General Electric Archives

THE FALL OF THE GE BOSTON DEAL, PART II

AG Healey should form independent commission to investigate the failed agreement Last week in the first installment of this two-part column, I ran through the many problems with the January 2016 deal between General Electric, the city of Boston, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that has now collapsed for

JASON PRAMAS March 6, 2019

THE FALL OF THE GE BOSTON DEAL, PART I

The official narrative and the real story Readers might feel that this should be a time for me to take a victory lap. The GE Boston deal that I criticized from the moment it was made public in January 2016 has crashed to Earth a bit over three years later.

JASON PRAMAS February 28, 2019

BROKEN MEDIA, BROKEN POLITICS

If Mass journalists were doing their jobs, Baker would not be so popular May 1, 2018 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS It’s always funny to hear that Charlie Baker is a very popular governor… The most popular governor in the country at the moment, according to polls. Because

JASON PRAMAS May 1, 2018

YOUR MOVE, BOSTON

Only a massive protest movement can stop government giveaways to megacorps March, 2018 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Boston politics—in both its state and local variants—seems to consist largely of backroom deals between government officials and major corporations punctuated by rituals of representative democracy that are increasingly put

JASON PRAMAS March 7, 2018

GENERAL ELECTRIC FAIL

Conglomerate’s woes throw Boston HQ deal contradictions into bold relief November 15, 2017 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS What a surprise. General Electric is tanking, and the scheme to bring the multinational’s headquarters to Boston is looking worse by the day. And whom shall the public blame if

JASON PRAMAS November 15, 2017

AN AMAZON NORTH ANDOVER DEAL?

Sketch of the Merrimack Valley Works plant at North Andover while under construction in 1955 Merrimack Valley pols courting the tech behemoth have forgotten recent history Sept 26, 2017 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS A couple of weeks ago, I criticized the possibility of an Amazon Boston deal—on the grounds that most

JASON PRAMAS September 26, 2017

STOP THE AMAZON BOSTON DEAL

Locals have until Oct 19 to say ‘No Public Bribes to Corporate Scofflaws’ Sept. 12, 2017 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Fresh off of throwing tens of millions of dollars at General Electric, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker are now planning to enter the international horse race to convince

JASON PRAMAS September 12, 2017

PRESS FAIL: AS GE CEO STEPS DOWN, BOSTON JOURNALISTS MUST DO THEIR JOB

June 14, 2017 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS A recent column by the Boston Globe‘s Shirley Leung perfectly encapsulates the problem with local media cheerleading for General Electric’s decision to move its headquarters to Boston. The title alone says it all: “Will GE’s new CEO remain committed to Boston?” Because, like so many

JASON PRAMAS June 14, 2017

PROGRESSIVE CONFUSION

Only multiparty democracy will ensure that left policies are enacted in Mass May 10, 2017 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS There is a persistent myth that Massachusetts is a left-wing state. The basis of this demonstrably false conceit is that the Commonwealth has had a Democratic majority in its legislature for as

JASON PRAMAS May 10, 2017

GE BOSTON DEAL: THE MISSING MANUAL, PART 4

February 29, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS In May 2012, three former GE executives were imprisoned after being convicted on multiple charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and defraud the United States. Dominick Carollo, Steven Goldberg and Peter Grimm had all worked for GE Capital—the financial division that operated

JASON PRAMAS February 29, 2016