolled off the assembly lines last week, and Corolla production ended Thursday.

The plant began 25 years ago as a joint venture between Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Co. GM pulled out last year, and Toyota later announced it would halt production, eliminating about 4,700 jobs.

[Ben Mugged]

California brought this on themselves with industry unfriendly tax and regulations.

[Jack Hydrazine]

Leftists are rejoicing every where.

[Tulane]

For all freepers outside of California take a long look...this is your destiny, thanks to Health Care, the EPA, etc.

[RobRoy]

>>For all freepers outside of California take a long look...this is your destiny, thanks to Health Care, the EPA, etc.
<<

That is NOT lost on me. It is one of the reasons I bought the farm in Kentucky (I’ve been in Seattle since 1966). But the salad days are over.

[Vigilanteman]

Toyota doesn't deserve to be branded as the bad guy here. They went into the plant as a GM joint venture. GM agreed to guarantee the inflated UAW contracts as one of the conditions of the joint venture. When Government Motors pulled out, Toyota would have been fools to remain.

The workers can thank their union as well as the state for the result.

[skeeter]

Has the state laid off even one employee?

Have the unions given back a single penny in benefits to help the strapped taxpayers and struggling private sector?

Hell no.

[iowamark]

California taxes and unions drove Toyota to Texas.

[Vigilanteman]

Yeah, just think: The plant has now achieved zero carbon emissions.

[Osage Orange]

It is one of the reasons I bought the farm in Kentucky

Sorry to hear of your demise.

[Osage Orange]

See...right there...there’s a reason for everything!

[Frantzie]

The GOP should run on and conservative talk show hosts message to Americans should be:

If you are a senior or baby boomer and If you don’t vote for GOP (no RINOs) in 2010 and 2012 to get rid of these people people - the rest of your life will be misery. Forget ANY hope of retirement or security.

[Ben Mugged]

Yeah, just think: The plant has now achieved zero carbon emissions.

And another silver lining, there are now 4700 fewer union members. And I imagine more than a few of them will no longer vote demoncratic.

[Wyatt's Torch]

I think I read about this somewhere before...

[Mr. Lucky]

I’d feel a whole lot better about a pick up truck knowing it was built in Texas rather than California.

[EyeGuy]

“Leftists are rejoicing every where.”

#####

Indeed.

Exit the evil automobile.

Next up:

Exit evil religion, evil energy, evil food, evil patriotism, evil tobacco, evil profits.....

Finally....evil Life itself.

[Bernard Marx]

And I imagine more than a few of them will no longer vote demoncratic.

Bad bet, I think. Did you notice the part about "State officials are pursuing federal grants to help those impacted by the closure?" Once on the dole, always on the dole.

[RU88]

Isn't this in Rep. Pete Stark Raving Mad’s district? This being the same a-hole who at a town hall said to one of his constituents that he wasn't good enough to be pissed on by him! Just what in the hell is going on out there!?

[EyeGuy]

Indeed.

But first the pussy, get along, aisle-crossing Republicans will have to find their balls in the Long Lost Testicle Patch out on grandma’s back 40.

[kabar]

Toyota doesn’t have a unionized work force as far as I know.

[TheBattman]

Thank the state’s Unions and taxes.