I have followed the story of the Gibson Guitar Company for months now. Their factory was raided in 2009 (by armed federal SWAT teams) for suspicion of breaking laws relating to the importation of certain kinds of woods used in guitars—woods that are on endangered species lists in certain countries. Gibson maintains its innocence (they have never been charged with any violation) and the countries of Madagascar and India have said Gibson violated no export laws of their countries. Yet Gibson continues to be persecuted by the federal government. This is a great example of the kind of irrelevant and unnecessary interference by the government in business.
Here's a short interview with the president of Gibson summarizing the situation:
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Wow, just mind-blowing. I had heard about this case but had no clue just how weird and unacceptable the government's actions were.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to read that Gibson started in Michigan but by the 1970s was suffering from low quality and high union costs. It was purchased and moved to Nashville and now has expanded to Memphis TN and Bozeman Montana (both non unionized).
Could this have anything to do with the Obama administrations targeting Gibson? Some smart businessmen bought the company moved out of union country and now have expanded with better quality instruments?
Daniel
.......totally agreed.
ReplyDeleteInside the beltway mentality is out of control.