Recently, SCDC (South Coast Development Council) came before the Coos County Commission to request a $5,000 dues payment. The matter was tabled lacking a third deciding vote but during the public comment period, pieced together below, you will witness as disgusting a display of corporate entitlement as you would ever want to see.
ORC (Oregon Resources), present to support SCDC, revealed both their contempt for the citizens as well as their belief that profit isn’t adequate compensation for providing jobs. No, they also expect to be exempt from contributing to the tax base.
This is especially disgusting because two of their members, Dan Smith and Joseph Drew, are demanding the County pay dues to an entity that has received tens of thousands of dollars, so far, with no measurable results. At the same time Smith is telling us how much work SCDC did for ORC, he is bragging the company is investing $90M, (yes, it is up to $90 or $95M now) in Coos County. The $90M+, especially if exempt from taxes is not really invested here because it is single purpose and can be scrapped when they run out of chromite or move on if the mineral content is as expected.
Someone pointed out at the meeting that with $90M they could pay SCDC, themselves… why don’t they?
It is obvious ORC doesn’t recognize the county is changing in tone and tenor. Local support for the IBO, FONSI, SCDC crowd is at an all time low. More than one group are beginning to question the lack of accomplishment. Especially when you consider the huge amount of money that has been lost in pursuit of SCDC projects
Interesting, now that SCDC, Chamber, and the Coos Bay Business persons, IBO have thrown a bone to ORC, there political power is on the up swing, there verbal out rage for the hand that feeds them is contemptible.
They smear there own egg on their owe face. They lost site of how to gain support for a good neighbor and have follow the IBO lead to intimidate the population of Coos County to give public funds to all who ask.
There is just something unethical about using public money to lobby on behalf of private companies. Especially, when the public have no say in which companies get all the attention.
Thanks. I watched all six minutes of video – twice. Please give me a monent while I puke! Folks know there is no person who dislikes SCDC more than I do. Wrong, wrong, wrong! There are at least 10 organizations in Coos County all claiming to be leaders attempting to bring industry here. Other than SCDC, none have received almost $2 million in public and private monies and accomplished nothing – creating two jobs to date. Sad to see Mr. Drew so poorly coached. I’ll match him passport stamp for stamp – and I’ll have at least 300 more than him. Somebody send him the Wikipedia section on Urban Renewal and Enterprise Zones. It also would be nice if he understood why global corporations locate where they do. “Taxes” are not reason number one. It would have been nice if he understood SCDC before he spoke. Would also have been nice to see the meeting chairman in control of his meeting.
Smith goes on and on about how much SCDC helped them and ORC should pay for its own lobbyists.
Drew is just a young, punk ass kid, who clearly has no idea the relationship between corporate welfare and high poverty levels, food insecurity, etc… let him read the stats for the south http://splcenter.org and then read ‘Deer Hunting With Jesus’.
Companies like ORC are irresponsible because they can’t be bothered to factor ‘taxes’ into their business plans like the rest of us.
SCDC, is irresponsible for arbitrarily supporting and promoting companies that conduct business this way, without first looking into the consequences to Coos County.
Holy crap! Just watched that, what an idiot! Not just an idiot but completely, stupidly, wrong too! The ‘south” have crushing poverty levels and their infrastructure is crumbling because companies like ORC won’t pay taxes.
To Joe Drew: ‘I’M PASSIONATE” NAW YOU’RE NOT PASSIONATE YOU’RE JUST AN ASSHOLE. Haven’t seen a punk like you in years, thank gawd you are few and far between. You and your brown nose have the gall/ignorance to attack Coos County citizens who by the way jackass, are paying the taxes you whine about paying, but are NOT.
You just left the South after crapping in their backyard, now you are subsidized by the taxpayers of Coos County and you still whine like a red-faced baby.
Why don’t you and your big mouth and your brown nose, and the lack of any class or respect whatsover come on here and tell us how you left the grounds you crapped on in the South? Tell us why you left the south if it’s so business friendly? Got an answer? Naw, you’ll hide behind your corporate masters and do their bidding like the hired hand you are.
Tell you what Smith and Drew, instead of whining to the county, why don’t you two pay the damned five thousand dollars to SCDC, shut up and go away?
Saying shame on you is lost on you and your masters Drew, completely lost, you’re not even smart enough to PRETEND to be a good neighbor.
YOU are the new face of ORC and SCDC now, pretty ugly one at that isn’t it?