Frederick Sheehan on why Emerson Electric is moving to Asia:
American CEOs are voting with their feet. Since they aren't investing in the United States, does it make sense for the individual stockholder or bondholder to do so?...
Most forthright is David Farr, President, Chairman and CEO of Emerson Electric Corporation, a 120-year-old manufacturer with over $21 billion in annual sales. Emerson's headquarters is in Chicago, Illinois, [Update: Several commenters say it is in fact in St. Louis, Mo.] but maybe not for long:
"Why would any CEO invest one penny in the US? There is not one reason based on the new rules of the game."
- David Farr, CEO, Emerson Electric, quarterly conference call, May 2009
...David Farr has a business to run. He described the reason he is moving Emerson Electric to Asia at the Baird Industrial Conference last November:
"What do I think Washington is doing right now? Washington is doing everything in their manpower capability to destroy U.S. manufacturers. Cap and trade, medical reform, labor rules, whatever they want to do, raise taxes. They're just going to destroy jobs.... What do you think I'm going to do? I'm not going to hire anyone in the United States. I'm moving. So they're doing everything possible to destroy jobs....we employ 125,000 people worldwide. So I do know what the (expletive) I'm talking about."
Thanks to FutureOfCapitalism reader-participant-community member-content co-creator E. for sending the link.
