That’s Maurice “Morry” Taylor, CEO of the Quincy IL-based Titan Tire Co., who wrote a rather insulting letter to Arnaud Montebourg earlier this month—a copy of which was obtained by Les Echos—, explaining why he wasn’t interested in investing in the money-losing Goodyear plant in Amiens, as the workers there “get one hour for breaks and lunch, talk for three and work for three…” (see here and here). In other words, French workers are slackers. The story is getting a lot play in the French news today, and with everyone naturally indignant. Americans, Brits, and others, for their part, are no doubt snickering and guffawing but it’s bullcrap. Yahoos outre-Atlantique may not be aware but French labor is among the most productive in the world. This is a fact (as for the Amiens Goodyear plant, it is indeed the case that its staff is working three hours a day at the present time, but, as one learned on the France 2 news this evening, this has been imposed by management). Morry Taylor—who, as it happens, was a short-lived GOP presidential candidate in 1996—is a jingoistic ignorant idiot (and that Arnaud Montebourg, in his trenchant reply, told him in so many words). If you have any doubts on this, watch this Titan ad with Morry himself. Quel con.
Yet another shrewd move by Montebourg. I sometimes think he’s a UMP mole or thinks if he sabotages Hollande’s administration sufficiently the party will turn to him as its ‘rising star”.
What in the world would make Montebourg think that this guy would invest in “socialist” France without a substantial government subsidy for his company and himself? That he was in any way shape or form somebody who should be invited to participate in French society on any conceivable basis? Or that he wouldn’t do everything possible to embarrass those cheese eating surrender monkeys that he has held in such low regard since the Iraq War (i.e., the French)? Possibly somebody should teach the idiot Montebourg about Google.
[...] For a rather more trenchant opinion on the value , or otherwise, of Maurice Taylor’s remarks read Arun Kapil on this blog [...]