Foxconned: Imaginary Jobs, Bulldozed Homes, and the Sacking of Local Government

Tabak, Lawrence

ISBN 10: 0226824055 / ISBN 13: 9780226824055

Published by University of Chicago Press, 2022

About this Item

Book is considered to be in good or better condition. The actual cover image may not match the stock photo. Hard cover books may show signs of wear on the spine, cover or dust jacket. Paperback book may show signs of wear on spine or cover as well as having a slight bend, curve or creasing to it. Book should have minimal to no writing inside and no highlighting. Pages should be free of tears or creasing. Stickers should not be present on cover or elsewhere, and any CD or DVD expected with the book is included. Book is not a former library copy.

Seller Inventory # SEWV.0226824055.G

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Foxconned: Imaginary Jobs, Bulldozed Homes, and the Sacking of Local Government
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication Date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226824055
• ISBN 13: 9780226824055
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: good

About this title

Synopsis

Powerful and resonant, Foxconned is both the definitive autopsy of the Foxconn fiasco and a dire warning to communities and states nationwide.

When Wisconsin governor Scott Walker stood shoulder to shoulder with President Trump and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan at the White House in July 2017, they painted a glorious picture of his state’s future. Foxconn, the enormous China-based electronics firm, was promising to bring TV manufacturing back to the United States with a $10 billion investment and 13,000 well-paying jobs. They actually were making America great again, they crowed.

Two years later, the project was in shambles. Ten thousand construction workers were supposed to have been building what Trump had promised would be “the eighth wonder of the world.” Instead, land had been seized, homes had been destroyed, and hundreds of millions of municipal dollars had been committed for just a few hundred jobs—nowhere near enough for Foxconn to earn the incentives Walker had shoveled at them. In Foxconned, journalist Lawrence Tabak details the full story of this utter collapse, which was disturbingly inevitable.

As Tabak shows, everything about Foxconn was a disaster. But worse, he reveals how the economic incentive infrastructure across the country is broken, leading to waste, cronyism, and the steady transfer of tax revenue to corporations. Tabak details every kind of financial chicanery, from eminent domain abuse to good old-fashioned looting—all to benefit a coterie of consultants, politicians, and contractors. With compassion and care, he also reports the distressing stories of the many individuals whose lives were upended by Foxconn.

About the Author

Lawrence Tabak is a journalist whose work has appeared in numerous publications, including the New York Times, American Prospect, Salon, Forbes, and the Atlantic. He is based in Madison, Wisconsin.