Whatever else, there are a thousand Carrier employees and their families in Indianapolis today who are looking forward to a much happier holiday season than they were a week ago. Good for them.
So how did Trump do it? One big stroke of luck he had was having a Vice President-elect who is still the sitting governor of Indiana. Governors do deals like this all the time. That was key. But the Indiana Business Journal published a story today which adds the critical detail.
Former Indiana Lt Gov John Mutz is chairman of policy review board which reviews incentive packages designed to get businesses to stay in the state. He told the IBJ he’s committee would be reviewing the package like they do all others. But he doesn’t think that was the big driver of Carrier’s decision.
As we discussed a few days ago, Carrier isn’t just Carrier. It’s owned by United Technologies, a massive aerospace and technology firm with a huge amount of business with the federal government. UTC is in no position to get too crosswise with an incoming president.
“United Technologies,” Mutz told the paper, “is a gigantic international company with many different divisions and subsidiaries, many of which do substantial amounts of business with the U.S. government. The dynamics are considerably different than they were even before the election. You’re talking here about a company that is trying to be competitive and also wants to keep their business with the government.”
