About the Navistar mess, aren't Powerstroke engines also known to be troublesome?
The original 7.3L powerstrokes are very good. It's the early 6.0 PS that had all of the issues and created relationship issues between Ford and International.
The current 6.7 powerstroke seems to be pretty good, but it's not an International engine anymore. I believe Ford designed and builds it.
The GOP has this privatization mania which will go the way of supply side/trickle down economics promise of prosperity. The very business interests who lure illegal’s into the nation with JOBS and sit back as they are used as scapegoats for our nation’s woes. The same business interests who ship JOBS overseas, saying that capital should be allowed to move to its most efficient use. Then it also stands to reason, labor being a part/subset of capital, should also be allowed to move to its most efficient use. They see you as Casino Jack aka Jack Abramoff saw the Native Americans, as MONKEYS. They label things to fool the masses, the Patriot Act sounds like a genuine wholesome patriotic thing, but is nothing but a method to take away the rights given by constitution/bill of rights. The estate tax was labeled a death tax, screwing salaried employees out of overtime, was labeled as a good family values agenda aka comp time. The list goes on as the GOP is now in the hands of Grover "Guber" Norquist and if you dare to stray, you go the way of Richard Lugar, as Guber has a war chest to keep the troops in line. It's absurd and preposterous that they claim that Obama is a socialist. Capitalism collapsed, as did communism prior. What else do you call central planning to shot gun marriage some financial institutions and throw a TARP over the rest? Central planning by definition is socialism PERIOD. Then the Wall Street welfare entitlement mentality took over, as they sold new issues/stock to repay the TARP, thereby diluting present shareholder value, just to get their fat little fingers on that bonus. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. The austerity measures of those in Europe and Ireland being the perfect example shows the very stupidity of the Tea Party. We got out of the Great Depression by government spending/fueling the economy. Back then the GOP also claimed that the public works were the end of civilization. Show me something that government does well? The Boulder/Hoover dam and the TVA are still paying big dividends. The public works of the Great Depression and then the WWII government spending got the nation out of the Great Depression and not the private sector PERIOD. We as a nation extended help/loans under the Marshall Plan to Europe after WWII and the world didn't end. So spare us this grand debt scenario which our grandchildren will be burden by. They are already being raped of pension and if allowed social security/medicare/medicaid if the GOP has its way. Again, will we question where Mitt was born, his Mormonism, his patriotism, his father’s Mexican heritage or how well do we know Mitt and just how many wives does Mitt have? How many times was FDR elected because of Hoover’s austerity measures? Even David Stockman the Architect of supply side has admitted to Keynes being right all along. Send the bill for two wars, ten plus years of tax cuts and Medicare Part D (no negotiated rates, like in the VA) to those who were blind followers of Bush Jr. He took lobby money from big pharmaceuticals; he then repays them by allowing them to overcharge. So aren't the taxpayers indirectly paying for that lobby money? Just as we taxpayers pay 2K per Walmart employee a year average on social service indirectly. This hidden and or indirect tax is still real and a burden to the taxpayers. www.opensecrets.org
However, they are exempt from EPA and or any other regulations, unlike any other industry. They themselves claim that just over 5% of their drilling is less than perfect and or leaks. It reeks of another BP environmental crime.
So how do you feel about all the Free Trade agreements your man in the WH is pushing through? TPP ought to put the final nail in the UAW coffin. I can't believe the UAW backed KORUS. Just in time for Korea to sign a $3 billion parts supply contract with Government Motors.
So much wrong and so little time: >Send the bill for two wars, ten plus years of tax cuts and Medicare Part D (no negotiated rates, like in the VA) to those who were blind followers of Bush Jr. He took lobby money from big pharmaceuticals; he then repays them by allowing them to overcharge. So aren't the taxpayers indirectly paying for that lobby money? Just as we taxpayers pay 2K per Walmart employee a year average on social service indirectly.
Are you talking about the payback to pharmaceutical companies in exchange for supporting the Obama takeover of healthcare bill? I just got two tiny bottles of antibiotics for eyes at $90 each. Sounds like BO Care isn't working. Also did you mean the paybacks to Solyndra and other "green" companies tied to fundraising for the COWH (current occupant White House)? Or did you mention the $500,000,000 taken out of Medicare for BO Care? OR did you mention the abolition of Medicare Ddvantage earlier this year only to improperly use an experimentation fund in Medicare to cover the cost for the rest of this year so we seniors don't figure out that Medicare Advantage is gone until after the (re)election of President this fall?
I'm just trying to figure out who's to blame here--Bush has been gone 3 years and the last 5 years have been Democrat controlled... Just wonderin'. :grin
As for UAW, they should have been neutered in Obama's bankruptcy procedings. They should have had to reapply and reassert to be the union, if any, in the auto plants. Wonder why Barry didn't do that? Money for his campaign? Support on the streets for his doings with UAW members and others going door-to-door would have been gone in 2010 and 2012?
This report starts at the 32 minute point. It is well worth watching.
A U.S. proposal for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact between the United States and eight Pacific nations would allow foreign corporations operating in the U.S. to appeal key regulations to an international tribunal. The body would have the power to override U.S. law and issue penalties for failure to comply with its ruling.
As more and more of our country and businesses are bought up by other countries, the UAW and other Unions will have to deal with management that is not just looking out for themselves. You are so right about dissolving the Unions when the GM and C BKs were negotiated. If they decided to go with the UAW it would have leveled the wages for all workers.
What is your take on the Chinese buying up large blocks of your state along with Michigan and Idaho?
I scanned article about Toledo. Hadn't heard that before? I'll read later. Amazing that Toledo UAW Jeep plant is touted by BO as a showcase for his success with passing out money and power to UAW.
We also have governor Kasick (Kasuck to many of us) is bragging about how Ohio has improved at a faster rate in recovergy than other states--of course we were lower than most of them in number of jobs left after manufacturing left. So increasing from 20 to 30 is a 50% increase while going from 50 to 60 is a 17% increase. I think you're looking at a one term governor; no Wisc Saturday night salvation for Gov. Kasick.
Just a comment or two re --this is too funny. It is what it is. As long as humans have lived in large groups there has been a need to share so that common issues can be resolved for the benefit of most. There was and always be those who will try to use the system to gain a personal advantage. I find it amusing that folks can align themselves with like minded citizens to point the finger at those they disagree with as the reason that corruption and stupidity prevails. If we could just get rid of the Bluebirds then we Sparrows will rule with fairness and fiscal responsibility. Maybe all we need is more religion/god to resolve these issues [my version of course] ? It seems to be working well in the Middle East. The current state of affairs is nothing new. Every political party since 1776 has been equally corrupt. The winners take care of their own because they can. It will never change. It is remarkable that we live as well as we do in spite of this fact.
With all respect, you write with the conviction that you have this whole thing figured out. Will you concede that there are others who disagree with you and are just as convinced of the absolute correctness of their views? There are just too many true believers out there with all the answers. I think I'll make a cup of coffee and read my newest book, "Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter." After that I might take a nap before dinner. Life is too short to discuss politics or religion. People hear what they want to hear-- see what they want to see -- and believe what they want to believe. It's a huge waste of time for me because it never accomplishes anything. But I respect those who feel compelled to engage in all this rhetoric. Have at it and good luck.
If it was me, I posted the Gordon Gekko quote, which apparently was offensive somehow since it was removed, as a joke... More of a commentary on how cynical some folks get.
Evidently, it must have been an inside joke that some folks missed.
I like your outlook on life. Enjoy the book. Debate is good until it becomes uncivilized and hateful. And it is not for everyone. My wife shares your position, that a good or bad book beats a political or religious debate.
I can't imagine how that offended. It was true in the dangerous days of the 80s and it is even more true now, it really shows how we have got to this point.
Greed is good...in the VERY short term, which is the only term both unions and corporate leaders can grasp.
Check your email. We frown on "spelled out" profanity here, whether it's yours or somebody being quoted. We're pretty tame compared to, say, network TV.
Frankly, I don't think the poster responding to my post actually knows who the character Gordon Gekko is... A fictional character (antagonist) in the movie "Wall Street".
My comments were more reflective of my overall feelings re: political discussions rather than a direct response to your post which I found a bit confusing. I suppose that heated political rhetoric does serve a purpose as a substitute for the human races' propensity to do violence on those that disagree with their point of view. And by the way, I am very familiar with the character, Gordon Gekko. You would have to live in a cave to miss him as the commercial spokesman for Geico Insurance.
It looks like Stockton public employees will be losing their gold plated health care for life plans.
About $7 million in savings would come from cutting retiree health care benefits for one year and then phasing them out. Stockton officials have said the benefits are a crushing expense due to their fast rise and projected liability of $417 million.
Despite the cuts, Stockton has not been able to avoid recurring deficits. Its revenue is weak and its financial troubles have been compounded, according to city officials, by generous pay and benefits for city workers and retirees and too much debt taken on by the city when it enjoyed a home-building boom in the early part of the last decade that transformed it into a distant bedroom community for the San Francisco Bay area.
Or if anyone knows that character was somewhat made to mock and lament the "greed" trend of the 80s, which led to some economic issues right about the time that movie hit the screens. And 25 years later, the mess is 10x worse. Unions are much smaller now than then, de-industrialization en masse, shrinking middle class, huge gold gains for the top few.
Unions are much smaller now than then, de-industrialization en masse, shrinking middle class, huge gold gains for the top few.
While I agree about many of the top few, don't forget the rot from below. In the big picture, that may be the bigger contributor to the decline of this country. Low education, entitlement, freeloading, not expecting any accountability, wanting the mommy state to take care of you....one thing we can agree upon is that it is the middle class that is really getting the shaft.
When it comes to entitlement, dubious education, no accountability, etc, I see plenty of that at the top, too.
Middle class is being hammered from both ends, and it is much worse than in Gordon Gekko's day Unions are dying off yet it isn't helping the overall picture.. This is how theories work in reality rather than paper, our system has proven itself to be anything but an egalitarian meritocracy.
Middle class is being hammered from both ends, and it is much worse than in Gordon Gekko's day Unions are dying off yet it isn't helping the overall picture..
Yup, the UAW has been pretty quiet lately. I guess a bit neutered.
Yet the transplants seem to be employing generally happy workers.
When it comes to entitlement, dubious education, no accountability, etc, I see plenty of that at the top, too.
Ah but, we are only looking at the top 1%. We have 50% at the bottom of the food chain feeding off of the middle and upper middle classes. Not paying any income tax. With the 1% limousine Liberals egging them on to apply for food stamps and other giveaway programs. More votes to keep the elitist in power.
Yup, the UAW has been pretty quiet lately. I guess a bit neutered.
The UAW is gasping for air. They need to feed on the transplants to survive. It is the public employee Unions that are destroying our cities and states. At least the states where they have been allowed unfettered control of the legislature. In CA the state is far and away the largest employer. Those are all votes for "whatcha gonna gimme jimmy"?
50% who also hold virtually none of the wealth, and as we devolve towards an ever tighter class/caste system to mirror our "free trade" competitors and imported wealth alike, never will. I am not seeing much shared sacrifice in the problems of today from either side. Unions have become irrelevant for the majority - how many of us know union members? Yet the decline continues, nobody looking out for the middle group who made the nation great, instead either giving undeserved gifts to the top, endless aid to the bottom, and false hopes of future tycoon status to the masses.
Limousine liberals are only a small part of that robber baron group - our corporate elite usually isn't included in that. I am sure votes to put a smarmy born on third base silver spoon "job creator" in power would be gained via better means
UAW has become meaningless for all but the execs of the big 2.5. Doesn't seem to have changed a whole lot in the big employment picture nationwide. Unions used the Gekko greed ideal as much as those who employed them...but when unions fade away more and there is no progress, who gets the blame next?
The problem, even if we raised taxes double what they are now on the 1% it would not help a whole lot. Nothing to stop them in our current world from going to a villa south of France, like Corzine has done with a couple billion scammed from investors. Not many countries including the USA that will turn away someone with lots of money. So lamenting over the 1% is useless. We can cut the waste at the bottom and make it less desirable to be a poor couch potato. I am sure a few would love to have a job. I would guess millions of them are very happy with the government handouts.
50% who also hold virtually none of the wealth, and as we devolve towards an ever tighter class/caste system to mirror our "free trade" competitors and imported wealth alike, never will
The biggest "wealth" that the 50% have is VOTES. And also a a generally lower level of education. Which means VOTES and GULLIBLE. Sort of like the UAW. Spend a lot on advertising, tell people what they want to hear, and they'll vote for you! So the 1% rely on the 50%, and the 49% pay the bills. The 49% are smart enough to recognize what's going on, but not numerous enough to stop it.
In the UAW it's a mirror of this. The only difference is that the 1% is the union leadership (wants to stay in power). But most of the union members are analagous to the 50% in general society (the "give me a lot of benefits, *living wages* (gag), etc.). But over the long haul the entire system (UAW) has sort of moved downt the self-extinguishment path. And guess what - in general society we are starting to see the same thing, for analogous reasons.
> It is the public employee Unions that are destroying our cities and states. At least the states where they have been allowed unfettered control of the legislature.
There's the Obama-syndrome in that generalization that all public employees are bad for the world. Just as the mantra that the mindless masses "believed" in 2008 was that BO would save them, the polar opposites chant the mantra that public employees bad, schools bad, liberal government bad, private unions bad has been believed by many gullible minds of mush listening to Limbaugh, Beck, et al. I want my court case to be filed correctly by the public employee. I want the public employee to keep straight the reigstration and title of my vehicle. I want my property ownership records to be done correctly by a public employee. I want my kids to be taught by a public employee with degrees and proper training in education--not just someone who has 2 years of community college that the charter school employed. I want my State Patrol to be thorough and efficient in how they operate. I want my street lights to be properly timed for traffic flow--although we don't have much problem with that here in the outburbs. i want the welfare/job search office to be properly staffed with qualified people there who try to get the 50%ers off the dole into the work hole (good luck there!).
The UAW actually caused its own demise with the stratification mentioned already. I have no problem with a good pay with benefits, not an outrageous pay from a company driving itself to bankruptcy.
The UAW is better run than the SEIU members who are led to slaughter by union/party leaders who use them as machine gun fodder on the battleground of politics.
There's the Obama-syndrome in that generalization that all public employees are bad for the world.
Public employees are good and needed. Public employee unions are bad in their ability to hold cities and states hostage. I don't understand why that is hard to see.
I want my court case to be filed correctly by the public employee.
More likely that will happen with an employee that feels they are not protected from screwing up by a Union.
I want my kids to be taught by a public employee with degrees and proper training in education
What does that have to do with public employees being unionized? Setting standards is up to the Cities and states. More likely to get strict standards without a Union forcing its work rules on the government.
The UAW actually caused its own demise with the stratification mentioned already. I have no problem with a good pay with benefits, not an outrageous pay from a company driving itself to bankruptcy.
Totally agree
The UAW is better run than the SEIU members who are led to slaughter by union/party leaders who use them as machine gun fodder on the battleground of politics.
That is the problem with public employee unions. They are allowed to control elections of the people that sign their labor agreements.
The Institute for Southern Studies, says that the UAW is focusing on Nissan’s Canton plant because they estimate that the plant’s racial makeup is 80 percent African-American, thus more easily exploitable.
“It was here that some of the bloodiest battles of the civil rights movement were fought,” reports Facing South. “It is here where the idea of a social movement based on social justice at the workplace can find fertile ground, UAW leaders believe.”
Gee and I thought the civil rights movement was about securing the same rights for black citizen that everyone enjoyed regardless of skin color.
It’s nice to see that the UAW readily admits that, at least for them, the civil right movement is about exploiting the color of someone’s skin in order to bolster union coffers. I’m supposing the UAW thinks that blacks can’t add or subtract the same way that whites do.
Because, as the UAW cynically admits, previous attempts at unionizing Nissan auto plants that were 80 percent white failed.
The Treasury Department estimates the taxpayers will lose enormous sums in the auto bailout — more than $20 billion. That is more than Michigan spends on public education, more than the federal government spends on NASA, and more than America gives in foreign aid.
None of these losses were necessary to keep General Motors and Chrysler in business. The entire net cost of the bailout came from subsidizing the United Auto Workers' pay and benefits.
President Barack Obama argues that the bailout's losses were a price worth paying to save the Michigan economy. He calls concerns that "paying back the unions" motivated his decision "a load of you know what." But his administration ignored the principles of bankruptcy law to give the UAW special treatment.
General Motors had much higher labor costs than its foreign "transplant" competitors. Bankruptcy courts typically reduce wages and benefits to competitive rates, as happened at many airlines. That did not happen in Detroit.
The special treatment for the United Auto Workers did not extend to members of rival unions. GM did not top up the pensions of Delphi's United Steelworkers retirees. The Task Force also barred laid-off members of the International Union of Electrical Workers from being re-hired at other GM plants.
In total, the extra-legal subsidies to the UAW increased the cost of the bailout by $26.5 billion. They account for the program's entire net cost. None of that money was necessary to keep GM or Chrysler operating, to keep their suppliers in business, or to prevent layoffs. The taxpayer losses came solely from propping up UAW pay and benefits.
Nowadays, jobs and income will trump a lot of racial charges, even in the Jackson area. Unless Nissan is treating employees poorly, I doubt that many workers will see any benefit from shifting some of their wages to a union like the UAW.
Now, if all the middle managers are old white guys still in sharecropper mentality, always talking about bass fishing up at Ross Barnett, organizing efforts could pay off.
The reports that Nissan workers in Canton make less than those in Smyrna would be a good wedge between labor and management. The racial make-up in Canton is about 180° different from that up in Smyrna.
when entities on the "left" (unions, media, etc) use race, they use the excuse of trying to help, but it still plays the race card...plus, it assumes that blacks need help as tho they cannot take care of themselves...
It looks to me like the average home in Smyrna TN, is about 20% more expensive than Canton, MS. From that perspective the Nissan employees in Canton are over paid. From this piece, it sure looks like the UAW is targeting black workers. I consider that a sick tactic and as marsha7 noted a real slap in the face to blacks. Hopefully they are smart enough to realize they are being used. The plant is old enough to be amortized out. Just move to a more friendly place.
A recent press conference in Canton organized by community leaders had U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., standing alongside state NAACP President Derrick Johnson and others pledging their support for the unionization effort at Canton.
Not a whole lot, but it would be better than nothing, which is pretty much the story with our current bought and paid for codes. Trickle down hasn't worked. Lamenting over those who in reality control both parties, wars, laws, etc is not really useless. Only those who somehow think they are at that level or can become it, or are afraid of facts being revealed that these fortunes aren't all about hard work and logic, are those who don't want to see any shared sacrifice.
Running away to dodge responsibility should have one labeled a traitor and make them in effect a marked man. Whether it be Corzine or the facebook coward or an offshoring exec.
Keeping millions happy is what government handouts are about - keeping tensions at a low simmer...which are bound to grow as the gaps show no sign of narrowing.
What are votes worth when the top few own both parties, and control virtually every social and corporate special interest group? What difference does a vote make when the same few win no matter the election result? What changed with the last election, and what will change with the next? Votes, seriously? I don't know if 49% are smart enough to realize it - they are either deluded into believing they can join the 1% (maybe by becoming overpaid useless consultants or surplus management who act entitled to "living wages" while truly earning none of it...), or are doing everything possible to not be those who own 0% as new entrants into the workforce find a playing field more expensive and competitive than anything seen by the lecturing old timers who came before. That "self extinguishment" in society as a whole is somewhat false, so much of it created by the policies bought by those who have seen their share increase to a relative level not seen in nearly a century.
I'm not clear about your point with the average value of houses in Smyrna, TN compared to that in Canton.
Is Canton along a major interstate highway? Does it have oodles of other industries and light businesses around the general area? Is it adjacent to Nashville or an equivalent major city which also increases the value of homes? Is it in between two important cities, Nashville and Murfreesboro, where Murfreesboro has to be one of the fastest growing towns I've seen since the 90s and an area north of Cincinnati slowed down in growth? That rapid growth in building and new businesses in Murfreesboro applies pressure to housing prices in the area between it and the Metro itself.
I have spent quite a bit of time in that area. Friends of ours have a house 20 feet from Smyrna.
Comments
The original 7.3L powerstrokes are very good. It's the early 6.0 PS that had all of the issues and created relationship issues between Ford and International.
The current 6.7 powerstroke seems to be pretty good, but it's not an International engine anymore. I believe Ford designed and builds it.
Cheap natural gas is doing that even better than the EPA. May even make a dent in diesel sales.
And yes, there's a Natural Gas Workers Union. :shades:
So how do you feel about all the Free Trade agreements your man in the WH is pushing through? TPP ought to put the final nail in the UAW coffin. I can't believe the UAW backed KORUS. Just in time for Korea to sign a $3 billion parts supply contract with Government Motors.
Are you talking about the payback to pharmaceutical companies in exchange for supporting the Obama takeover of healthcare bill? I just got two tiny bottles of antibiotics for eyes at $90 each. Sounds like BO Care isn't working. Also did you mean the paybacks to Solyndra and other "green" companies tied to fundraising for the COWH (current occupant White House)? Or did you mention the $500,000,000 taken out of Medicare for BO Care? OR did you mention the abolition of Medicare Ddvantage earlier this year only to improperly use an experimentation fund in Medicare to cover the cost for the rest of this year so we seniors don't figure out that Medicare Advantage is gone until after the (re)election of President this fall?
I'm just trying to figure out who's to blame here--Bush has been gone 3 years and the last 5 years have been Democrat controlled... Just wonderin'. :grin
As for UAW, they should have been neutered in Obama's bankruptcy procedings. They should have had to reapply and reassert to be the union, if any, in the auto plants. Wonder why Barry didn't do that? Money for his campaign? Support on the streets for his doings with UAW members and others going door-to-door would have been gone in 2010 and 2012?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
A U.S. proposal for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact between the United States and eight Pacific nations would allow foreign corporations operating in the U.S. to appeal key regulations to an international tribunal. The body would have the power to override U.S. law and issue penalties for failure to comply with its ruling.
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/6/14/breaking_08_pledge_leaked_trade_doc
As more and more of our country and businesses are bought up by other countries, the UAW and other Unions will have to deal with management that is not just looking out for themselves. You are so right about dissolving the Unions when the GM and C BKs were negotiated. If they decided to go with the UAW it would have leveled the wages for all workers.
What is your take on the Chinese buying up large blocks of your state along with Michigan and Idaho?
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/will-toledo-ohio-be-the-first-major-- - american-city-to-be-owned-by-china
We also have governor Kasick (Kasuck to many of us) is bragging about how Ohio has improved at a faster rate in recovergy than other states--of course we were lower than most of them in number of jobs left after manufacturing left. So increasing from 20 to 30 is a 50% increase while going from 50 to 60 is a 17% increase. I think you're looking at a one term governor; no Wisc Saturday night salvation for Gov. Kasick.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
If it was me, I posted the Gordon Gekko quote, which apparently was offensive somehow since it was removed, as a joke... More of a commentary on how cynical some folks get.
Evidently, it must have been an inside joke that some folks missed.
Oh, well...
Greed is good...in the VERY short term, which is the only term both unions and corporate leaders can grasp.
About $7 million in savings would come from cutting retiree health care benefits for one year and then phasing them out. Stockton officials have said the benefits are a crushing expense due to their fast rise and projected liability of $417 million.
Despite the cuts, Stockton has not been able to avoid recurring deficits. Its revenue is weak and its financial troubles have been compounded, according to city officials, by generous pay and benefits for city workers and retirees and too much debt taken on by the city when it enjoyed a home-building boom in the early part of the last decade that transformed it into a distant bedroom community for the San Francisco Bay area.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/06/26/economy-stockton-idINL2E8HQ0UF20120626
Is there ANY financial news show that hasn't used several of Gordon's quotes?
Of course, the most famous one was "greed is good".
I'd have to go do a net search because I have no clue who he is. Does living in a tent the last few nights count as a cave?
Anyone got any UAW news?
I don't live in a tent and I had no idea. Must have to be a couch potato to know who he is.
"That's not the Gekko you're looking for. Move along..."
The ball is finally rolling. This is bound to repeat all over the U.S. in the coming years.
While I agree about many of the top few, don't forget the rot from below. In the big picture, that may be the bigger contributor to the decline of this country. Low education, entitlement, freeloading, not expecting any accountability, wanting the mommy state to take care of you....one thing we can agree upon is that it is the middle class that is really getting the shaft.
Middle class is being hammered from both ends, and it is much worse than in Gordon Gekko's day Unions are dying off yet it isn't helping the overall picture.. This is how theories work in reality rather than paper, our system has proven itself to be anything but an egalitarian meritocracy.
Yup, the UAW has been pretty quiet lately. I guess a bit neutered.
Yet the transplants seem to be employing generally happy workers.
Ah but, we are only looking at the top 1%. We have 50% at the bottom of the food chain feeding off of the middle and upper middle classes. Not paying any income tax. With the 1% limousine Liberals egging them on to apply for food stamps and other giveaway programs. More votes to keep the elitist in power.
The UAW is gasping for air. They need to feed on the transplants to survive. It is the public employee Unions that are destroying our cities and states. At least the states where they have been allowed unfettered control of the legislature. In CA the state is far and away the largest employer. Those are all votes for "whatcha gonna gimme jimmy"?
Limousine liberals are only a small part of that robber baron group - our corporate elite usually isn't included in that. I am sure votes to put a smarmy born on third base silver spoon "job creator" in power would be gained via better means
The biggest "wealth" that the 50% have is VOTES. And also a a generally lower level of education. Which means VOTES and GULLIBLE. Sort of like the UAW. Spend a lot on advertising, tell people what they want to hear, and they'll vote for you! So the 1% rely on the 50%, and the 49% pay the bills. The 49% are smart enough to recognize what's going on, but not numerous enough to stop it.
In the UAW it's a mirror of this. The only difference is that the 1% is the union leadership (wants to stay in power). But most of the union members are analagous to the 50% in general society (the "give me a lot of benefits, *living wages* (gag), etc.). But over the long haul the entire system (UAW) has sort of moved downt the self-extinguishment path. And guess what - in general society we are starting to see the same thing, for analogous
There's the Obama-syndrome in that generalization that all public employees are bad for the world. Just as the mantra that the mindless masses "believed" in 2008 was that BO would save them, the polar opposites chant the mantra that public employees bad, schools bad, liberal government bad, private unions bad has been believed by many gullible minds of mush listening to Limbaugh, Beck, et al. I want my court case to be filed correctly by the public employee. I want the public employee to keep straight the reigstration and title of my vehicle. I want my property ownership records to be done correctly by a public employee. I want my kids to be taught by a public employee with degrees and proper training in education--not just someone who has 2 years of community college that the charter school employed. I want my State Patrol to be thorough and efficient in how they operate. I want my street lights to be properly timed for traffic flow--although we don't have much problem with that here in the outburbs. i want the welfare/job search office to be properly staffed with qualified people there who try to get the 50%ers off the dole into the work hole (good luck there!).
The UAW actually caused its own demise with the stratification mentioned already. I have no problem with a good pay with benefits, not an outrageous pay from a company driving itself to bankruptcy.
The UAW is better run than the SEIU members who are led to slaughter by union/party leaders who use them as machine gun fodder on the battleground of politics.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Public employees are good and needed. Public employee unions are bad in their ability to hold cities and states hostage. I don't understand why that is hard to see.
I want my court case to be filed correctly by the public employee.
More likely that will happen with an employee that feels they are not protected from screwing up by a Union.
I want my kids to be taught by a public employee with degrees and proper training in education
What does that have to do with public employees being unionized? Setting standards is up to the Cities and states. More likely to get strict standards without a Union forcing its work rules on the government.
The UAW actually caused its own demise with the stratification mentioned already. I have no problem with a good pay with benefits, not an outrageous pay from a company driving itself to bankruptcy.
Totally agree
The UAW is better run than the SEIU members who are led to slaughter by union/party leaders who use them as machine gun fodder on the battleground of politics.
That is the problem with public employee unions. They are allowed to control elections of the people that sign their labor agreements.
“It was here that some of the bloodiest battles of the civil rights movement were fought,” reports Facing South. “It is here where the idea of a social movement based on social justice at the workplace can find fertile ground, UAW leaders believe.”
Gee and I thought the civil rights movement was about securing the same rights for black citizen that everyone enjoyed regardless of skin color.
It’s nice to see that the UAW readily admits that, at least for them, the civil right movement is about exploiting the color of someone’s skin in order to bolster union coffers. I’m supposing the UAW thinks that blacks can’t add or subtract the same way that whites do.
Because, as the UAW cynically admits, previous attempts at unionizing Nissan auto plants that were 80 percent white failed.
UAW race baiting to gain members
None of these losses were necessary to keep General Motors and Chrysler in business. The entire net cost of the bailout came from subsidizing the United Auto Workers' pay and benefits.
President Barack Obama argues that the bailout's losses were a price worth paying to save the Michigan economy. He calls concerns that "paying back the unions" motivated his decision "a load of you know what." But his administration ignored the principles of bankruptcy law to give the UAW special treatment.
General Motors had much higher labor costs than its foreign "transplant" competitors. Bankruptcy courts typically reduce wages and benefits to competitive rates, as happened at many airlines. That did not happen in Detroit.
The special treatment for the United Auto Workers did not extend to members of rival unions. GM did not top up the pensions of Delphi's United Steelworkers retirees. The Task Force also barred laid-off members of the International Union of Electrical Workers from being re-hired at other GM plants.
In total, the extra-legal subsidies to the UAW increased the cost of the bailout by $26.5 billion. They account for the program's entire net cost. None of that money was necessary to keep GM or Chrysler operating, to keep their suppliers in business, or to prevent layoffs. The taxpayer losses came solely from propping up UAW pay and benefits.
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120626/OPINION01/206260319/Commentary-Ameri- ca-s-taxpayers-lost-big-UAW-bailout?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|s
Now, if all the middle managers are old white guys still in sharecropper mentality, always talking about bass fishing up at Ross Barnett, organizing efforts could pay off.
The reports that Nissan workers in Canton make less than those in Smyrna would be a good wedge between labor and management. The racial make-up in Canton is about 180° different from that up in Smyrna.
I find that disgusting and paternalistic...
A recent press conference in Canton organized by community leaders had U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., standing alongside state NAACP President Derrick Johnson and others pledging their support for the unionization effort at Canton.
http://www.southernstudies.org/2012/06/uaw-targets-mississippi-nissan-plant-for-- its-southern-campaign.html
Running away to dodge responsibility should have one labeled a traitor and make them in effect a marked man. Whether it be Corzine or the facebook coward or an offshoring exec.
Keeping millions happy is what government handouts are about - keeping tensions at a low simmer...which are bound to grow as the gaps show no sign of narrowing.
Let's see... You have a choice... Death by hanging, electrocution, firing squad, stoning.
Which one would you prefer?
If history teaches anything, it's that the first priority of any ruling entity is to remain THE ruling entity... Everything else is secondary.
Is Canton along a major interstate highway?
Does it have oodles of other industries and light businesses around the general area?
Is it adjacent to Nashville or an equivalent major city which also increases the value of homes?
Is it in between two important cities, Nashville and Murfreesboro, where Murfreesboro has to be one of the fastest growing towns I've seen since the 90s and an area north of Cincinnati slowed down in growth? That rapid growth in building and new businesses in Murfreesboro applies pressure to housing prices in the area between it and the Metro itself.
I have spent quite a bit of time in that area. Friends of ours have a house 20 feet from Smyrna.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,