Central States News: Moberly MO Becomes Poster Child for Downside of Government-Issued Corporate Welfare

Imagine putting your city and it's taxpayers on the hook for a $39-million debt incurred building a company a new plant when that company was already basically bankrupt.



 That's what has happened in Moberly MO- located about 40 miles north of Columbia.



Back in the Summer of 2010- international company Mamtek U.S. (their Web site no longer works)  made a deal with Moberly city leaders that if the city would back $39-million in bonds- Mamtek would build a plant in Moberly to manufacture an artificial chemical sweetener.

The State of Missouri- about to make ANOTHER deal for a Chinese cargo hub in St. Louis- also put $7-million of state taxpayer dollars in the pot.

Partners in the deal was an outfit called "The Midwest US China Association" and you can see and hear all the sugury-sweet kudos given to the company in this YouTube video: 

Fast-forward to September 2011: 

Mamtek U.S. defaults on their August bond payment- it's only later discovered that the company has "very little cash" anyway- and it's unlikely the company can make good on any of it's promises.

According to the MOBERLY MONITOR- city officials "don't think" the city is on the hook for the defaulted bond payments- but the MM story clearly shows that the same city officials don't really KNOW if Moberly is on the hook for the $39-mil.

Construction on the new Mamtek U.S. plant in Moberly has come to a standstill. 

People hired to run the new plant have been fired.

The appears the State of Missouri can also kiss it's $7-million goodbye too.



I wonder if Missouri's Republicrats are still gung-ho on cutting the benefits of the state's poor and disabled to help finance that Chinese cargo hub in St. Louis?