D'ya Think: The Blue Goose | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: Jim Bispo's weekly column appears in the Beaufort Observer.

My paranoia may be showing.

    As I look at the Blue Goose wheeling and dealing that seems to be going on, I get a little suspicious that some of the "Good Ol boys" are about to pull another one over on the long suffering taxpayers. This time it may not be the local taxpayers, but it could certainly be taxpayers. The (two) companies that are in line for taxpayer handouts are reportedly only recently established - by a group of Flanders Filters "Executives". Actually, (at this point) this deal looks a whole lot better than the deals our former chief equity investor brought home. (We can only wonder how good it really needs to be to be better than what we have been getting over the last 10 years or so.

    Let's take a look at this deal in a little more detail. Start by answering the question of who it is at Flanders that determines what, and how much, "outside" purchasing goes on and who is awarded the contract.. Could it possibly be the executives at Flanders filters?? That seems like a fairly cozy situation for the two companies who are to be the salvation of Beaufort County's economy.. (as they amass the taxpayers' money.) Let's see if I have this right. The executives who are principals in the two companies that are in line for a taxpayer handout after they fulfill their employment commitments would seem to be the self same executives who will decide how much of Flanders metal work is outsourced to their new companies and when. Interesting...

    Whatever else one may think about this deal, it would seem likely the two brand new companies will be successful in meeting their employment goals (at least on paper) which will, in turn, qualify them for the handouts and help them grow their fledgling organizations. If we could "engineer" enough of these kinds of arrangements, we could all become rich in very short order.

   Picture this. Find an established manufacturing company that produces a product that requires the production and integration of a number of components. Then get the executives of that company to join in the establishment of one or two new companies which will produce those components of the final product for the original company (and out source the work to those "new" companies). This will allow the "old" company to discontinue making those components in house. In the meantime, we advertise the number of new jobs the new companies will bring to town. As soon as that word hits the street, we will allow ourselves to be "romanced" by Economic Development interests to see what kind of proffers they would be willing to make if we locate in their fiefdom. And away we go - again. The difference between this scheme and what Beaufort County has been treated to over the last ten years or so, is that the chance of the jobs materializing in these new companies is very good. Especially when the new companies are owned by the same folks in the original company who control the outsourcing decisions. You can't lose (unless you are one of the taxpayers whose money is bankrolling the deal).

   The Blue Goose groups will certainly be in a position to meet heir employment "goals". Why shouldn't they?? They will be in a position to dictate the volume of orders to be placed by Flanders Filters with their Blue Goose Companies. As long as that gravy train continues to run, they will certainly be able to control the amount or work handed to the Blue Goose groups (i.e. themselves) in order to ensure that they fulfill their employment commitments - and thus collect all the taxpayer money they have been promised. Before you know it, the Blue Goose will certainly be a success. In the meantime someone needs to be very watchful to ensure that the metal workers (for example) who are hired by the Blue Goose folks are not the same metal workers who have been released by Flanders....

   The more I look at this scenario the more it begins to look like it could be the outline for a Wharton or Harvard Business School Case Study in Ethics?? Or perhaps a "How To" course at a Chicago institution of higher (or lower) learning..

   D'ya think??