Food off the Table

Posted on May 18, 2004 in Class

    Ye friends to truth, ye statesmen who survey
The rich man’s joys increase, the poor’s decay,
‘Tis yours to judge how wide the limits stand
Between a splendid and an happy land.

– Oliver Goldsmith, The Deserted Village

One year and nearly a month ago, President Bush visited the factory of Timken Industries to praise its management and its workforce:

I appreciate the Timken family for their leadership, their concern about their fellow associates. They’re working hard to make sure the future of this company is bright, and therefore, the future of employment is bright for the families that work here, that work to put food on the table for their children.

Yesterday, Timken announced that they were closing this same factory. 1300 workers are losing their jobs.

The food’s off the table and the money’s going into W.R. “Tim” Timken’s pocket:

Having earned more than $2.6 million last year, Timken stands to receive $59,000 in new tax breaks from President Bush this year – Timken also happens to have raised $600,000 for the President in one night. By contrast, 89% of Ohio residents will receive less than $100 by 2006 from the latest Bush tax cuts.

The machine moves on, oblivious to the people who it destroys as it grinds towards economic apocalypse.