Saw this...blather on PhillyMag's blog today, and just lost it. Gene Marks, a business consultant who writes...a lot, decided that he was going to take Dick Yuengling to task for something The Dickster said in a recent interview. Here's what Dick said about why he may or may not open an expansion brewery in western Pennsylvania:
“Some states are very economically friendly,” Yuengling said. “We
don’t necessarily base business decisions on incentives like that. But
if they are going to give them to somebody, we would stand there and
take them.”
“Pennsylvania is a great location. But it’s not very business-friendly.
You look for fair tax breaks, fair taxation. And the bottom line is more
jobs. That’s what it’s all about.”
And Marks jumped all over him for it, mainly making the point that Yuengling -- because he mentioned that he might locate a new brewery in another state -- is just another entitled grabber, sticking out his hand for something he doesn't deserve.
So can we all admit that we’re the same? The unions. The small-business
owners. The down-and-out workers. The big business executives. The 99
percent. In the end, we’re all trying to negotiate the best deal we can,
regardless of the effects elsewhere. We’re all going to take it if we
can get it. Whether we’re entitled to it or not.
Marks clearly doesn't know Dick. This is the last person to think he's NOT 'all the same.' He drives a well-used Ford. He wears jeans and flannel shirts. He still has his office in the 1831 building that houses the brewery, in Pottsville. He chainsmokes, and uses a coffee cup for an ashtray. He's folks.
I'm
so tired of this being beaten to death for political reasons, because this is about the election. Did you miss that "99 percent," didja know Dick's a Republican? Can we put that crap aside just once before November? Dick
Yuengling kept jobs in Pennsylvania when other breweries in the state
were closing. He added jobs in Pennsylvania when he built his new
brewery here. And now he needs to expand, and he says that he may not
build another brewery here...and now he's evil.
Give me a
break. This man's business decisions saved America's oldest brewery,
gave union workers in Florida back their jobs (when Yuengling re-opened
the Stroh brewery in Tampa, which went under because of bad business
decisions), and made this the biggest American-owned brewery in 2012.
I'm sorry; if the man wants to open a brewery somewhere else -- New
England, maybe, or the Midwest -- that's his prerogative. It's his business, it's not a corporation. He can do whatever he wants with it.
And you know what? Doing just that -- whatever he wants with it -- has
worked out really, REALLY well for his employees, for the thousands of
people in PA who sell Yuengling, and for the residents of Pottsville.
I'd say let him keep doing what he's doing.
