Oklahoma officials bent over backwards trying to accommodate Mercury Marine and keep the outboard motor plant operating in Stillwater. City and chamber officials as well as state leaders pulled out all the stops in hopes of keeping the plant here and even expanding its longtime presence in Stillwater.
Now, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the state of Wisconsin was also in on the bidding. Fond du Lac County put up a $50 million loan, the city contributed $3 million and the state offered tax credits worth up to $70 million.
So the package put together by the state of Wisconsin to keep Mercury Marine's headquarters and plant there cost taxpayers in excess of $123 million. Oklahoma couldn't and shouldn't compete against that.
Mercury used the Oklahoma plant to get concessions from workers in Wisconsin and held out the threat of moving work and jobs here. They did both states a disservice.
