Panasonic Battery Plant

[TheTravellers]

Not going to happen, they will all be reelected and nothing will change. Too many stupid people in this state, it makes the educated ones question whether they should move somewhere else.

Guarantee you that the majority of Oklahomans have/had no idea about the Panasonic plant and if they did, they wouldn't care, so yeah, all of the above is correct, really sadly.

[chssooner]

You guys are forgetting that, aside from the OKC and Tulsa areas, the rest of the state wants OK to suck. And our legislators have rigged it to where the part of the state with 10% of the population have 50% or more of the power at the state level.

So yeah. There is nothing we can do. People in Guymon don't care if the state grows, same with people in Atoka. Yet they have an unjust amount of representation, based on population.

You won't hear a damn thing from state legislators, considering some of them wanted them to pick Kansas because they were pro-choice. Quit thinking this will spark change.

[gopokes88]

This is a very good time to study the reasons why we keep getting passed over.

Everyone has opinions, but it would be nice to talk directly to the decision-makers at Panasonic and find out why they preferred Kansas. This should not be led by the governor or his cronies. I'd like to see a bi-partisan group established so we can find out the real truth, whatever it may be.


We were never going to get Tesla, but this is different and we need to learn from it.

Kansas had a 6 month head start and we were used as leverage.

[Pete]

At least we have good leadership and positive momentum in OKC.

We are clearly not competitive at the state level, but OKC can continue to move forward and do its own thing. It's the only reason we continue to grow while the rest of the state languishes and it all started with the first MAPS.

Good thing as a city we didn't hitch our wagon to the fortunes of the state.

[Plutonic Panda]

Hey Boulder Sooner, what do you think?

[Pete]

Kansas had a 6 month head start and we were used as leverage.

Then why weren't we in on this sooner?

It's a failure and we need to learn from it otherwise as a state we'll continue missing out.

[LocoAko]

Top 10 state, eh? Yet another failure to deliver from the Governor's office. Yet I'm sure people will just eat up the rhetoric despite zero evidence of success at recruiting businesses (or anything else).

[Bunty]

At least we have good leadership and positive momentum in OKC.

We are clearly not competitive at the state level, but OKC can continue to move forward and do its own thing. It's the only reason we continue to grow while the rest of the state languishes and it all started with the first MAPS.

Good thing as a city we didn't hitch our wagon to the fortunes of the state.

That is a good way to put it without diving too deep into politics.

[Jake]

If we play our cards right we can land another Milo's sweet tea factory.

[KHutch66]

If we play our cards right we can land another Milo's sweet tea factory.

Jake, I love the positivity! lol

[chssooner]

At least we have good leadership and positive momentum in OKC.

We are clearly not competitive at the state level, but OKC can continue to move forward and do its own thing. It's the only reason we continue to grow while the rest of the state languishes and it all started with the first MAPS.

Good thing as a city we didn't hitch our wagon to the fortunes of the state.

I wish this mattered. As more people come to OKC, you actually have less of the population represented at the state level. All but 500 people could move from places like Duncan, Durant, Atoka, etc, and they wouldn't lose a vote. But as those people move to OKC, OKC doesn't gain anything. Just more people losing a say at the state level.

[shavethewhales]

Panasonic specifically stated they wanted to be near the new Texas Telsa facility.

And yet they skipped us and opted for someplace farther away. Alarm bells are ringing.

Oklahoma, well Tulsa specifically, is losing potential businesses to TX, AR, and now KS. We are turning into a black hole. Best we can get is maybe a small production facility here and there. The offices go to Bentonville, KC, or Dallas. Anything worth being excited for is picked off.

I've said elsewhere that I doubt this came down to subsidies/tax breaks. I think OK was competitive there and would have given them anything. There's other issues going on here and I'm too tired at this point to list them all out. OK as a whole can't cut it, and hope for the future is diming.

Good for OKC that you guys have some critical mass and momentum, but Tulsa is going to languish in the future. We can barely keep our regional hub status with NWA and OKC growing so much.

[Pete]

I've never posted this before, but I don't think many people in OKC are clued into the mindset of small-town Oklahoma, which a lot of legislators represent.


I spent a couple of days in Carnegie when I was researching the Farmer's Bank story. I went and sat in the local donut shop (one of the few places the locals have to congregate) and even after talking to a bunch of people who were all pretty friendly and forthcoming (they were universally withering about the then bank president), when I handed my card to a few of the men and asked them to call me if they thought of anything additional to share, one of them saw my last name (it's Polish) and asked me in a dark and accusatory tone, "Where are you from"? I had already told them I was from OKC doing an investigative report on the bank, so there was no mistaking what he was really asking.

All the others in the group clearly wanted to know the answer to this ridiculous question. To put this in perspective, I am fair-skinned with blue eyes and sandy hair. And if I have any accent at all, it comes from living in Oklahoma.

I could not have been more shocked or disturbed. I can't imagine what someone with dark coloring puts up with in these small towns.


Many of these people have been brainwashed into thinking any sort of outsider is evil and hell-bent on making everyone speak a foreign language while they systematically destroy Christianity, freedom, and America as a whole.

Do you think the guys in that donut shop want a Panasonic plant in Oklahoma? Do you think their state rep runs on a platform of economic development through bringing in foreign or coastal companies? You can bet the message is almost completely fear-based and aimed at all these 'others' (gay, feminists, brown, foreigners and big-city elites) who are plotting to destroy them all.

[ComeOnBenjals!]

Oklahoma, well Tulsa specifically, is losing potential businesses to TX, AR, and now KS. We are turning into a black hole. Best we can get is maybe a small production facility here and there. The offices go to Bentonville, KC, or Dallas. Anything worth being excited for is picked off.

I've said elsewhere that I doubt this came down to subsidies/tax breaks. I think OK was competitive there and would have given them anything. There's other issues going on here and I'm too tired at this point to list them all out. OK as a whole can't cut it, and hope for the future is diming.

Good for OKC that you guys have some critical mass and momentum, but Tulsa is going to languish in the future. We can barely keep our regional hub status with NWA and OKC growing so much.

Bleak. Worst I've felt about Tulsa and the state's prospects in a long time. I thought Tulsa was on the brink of something big happening for once, another strikeout. Not sure how long it is till I start seriously looking to move to another state. OKC at least has some consistent momentum.

[Bunty]

If we play our cards right we can land another Milo's sweet tea factory.

Whether meant to be serious or not, that's largely how Oklahoma grows. From within. So, we got some of the greatest casinos in the world, along with the greatest state medical marijuana program in the country. Kansas and Texas have nothing like any of that. I don't think politicians at the State Capitol led the way to make it all happen. It was the people.

If we want more advanced jobs, such as having to do with high tech, the state needs to do a lot better job of supporting education. In doing so, maybe Oklahomans will find it easier to come up with innovative business ideas to present to Shark Tank.

[Anonymous.]

Sigh, and of course it is presumed to be going really close to KC.

This thread is toting the political line, but the answer to all of this is younger people not voting. It is honestly mind blowing how many people in Oklahoma do not vote, especially young people. But this is exactly why the system exists in its current form.

[jccouger]

At least our good ole boy network of car dealerships will be as strong as ever

[chssooner]

I've never posted this before, but I don't think many people in OKC are clued into the mindset of small-town Oklahoma, which a lot of legislators represent.


I spent a couple of days in Carnegie when I was researching the Farmer's Bank story. I went and sat in the local donut shop (one of the few places the locals have to congregate) and even after talking to a bunch of people who were all pretty friendly and forthcoming (they were universally withering about the then bank president), when I handed my card to a few of the men and asked them to call me if they thought of anything additional to share, one of them saw my last name (it's Polish) and asked me in a dark and accusatory tone, "Where are you from"? I had already told them I was from OKC doing an investigative report on the bank, so there was no mistaking what he was really asking.

All the others in the group clearly wanted to know the answer to this ridiculous question. To put this in perspective, I am fair-skinned with blue eyes and sandy hair. And if I have any accent at all, it comes from living in Oklahoma.

I could not have been more shocked or disturbed. I can't imagine what someone with dark coloring puts up with in these small towns.


Many of these people have been brainwashed into thinking any sort of outsider is evil and hell-bent on making everyone speak a foreign language while they systematically destroy Christianity, freedom, and America as a whole.

Do you think the guys in that donut shop want a Panasonic plant in Oklahoma? Do you think their state rep runs on a platform of economic development through bringing in foreign or coastal companies? You can bet the message is almost completely fear-based and aimed at all these 'others' (gay, feminists, brown, foreigners and big-city elites) who are plotting to destroy them all.

1,000,000,000,000%. The ignorants in small-town Oklahoma have a lot of power because of how the districts are drawn in this state.

[shartel_ave]

Sigh, and of course it is presumed to be going really close to KC.

This thread is toting the political line, but the answer to all of this is younger people not voting. It is honestly mind blowing how many people in Oklahoma do not vote, especially young people. But this is exactly why the system exists in its current form.

according to this site 18-29 year olds vote the same as 65+

18-44 years old makes up 46.6% of the vote. Doesn't surprise me that the largest percentage is 45 - 65 year olds.

https://stacker.com/oklahoma/29-mill...ing-population

[Bunty]

Sigh, and of course it is presumed to be going really close to KC.

This thread is toting the political line, but the answer to all of this is younger people not voting. It is honestly mind blowing how many people in Oklahoma do not vote, especially young people. But this is exactly why the system exists in its current form.

If legalization of rec marijuana is on the ballot in Nov., that will bring out young people to vote to counteract the rural vote, likely opposed to it.

[Midtowner]

I don't know how or why it happened, but I have a statewide practice, so you'll find me at small town diners several times a month. What you generally overhear is local residents repeating and trading conspiracy theories as if they were fact. Last I checked, the big thingw as that the Chinese are buying all of our land and that they own all of the windmills going in near Tishomingo.

They used to get the news from the Oklahoman, so you'd generally expect them to follow whatever the editorials said. Nowadays, newspaper use has declined, and even the Oklahoman had some standards, and as small town newspapers closed, more of them have turned to the internet for their information. And somehow, after all of those years of accepting the "news" as factual, they are not equipped to consider whether the news is non-factual. And then they got on social media.

Pete hit the nail on the head though. Most of what they're consuming is conspiracy theories re how OKC/Tulsa are out to get them or don't care that someone else is victimizing them--and that's sometimes true. It's true that foreigners are buying up a lot of land and paying ridiculous prices for it, and the AG/legislator/law enforcement have only made a show of going after strawman license holders. It's true that OKC several years ago drained a lake responsible for a substantial bit of the economic activity in Canton. It's true that OKC's long-term plans involve taking water out of Sardis. So there's at least a kernel of truth to their paranoia.

And unfortunately, that's kind of how states work, right? It's necessary for most urban areas to be supported by activities happening in rural areas. Electrical generation and water are things we're reliant on small town folks for. They pay the cost, i.e., ugly windmills everywhere, noise pollution, ruined vistas, lower lake levels, we get the benefits.

It doesn't occur to them that the urban areas subsidize rural electrification, rural broadband services, their streets, highways, and bridges, their schools and access to higher education. And that's really why our State Legislature doesn't do what it's supposed to do. There's no give and take, only I want 100% of the things and I will take 100% of the things, and there's no compromise.

What would make more sense is to remove all of the OKC/Tulsa seats from the House and draw new maps in the Senate, representing only OKC/Tulsa and let them have to compromise.

[catcherinthewry]

Multiple people with knowledge of those negotiations told NonDoc this afternoon that the company has chosen the Kansas site for its newest manufacturing facility. However, those same people said Panasonic has been considering whether to build a second battery plant, which could ultimately be located in Pryor to take advantage of a nearly $700 million rebate incentive created by the Oklahoma Legislature earlier this year.

https://nondoc.com/2022/07/13/report...cond%20factory

[Pete]

^

That's nice to hear but it still leaves a huge question: Why did they prefer Kansas over Oklahoma which is closer to the Tesla plant?

[Pete]

Multiple people with knowledge of those negotiations told NonDoc this afternoon that the company has chosen the Kansas site for its newest manufacturing facility. However, those same people said Panasonic has been considering whether to build a second battery plant, which could ultimately be located in Pryor to take advantage of a nearly $700 million rebate incentive created by the Oklahoma Legislature earlier this year.

https://nondoc.com/2022/07/13/report...cond%20factory

From that article:

“Oklahoma is not totally out of it,” said an individual closely connected to the state’s recruitment efforts on the condition of anonymity. “The electric vehicle market is only growing.”

Senate Appropriations and Budget Chairman Roger Thompson (R-Okemah) said representatives of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce have told him Panasonic is considering the construction of a second battery plant.

and

“Gov. Stitt is confident in his plan to attract companies to Oklahoma,” Atchison said. “This is not the end of the governor’s strategy to make Oklahoma a top 10 state for business, and Oklahomans would be wise to not count us out just yet.”

These are all people with huge political motivation to spin this in the most positive light possible.

[G.Walker]

Its not that complicated. Oklahoma offered $698 million in incentives, Kansas offered over $1 billion.

Money talks...I could think of 300 million reasons why they chose Kansas over Oklahoma.