Freedom Industries files for bankruptcy

www.wvgazette.com...

From the company that brought us the Elk River Chemical Spill 2014 in West Virginia we hear that they can no longer do business if required to pay their bills. Freedom Industries has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.

The company hasn't had an inspection since 1991, thank you anti-regulation crowd nor, it seems, has it paid it's Federal Taxes since 2000. A good repulbican company:

Freedom owes $3.6 million to its top 20 unsecured creditors, according to bankruptcy documents. The company also owes more than $2.4 million in unpaid taxes to the Internal Revenue Service, and the IRS has placed at least three liens on Freedom's property, demanding payment.

The West Virginia Bureau of Employment Programs has placed at least two liens on Freedom's property, for about $4,000 in unpaid unemployment compensation insurance. Those liens were filed in 2002 and 2003.

On Jan. 9, the day the leak contaminating the Elk River was discovered, Freedom and its subsidiary, Etowah River Terminal, also owed nearly $93,000 in Kanawha County property taxes, about half of which was due on Oct. 1, 2013, and had become delinquent.

Not only that, but in order to 'keep running' (read pay it's executives) the company needs to borrow even more money:

About an hour after its bankruptcy filing, Freedom filed an emergency motion for what's called "debtor-in-possession," or DIP, financing, which would allow it to secure up to a $5 million loan to continue to function in some capacity. The loan would, according to the filing, "provide additional liquidity to [Freedom] in order to allow it to continue as a going concern."

Yeah - that's going to help them pay their bills...

AND WHO IS GOING TO PAY FOR THE CLEAN-UP - Yep, you and me.....

A question for small/no government - no regulation types: Just how does the magical market protect "We the People" and "Life on Earth"?

Well it's kind of obvious that the ever growing government you want didn't do its job keeping the company on the straight and narrow. So making more regulations would have prevented this right? Maybe if the rules that were already in place got enforced this would not have happened. How about holding the inspectors that failed to do their jobs liable.

reply to post by Hoosierdaddy71


The people of West Virginia do not want government interference or regulations. The people got what they wanted. So now you are saying the EPA is powerless, that big government institution that is killing jobs? Geez, some of you are so confused in what you believe. I guess it changes with the story.

Hoosierdaddy71
Well it's kind of obvious that the ever growing government you want didn't do its job keeping the company on the straight and narrow. So making more regulations would have prevented this right? Maybe if the rules that were already in place got enforced this would not have happened. How about holding the inspectors that failed to do their jobs liable.

No I do think that 'more' regulations would have prevented this. I believe, that ENFORCEMENT (by the way of inspectors, penalties, and, if required, confiscation of property) of existing regulations would have been suffiencient. A huge way of "cutting the budget" and by-passing existing laws has been to cut funding for REGULATION ENFORCEMENT.

The government hasn't been able to effectively do this part of their job since Saint Ronnie. I am not saying that democrates are not complicient in this as well - but no one will doubt the paradym of "the government is the enemy" was cheerlead by the VooDoo Economics crowd.

reply to post by FyreByrd


Couple millions in taxes only? Probably enough for one year worth of taxes for such a large company exaggerated.

There's nothing deregulated with this company. It would be like the BP spills. It's called incompetence. And yes they still can be sued to pay for the bills.

Deregulation is a movement to stop government agencies cronism. The agencies like EPA and FDA will choose winners and losers depending on who are their political lobbyists. They would regulate their political enemies out of business, but leave their political donors alone to monopolize the industry. Prime example is GE who now has control of the entire energy industry, which will allow them to gouge prices. Or a handful of big pharma companies allowed to make drugs because they donate millions to the FDA. While other drugs from smaller companies which have effective drugs can not get them FDA approved. Thus, driving up the prices of healthcare drugs because there is no competition. Another example of deregulation is to implement a flat tax thru the IRS, so they can't be used as a political muscle arm of the political hacks.

The deregulation movement is to create fair game and solutions to government cronyism. It's not to deregulate everything to the point that u have a mad max scenario.

reply to post by amfirst1


It was classified a "storage facility". Just to avoid inspections and taxes.

I own my own business with five employees. Back in 2011 I was fined by OSHA. A $500 fine. Wanna guess what my violation was? I'll tell ya. One of my fire extinguishers was mounted two inches to high off the floor! That is the kind of stupid regulations I have to deal with. I'm not against rules but sometimes they get ridiculous.

The EPA is a good example of the fox guarding the hen house. Look at the background of who is in charge of the EPA.

This is what really bugs me. I can face a fine I can not afford and jail time if my boat drips a little oil or diesel in the water and a ticket happy LEO sees it. Those drips are infinitely small in the big picture, yet me as a person can face stiff legal action. I also have to have a the Discharge of Oil Placard on my boat or face a fine.

Personally I think the creditors of this company should have some liability. They lent money and in way enabled this to happen. At least it would send a message to creditors that they are responsible for the actions that their loans made possible.

What happened in West Virginia has affected millions and no one and no company will face any serious legal action.

reply to post by Hoosierdaddy71


I use to manage a business. Are you sure that was OSHA or the fire marshall?

reply to post by MOMof3


It was the indiana occupational safety and health administration. Otherwise known as iosha. And why does it matter which one was doing the fining? It's still a stupid fine, just tell me to lower it.

reply to post by amfirst1

Deregulation is a movement to stop government agencies cronism.

Nah that's just what you are told the movement is about. Cronyism will happen no matter what, regulations or no regulations. Deregulation is about dropping the cost of accountability (for environmental, labor, safety) from the cost of doing business. Obviously it costs too much money to ensure that the water supply for 300,000 is safe to drink, cook and shower with, so get rid rid of them. What do the politicians care if the taxpayers have to go without clean water and then pay for the clean up, they got their "political donations", they're set for life as is the business that caused the problem... they all get to walk away, if they live in the affected area they can just file for bankruptcy and move away.

You can't have capitalism without regulation. You can't have regulations with corrupt politicians. I think it might be time to put some new laws into place regarding elected officials as in if something goes horribly wrong and it's a result of legislation you pushed or struck down... you are to be charged with criminal negligence.

jrod
The EPA is a good example of the fox guarding the hen house. Look at the background of who is in charge of the EPA.

This is what really bugs me. I can face a fine I can not afford and jail time if my boat drips a little oil or diesel in the water and a ticket happy LEO sees it. Those drips are infinitely small in the big picture, yet me as a person can face stiff legal action. I also have to have a the Discharge of Oil Placard on my boat or face a fine.

Personally I think the creditors of this company should have some liability. They lent money and in way enabled this to happen. At least it would send a message to creditors that they are responsible for the actions that their loans made possible.

What happened in West Virginia has affected millions and no one and no company will face any serious legal action.

edit on 19-1-2014 by jrod because:

The town i work in has a storage and repair yard for the city snow plows and all other city trucks. Recently they found a underground gas storage tank has been leaking. The city paid $160k for a study to see how bad the leak was. Can't wait to see the bill for the cleanup.

reply to post by Hoosierdaddy71


Disinformation matters, especially if you are a business owner. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Hazard Adm) is federal and states have their own. In my state, the fire marshalls inspect the fire extinguishers not WSHA. OSHA inspects businesses where federal funds are being used.

Quit breaking the law.

MOMof3
reply to post by Hoosierdaddy71

 

Disinformation matters, especially if you are a business owner. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Hazard Adm) is federal and states have their own. In my state, the fire marshalls inspect the fire extinguishers not WSHA. OSHA inspects businesses where federal funds are being used.

Quit breaking the law.

You don't think maybe they could have just said to lower it? Bare electrical wires deserve a fine, no safety guards on saws deserve a fine. Nobody safety was in jeopardy because of this.

Using your own logic, the next time a cop pulls you over insist that he gives you a ticket. Not a warning ticket. And tell him about that rolling stop you did yesterday, and that time you didn't use your turn signal. Don't break the law now..

Hoosierdaddy71
I own my own business with five employees. Back in 2011 I was fined by OSHA. A $500 fine. Wanna guess what my violation was? I'll tell ya. One of my fire extinguishers was mounted two inches to high off the floor! That is the kind of stupid regulations I have to deal with. I'm not against rules but sometimes they get ridiculous.

That is stupid. Exactly the kind of thing used to make arguments against regulations. It's a pretty sure thing that had you been a multimillion dollar business with greased palms in your Legislature, those fire marshals or whoever it was conducting the inspection would have moved that extinguisher for you and asked if there was anything else they could do for you sir/madam.

The fact that regulations can be used as weapons against small business is a problem with politicians and policy makers not regulations themselves.

Sounds like a company that decided to expand and wasn't ready. That shows us what desire to look better can do to a corporation. Bigger is not better, it puts you more at risk. It probably was a good company to work for at one time but bit off more than it could chew trying to please it's investors. I have seen many companies flop after expanding. I can't understand why anyone would want to expand if they did not really have to. They put everything they worked so hard for at risk of loss and usually make their job much more stressful.

I can't understand why people do this. Why does society talk a company into expanding? This dog eat dog world sucks, nobody ends up with crap in the end other than the one percent at the top. That is how they stay at the top, by feeding off of people's greed.

Hoosierdaddy71
I own my own business with five employees. Back in 2011 I was fined by OSHA. A $500 fine. Wanna guess what my violation was? I'll tell ya. One of my fire extinguishers was mounted two inches to high off the floor! That is the kind of stupid regulations I have to deal with. I'm not against rules but sometimes they get ridiculous.

Half of the OSHA regulations are ridiculous. This is about environmental regulations though. There are some ridiculously picky environmental regulations but most of them are necessary and important. Pretty soon they will be fining people for spraying wd 40 on a rusted bolt in a garage. Some regulations are just put in place to gain fines for the organization creating them. Pay the fine, and they keep looking away at the big and important things. Sounds like they just want bribes to me.

Hoosierdaddy71
I own my own business with five employees. Back in 2011 I was fined by OSHA. A $500 fine. Wanna guess what my violation was? I'll tell ya. One of my fire extinguishers was mounted two inches to high off the floor! That is the kind of stupid regulations I have to deal with. I'm not against rules but sometimes they get ridiculous.

Could you have fought it? How long was it in that position and did it pass inspection priorly?

It sounds like the company is filing BR in an effort to avoid the billions in law suits more than anything else.

reply to post by Hoosierdaddy71


You may find this hard to believe. But I accept my tickets when I know I have broken the law. I know better, and risked it, got caught.

I do not envy business owners, especially nowadays. But haven't businesses always been a form of gambling and overcoming obstacles? Not for the faint of heart so I never started one. I liked being an employee.

reply to post by Kali74



Yea well it's much more dangerous to freedom when u have the executives from the largest biotech, oil, pharma, and energy industry as the chief deputy and czars in the EPA and FDA.

The constitution already gives u a outline to control monopolies, it's called property rights. U can not just pollute water and land with a government that actually follows the constitution.