Okay, I just have to say this, but I'm kinda on the fence about the talks about 25 Million dollar bailout of Automakers. So on one hand, I don't want to see all those people lose their jobs and further hurt the economy. On the other, people are not buying car for a whole bunch of reasons, not the least of which was the price of gas. Cars that get crappy mileage aren't going to sell, and since the average new car gets LOWER gas mileage than my ten year old Kia, I don't see them having much success. There's also the simple fact that new cars cost way, way too much. Then let's try the fact that they pump out new cars at an enormous, scary rate.
They NEED to re-tool and re-design for alternative energy, and producing a high quality LOW price, affordable car that people want. Making an alternative fuel car that's too expensive is crazy, no one is going to buy them.
Okay people, her is an official notification: The economy IS ALREADY TOAST. It's done, gone, Rome is burning, stop trying to blame President Obama!!! For pity sake, he just got elected, hasn't had his first day on the job and people are already blaming him? Especially the frickin GOP, they are already spinning this as HIS fault.
"Dear stupid politicians,
At the end of the Clinton Administration, the economy wasn't terrible and the budget was more or less balanced for the first time in years. The DOTCOM bubble had broken and yet, you all wanted to ease regulations on trading and speculation, loans and banking, and let the banks and big business go nuts.
It's now 2008, President Obama has just been elected, and has not even taken office. He's going to be stepping into hell, forced to clean up the mess you all made. He's in way deep and he hasn't even started. It's going to take a huge amount of work and time to reverse the damage, and work from you jokers to help him get the job done. Don't blame him."
That's all I'm going to say about that, but you heard it here first. I'm not going to blame it on a specific party, because it's simpler than that. Either you're part of the solution, or part of the problem. Drop the titles and posturing and get to work!
2 comments:
Well, it's a fascinating peek into national politics, ain't it? Fascinating to note that by and large, congressional members personal fortunes are based more on the financial markets than manufacturing, and so we end up going with Paulsons 3-page bank bailout proposal when all was said and done. And half of the 700B has been spent, yet the "oversight committee" has yet to be staffed. And not a word from Congress. You know, the folks that said no to the original, vague, no-oversight proposal. When the auto industries employing three to four *million* americans (including suppliers and sales, etc) are at stake however, they are told "sorry, can't help you". Just like they have to the mortgageholders (although for very different reasons). Of no minor interest is the observation that if the automakers were to declare bankruptcy, all union contracts would be void. And that it's the Democrats that are saying "no".
Exactly! It's more business as usual, the big guys getting money just thrown at them and the rest of us hoping for crumbs. Honestly on the one hand I'd love to see the unions broken, or dramatically overhauled, and I suspect if the contracts did get broken, the Union would lose it's teeth.
Union's have become the defacto Middle management that is driving up costs on both sides of things while people aren't really reaping the rewards. There is a purpose to Unions, and once they were a great idea, but Union bosses now are too invested in their own power and position, the money they make, the lawyers, and overhead and so forth.
It's an entire infrastructure that needs to be ripped out and re-tooled. From the "C" corporate types in all aspects of business, to middle management who drive to few employees to produce more than they can in too few hours. They play games with peoples pay and benefits, trying to get the best deals... Yeah, the best deal, for them.
It drives up labor costs, cutting into benefits, actual pay, AND hours. Then off course there's the excellent point you make, at the corporate level, they are thinking who's going to make out and how. Of course the only folks who win are the folks making too much money already.
So while I don't see an easy answer, I do see what needs to change. People who DO the work, need to be paid and protected for DOING the work. They need to have a safe, affordable place to live. They need to be able to afford to get back and forth to work, safely and in a timely fashion.
Government and Corporate serfdoms need to be reworked. CEO's need to get paid for the work they do, not for the prestige and position. I bet that the big three wouldn't be in quite so much trouble if the didn't spend 100 million (or more) per "C" level employee per year.
Yeah, the whole thing needs a total overhaul, and the little people who actually make the country run need a bailout!
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