This was published in the Mountain Xpress on May 8, 2022. Photo above came from Mountain Express website.
Just say No to Raytheon Technologies
BY MELODY SHANK
At the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners’ Feb. 15 meeting, I
presented a petition on behalf of Reject Raytheon AVL. Signed by more
than 300 people, it asked the commissioners to reconsider their approval
of $27 million in economic development incentives to Pratt &
Whitney, a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies — and, more importantly
and urgently, to enact a moratorium on approving new industrial
facilities with ties to the military. Ever since the news broke about
the company’s decision to build a 1.2 million–square-foot factory here, our coalition has spoken out against the plan.
Our concerns include the environmental impact on the French Broad
River, the disruption or destruction of the habitats of numerous
vulnerable species in the nearby forest and wetlands, and the misguided
move away from a path that would mitigate the climate crisis (the U.S.
military, for which Pratt & Whitney builds jet engines, contributes
mightily to greenhouse gas emissions). There’s also the lack of
transparency that kept residents — and, apparently, the county
commissioners themselves — in the dark during the negotiations. But
beyond all that, we object to welcoming the world’s second-largest
defense contractor — or, more accurately, war corporation — to our
beautiful mountains, our city and our neighborhood.
Money talks
Chamber of Commerce staffers were exuberant about landing a Fortune
500 company that would bring well-paying jobs to the area. It would be a
draw for other Big Tech and advanced manufacturing businesses. And,
they noted, it would put Asheville on the radar of international
companies and investors.
So why is this a problem? Why shouldn’t we all be thrilled? Jobs! Influence! Property tax revenues! New investment! More jobs!
Not so fast. Marrying one of the world’s biggest war corporations has
consequences. And big it is. Last year, Raytheon reported a $3.9
billion profit on sales of $64.4 billion, second only to Lockheed
Martin’s $67 billion. In 2019 and 2020 alone, the federal government
awarded Raytheon military contracts worth $54 billion, according to Brown University’s Costs of War Project.
Remember: These are our tax dollars. And in those same years, Pratt
& Whitney, which was part of United Technologies until a 2020
merger, received contracts worth at least $10 billion. A substantial
percentage of Raytheon’s total revenues comes from arms sales to foreign
countries, enabling the company to fill its pockets while extending the
military’s reach across the globe. Not exactly a benign enterprise. And
I won’t even get into the amount of waste in these deals.
Bringing a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies to Western North
Carolina extends the reach of what President Dwight D. Eisenhower
presciently called “the military-industrial complex” far beyond its
already substantial presence in our state. Military facilities dot much
of Eastern North Carolina, and Fort Bragg, outside Fayetteville, is
among the world’s largest.
Meanwhile, since the early 2000s, military base operations have been
increasingly outsourced. Many corporations have sprung up to provide
things like uniforms, food, chemicals, technology, construction and
research. Between 2014 and 2019, the total value of defense contracts
received by North Carolina companies ballooned from $2.5 billion to $5.2
billion, according to war industry researcher and author Christian Sorensen. Again, those are our tax dollars.
The long arm of the armaments industry
Sorensen maintains that most of those smaller defense contractors
could convert their products or services for civilian uses as part of a
broader transition to an economy built on local needs and
sustainability.
The Pratt & Whitney deal, however, brings a major player in the
military-industrial complex right to our doorstep. Public officials and
economic development officers have claimed that the extended reach of
this intricate web of influence is not a local concern, but Eisenhower
knew better.
He predicted that the armaments industry would affect every city and
state in the country economically, politically and spiritually. By
strategically placing their plants in as many congressional districts as
possible, war corporations’ influence trickles up from communities and
states to federal decision-makers. Like our local governmental
officials, members of Congress find it hard to say no to what these
businesses want. Whether it’s county and state tax incentives and grants
or federal budgetary dollars, they tend to be approved with few
meaningful restrictions.
Paying the piper
In addition to billions of dollars in defense contracts, Raytheon has received nearly $1 billion
in state and local incentives, loans and other investments from 31
states over the last two decades. At $49 million, North Carolina ranks
fourth in the total amount of such subsidies provided to the company
since 2000. That figure includes the $15.5 million Job Development
Investment Grant that the N.C. Department of Commerce gave Raytheon for
the 800 jobs the company claims it will create in Asheville over 10
years.
And when its current agreement with Buncombe County expires, Raytheon
may well ask for more. In the mid-1990s, the company threatened to move
its headquarters out of state unless Massachusetts provided additional
concessions. After a prolonged public relations campaign, Raytheon won,
saving millions of dollars in corporate income taxes.
Similarly, General Dynamics, another of the largest U.S. defense
contractors, demanded $60 million in tax rebates from Maine to keep Bath
Iron Works in the state. After citizens protested, the dollar amount
was lowered to $45 million. I suspect that Raytheon will be back to request additional “assistance” a decade hence.
A question of priorities
The sad truth is, the Raytheons of the world don’t care much about
the people who live in the places where they operate. Their main goals
are generating profits and gaining political influence. Period. And
their already ample profits are substantially inflated by our federal,
state and local tax dollars.
To be clear, Raytheon is not some small business that makes uniforms
or prepares provisions for soldiers. It’s a megacorporation that uses
the promise of jobs to fill its and its shareholders’ pockets.
It isn’t helping us move toward a green economy or find solutions to
the climate crisis. It’s not helping to bolster the essential social
safety net in communities across the country.
Instead, this company is promoting war and instability worldwide —
serving itself and the military-industrial complex while eating up
resources, at all levels of government, that could be used to meet the
actual needs of humanity and the planet. For all these reasons, both
Reject Raytheon AVL and I say, “No thank you, Raytheon.”
Melody Shank, a retired professor of education, has lived in Swannanoa since 2014.
