What you don't say there is important. You don't say that the assembly is not up to par (like some Camrys I've seen for this new design). Your anger needs to be directed at the management who take high pay an don't do an effective job; you anger needs to be toward the designers and engineers who design and spec the parts.
Imadaz, you have a very good point here. You will see that in a previous post I suggested that the UAW take some additional responsibility to protest or strike inferior products. If they're earning a lot more than other comparable workers in different industries, then there should be some additional value, right? Why are they more concerned about making high wages and benefits than the quality of their product, both when it IS assembly issues as well as when it IS design or quality of materials?
It's also naive to think that the union demands are not affecting product quality, even if it is indirect. The automakers need to be profitable. With high wages and benefits costs, management cuts costs elsewhere. And for the past 20-30 years, that elsewhere has been in the product quality -- nickeling and dimeing -- which supplier makes the cheapest seats? The cheapest dashboard?. We can't afford to develop a modern 6 cyl OHC - we'll throw that old raspy pushrod into this "new" model.
Is this the fault of management? Sure, partially. Yet when the UAW strikes had the companies hemorrhaging millions, the management tried to find a way to end the strike quickly. And sometimes management agreed to demands that pushed the pain forward by 10-20 years, such as retirement benefits. Well that 10-20 years ahead is NOW. And so while the management is clearly responsible in a major way, the unions have accelerated the demise of product quality and are NOT adding value anywhere near commensurate with their high cost. And so guess why the Medium 3 are moving manufacturing jobs out of this country? It's a rational decision in trying to keep the company profitable.
Wow. I have several handguns myself: two Smith & Wesson revolvers: a .38 Police Special and a 5-shot snubnose, a Colt .45, a Beretta M9 and a Beretta .25 Bobcat.
Have you ever driven a car with drums on both the front and rear? My first car was like that.
>supplier makes the cheapest seats? The cheapest dashboard?.\
Cheapest dashboard goes to Camrys that I looked at. A red w/ white interior SE and a gray one an acquaintance has and a gray one on the showroom floor the salesman practically pulled me away from last winter because he wanted to escort me around the showroom rather than let me look at the darn cars as I had asked to do.
Cheap seats goes to the Accords that I sat in last year. The Civic had better seats.
Have you ever driven a car with drums on both the front and rear?
Nope, I never have. But I have driven vehicles with rear drums where the brake system still performed well and 4whl disk systems that have been terrible. The '00 Suburban I had appeared to have the right hardware, 4wheel vented disks that were fairly large, but the brakes were horrible. They were mushy and never inspired confidence. The '01 Nissan Pathfinder I owned had rear drums, but the brakes performed great, even while towing, and had much better pedal feel than my Suburban (along with most GM brakes systems of the day).
While I'd prefer 4 wheel disk brakes, I don't agree that they are a must have on a everyday fwd small to medium sized car. The two biggest advantages for disk brakes are they dissipate heat much better than drums (less brake fade) and they provide better directional stability because disks are likely to "grab" when applied. They work equally well going forward or backwards (nice when backing down a steep boat ramp and very noticeable difference).
In your average fwd car, the vast majority of your braking is with the front brakes, the rears do very little. How many people perform multiple high speed max brake stops in a row? I'd bet that in a car like a Cobalt a good disk/rear drum setup can stop just as fast as a 4wheel disk setup during one panic stop.
From a marketing standpoint they are probably more important.
I have had cars with drums all around. Brakes with disks front and drums rear get you stopped. It's all in the engineering and balancing between front and back.
Today, a third of all Americans are trying to make ends meet on low wages. And the number of low-wage jobs - primarily service jobs in hotels, food prep, home health care and office cleaning - is growing. Over the next decade, 5 million new jobs will pay poverty-level wages unless something is done.
Debra Fowlkes, a life-long Philadelphia resident, lives this struggle daily. She's doing her best to make ends meet, but earning just $9 an hour as a security officer at a state welfare agency doesn't support her three children. She can't remember the last time her bills were paid-up, and despite her hard work, she's lost hope of ever catching up.
Debra's not alone - one in four Philadelphians lives in poverty. Despite working hard to create better futures for their families, they are making little headway in an economy that's producing low-wage jobs like there's no tomorrow.
At the same time, this past year marked the fifth straight one in which the number of millionaires in our country grew - now at 10 million. The top 1 percent of households take home 22 percent of all income - more than double the 9 percent of 30 years ago. This is the highest concentration of income in the hands of the wealthiest one percent since 1928, a year before the great stock market crash.
At no time in our history has the disparity in income been so wide and in no other industrialized country does it come close.
CEO compensation is more than 400 times the take-home pay of an average U.S. worker. For an industrialized country, there is no parallel to this growing income divide between the highest- and lowest-paid workers. Corporate executives in England make half as much as those in the U.S. while the lowest-paid workers there earn a higher wage than their U.S. counterparts.
As we look toward the upcoming election, which will put the fate of our country in new hands, we must demand national policies to change the direction of our economy. Pegging the minimum wage to a percentage of median income would raise it and then keep the lowest-paid workers on pace with future increases of the rest of the workforce. Expanding the earned income tax credit - a cost that would be offset by closing tax loopholes for the very wealthy - would also help those low-income families teetering on the brink of poverty.
At the state level, establishing prevailing wages and benefits for workers at state-owned buildings and facilities, as well as publicly-funded projects, would be a critical step forward in making sure work paid enough to get by. In fact, Pennsylvania is behind the curve in establishing these standards which already exist in many neighboring states.
ASIDE FROM government action, companies, particularly those benefiting from tax breaks, must raise pay in low-wage industries if we are to make an immediate and widescale impact on poverty. Government programs alone will fall short, and unions have shown they can work with business responsibly to bring low-wage workers out of poverty.
In Pennsylvania, low-wage union workers make nearly 13 percent more in wages than their non-union counterparts and are 25 percent more likely to get employer-paid health care and a pension. But joining a union can be hard for many workers who fear employer retribution. Passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, which creates a more neutral environment for workers to decide on union membership, would help low-wage workers join the union and get the raises they need.
We've long held to the notion that having a job means you can make ends meet. But unless steps are taken to address the growing imbalance in our economy, we could wake up one day in a city of just the very rich and the working poor.
However it's okay to pay the CEO 64% more even though the company is bleeding red ink. Some might say you were over paid. Really how many skills were required to do your job. They could of fired all of you and brought in techs from India, for $15 an/hr.
You seem to dwell on what the CEO makes instead of what the UAW pays for a given job. How do you propose to change what a board decides to pay the CEO? The board represent the owners of the company (stockholders). If they want to give all the money to the CEO how are you or any government agency going to stop them. You like to look at Norway. Do you think the King (think CEO) is over paid for riding around in a limo dressed in fancy cloths doing NOTHING?
As far as my job the techs from India can have it for whatever wage they like. I got called last week again wanting to know if I would come back. The last new hire lasted exactly ONE DAY. They had hired him out of Wisconsin. He spent a day at the office in Anchorage and one day in Prudhoe Bay. I guess he did not like working with swarms of mosquitoes around his head all day. The weather is crappy year round. When I left there was a crew of 3 per shift with no on sight supervisor. Now there are 5 per shift plus a supervisor. Seems it is hard to find any self starters in the work force these days. There is only one of the original crew left. The rest of us have retired. We had worked together for 37 years as a crew. You want a Union job that pays $100k+ per year with great benefits and only 26 weeks per year, go for it. Get your name on the books at Teamsters local 959. They are hard pressed to find qualified telephone technicians with digital switching, cable splicing, Cisco & Microsoft certs, FCC radio license, Cellular, Internet and Tower building experience.
PS I agree with you on trade, tariffs & illegal immigration. I just do not support the Unions blindly as you do. The UAW has done a disservice to their members and the companies they have contracts with. They are now suffering the consequence. The UAW is partially responsible for jobs going elsewhere. Especially to Mexico and Canada.
Debra Fowlkes, a life-long Philadelphia resident, lives this struggle daily. She's doing her best to make ends meet, but earning just $9 an hour as a security officer at a state welfare agency doesn't support her three children. She can't remember the last time her bills were paid-up, and despite her hard work, she's lost hope of ever catching up.
Sounds like she made a few mistakes in her life. Where is the father and child support? I paid $1300 per month until my two children turned 18. That was from a divorce in the 1980s. It is not the wages that are the problem. It is the lifestyle and the debt we get ourselves into. My sister is paying 30% on CC debt. Hopefully she has that paid off by now.
There are a lot of sad stories. There are a lot of good stories also. It is still a far cry better than just across the borders both ways. My cousins moved down from Canada and are very happy to now be US citizens. They were not happy paying very high taxes for very little in socialized services.
Even with all the Unions in Canada it is more expensive and people do not live as high on the hog as here in the USA.
You mean to say people don't live as high in debt as in the USA. A good part of the American standard of living is false - debt based, creating problems for tomorrow by over-doing it today....and I won't even touch on the problems regarding poverty, violent crime, etc that are much less in the rest of the first world. If it was a "far cry" worse than north of the border, you would have masses of Canadians wishing to emigrate, and you don't, it is usually those from second-world-at-best areas. Also recall, due to neocon economic ignorance, the loonie has gained 50% in value over the greenback in less than a decade. The exact same applies for Europe. I know people in both Europe and Canada and none are up to their noses in debt as many Americans I know. Low wage service jobs are the future of the US, this is the world of globalization.
When we left our borders open decades ago we started to lose our uniqueness. Now the only chance is to bring up our neighbors at least close to our standard of living. I think the MFG jobs that are now in Mexico are going to eventually have a positive impact on our economy. Many Union jobs were lost to Mexico. Not just the UAW. They are just the last to be really hit hard. Many states learned from their losses and became more business friendly. Michigan politicians are slow learners or hard headed. You have to portray an image of being friendly to business if you want to attract new manufacturing. VW did not see that in Michigan and will spend a $billion in TN.
The down side is we have tried to maintain the highest standard of living in the World on a credit card. Time to pay I would say. Things cannot be all bad. I see people lined up at Costco with big screen TVs. Who would have paid $1500 for a TV 10 years ago? Only the wealthy could afford the flat screens that are selling like crazy right now. All on credit as you have said.
I think the movement from here to Canada and the reverse are probably equal. Those going to Canada believe the system up there is better. Those coming down here know that the taxes are lower and there is guaranteed freedom of speech that you do not have in Canada.
Being business-friendly is good...but there must be a longterm vision rather than endless free perks for a few years of operations. The created jobs must be living-wage, too. I do not see this always being the case. And the real problem regarding business/employment is China being allowed to compete on a level playing field while it operates in a void of environmental and social responsibility. This is a conspiracy by the globalists to lower western standards, make that new world order easier to control.
People buying on credit is worse than people going without. The worst is yet to come in this area. The bills will come due, and with real incomes falling and the socio-economic gap growing, these bills won't be paid.
Yes, Canada and the US both have problems. The freedom of speech issue there is valid, and the police there are less competent than here, at least in my eyes. I do not know the numbers but I suspect the immigration is similar, maybe some more to the US just due to raw population draw of the US, and some immigrate to Canada to eventually get into the US.
The economy changed from a high-pay manufacturing economy to a high-tech/service economy, where 20% do very well in the global economy (think Google and Microsoft), and 80% live in the service economy (think Wal~Mart and Home Depot jobs). Americans can't believe that they will not be better off than their parents, so they "lease a lifestyle" - now the banks need their payments, and people don't have the money. . .we have become a nation of deadbeats heading for the pawn shop.
I would never pay $1,500 for any television and I would buy it for cash if I did. Only a reckless and self-destructive fool would buy something like that on credit. I refuse to be a puppet dancing on the strings held by all those big shots at Visa and Mastercard, etc.
For all the interest you pay on those cards, do those guys from Visa and Mastercard do anything for you? Will I see something like this?
The door bell rings.
"Hi, I'm the CEO of Visa, Mr. Lemko! I see you're paying me 9% on your credit card balance. Is there anything I can do for you since you're paying me so much? Can I mow your lawn, clean your bathroom, wash your car?"
Not likely.
More likely the guy has his feet up on the desk and is drinking Corvossier and smoking Monte Cristos and laughing at all the chumps paying all that money for nothing.
I think you may have the percentages a bit off. I think that about 30% work in some government job. They are pay VERY well compared. A Social Security person makes about $70k. Maybe 30% are in those lower paying jobs. Many decided to get married and have kids before thinking about a career and they will be stuck.
9%? More like 20%+ for most people. I know few people my age such as myself who actually don't carry a balance month to month. The credit cards almost seem like part of a conspiracy too..for people to keep up what they imagine as a standard of living, easy credit has been a necessity, and via this millions are destroying their future. Debt makes people easier to control.
To pander to the thread topic...this wasn't nearly such an issue back in the day when the UAW was a positive force. Greed destroys all.
I can believe I won't be as well off as my parents. I simply look at the amount of my peers who don't own a house (the vast majority) compared to my parents and their peers. It is a telling stat. The speculators have created a mess, at least here. Income trends simply do not allow it, unless one is in a dual income situation, with two decent (50K+) incomes.
Gagrice's government addition is also valid. The public sector seems to be well compensated for what they do, you don't often hear of hardships on that side of the fence.
Consumers have plenty of reasons to be disgusted with credit-card companies these days.
Without warning, banks are tripling a cardholder's interest rate, to levels as high as 32 percent. Late fees, which averaged about $10 a few years ago, have risen as high as $39. Mailed statements seem timed to give the consumer the fewest days possible to return a payment by the due date.
About one-third of credit-card companies engage in "double-cycle billing," charging customers interest not only on the unpaid balance, but also on the portion of the balance that was paid on time.
The growing number of consumers' complaints about unfair credit-card fees and deceptive business practices has prompted the Federal Reserve Board, and some lawmakers in Congress, to consider cracking down. The need for action on behalf of cardholders is clear.
The tricks played by credit-card companies are making it harder for consumers to dig out from under a growing mountain of debt. Americans were carrying $960 billion of credit-card debt in May, up from $879 billion at the end of 2006. The average household with credit cards has a balance of $8,600.
The Federal Reserve Board is proposing new rules to protect consumers from unfair practices such as double-cycle billing. It is inviting the public to post comments on its web site at www.federalreserve.gov. Click on "Consumer Information" and go to the "Proposed Rules for Credit Cards and Overdraft Services."
Since May, more than 12,000 consumers have logged their complaints and suggestions. Among them is a Drexel Hill, Pa., man who told the Fed that his credit-card company raised his rate from 8 percent to 28 percent despite never having missed a payment or exceeded his credit limit.
"How can an institution justify this, and how is it fair to a consumer who honored and continues to honor his obligation?" he asked.
A man from Sewell, N.J., complained that his credit-card company raised his interest rate 8 percent, despite an improvement in his credit score. And Paul Kelley of Havertown, Pa., told the Fed, "Enough half-truths and shell games. Credit-card companies do not give people an honest chance to be responsible."
Congress has been hearing the outrage, too. An Ohio man testified to the Senate Small Business Committee that he paid $6,300 on a $3,200 credit-card debt over six years, but still owed $4,400. How? The card issuer had charged him $4,900 in interest, $1,100 in late fees, and $1,500 in over-the-limit fees. (He was charged over-the-limit fees 47 times, although he'd gone over his limit three times). The fees and interest totaled $7,500, for a total charge to the customer of $10,700.
Although it is no guarantee, there is a way for consumers to fight back in the short term. Some people have reported success when they contact their credit-card company to restore a lower interest rate or to waive a fee that they believe was charged unfairly.
Banks scored record profits thanks to questionable lending practices. The emphasis on credit-card fees and penalties has grown out of whack because it has become too important to a bank's profitability. It is time for the Federal Reserve Board and Congress to restore some fairness to the system.
In addition to the Fed's proposals, a bill languishing in the Senate would prohibit the charging of interest on debt that is paid on time. It would also require companies to provide 45 days' notice before raising interest rates, and to mail statements at least 25 days prior to the due date.
The deadline for the Fed to receive public input is Aug. 4. Go online and put your outrage to good use
The banks also charge the largest check first out of those that come in to an insufficient funds account that day. By charging the largest check first, the multiple smaller checks will incur the 30+$ charges. If they charged the smaller checks first, only the one large check might find insufficient funds.
I also am sure the banks are behind the push to get rid of the PayDay loan type stores. It is taking people away from having to deal with banks and their hefty overcharges.
My brother, sister, and myself, all in our 30's are significantly ahead of our parents. Same with my wife's sister and the majority of our friends.
The difference are choices and opportunities. My parents didn't go attend college and had 3 kids by the time they we're 25. My dad worked his butt off at a grocery store and gradually worked his way up to the corporate office, where he is today. That provided him with ability to help (didn't pay all) and steer us towards continuing our education beyond HS.
Maybe I'm optimistic but I'm not worried about my two daughter's (10 & 6) not being successful. We actually do things with our kids. We don't let them sit around in front to the tube or Wii all day. We travel, we camp, we go boating, we play games. Basically we try to do things as a family and promote activities that well help them be well rounded. My parents are very active in their lives too.
Will it guarantee they'll be successful, no, but they will never be able to use the excuse "my parents didn't encourage me to (fill in the blank)". The money should (never know what the future will bring) be available for them to attend college and pursue a career that they want. My parents and my wife's parents didn't dump us into the world after HS unprepared and it has paid off. I will make sure I'll do what I can to help my kids make the next step in becoming more successful than my wife and I.
It's not hard to see where the problems lie in the big cities. When you have less than 1/2 the students earning a HS diploma, how the heck can you expect them to significantly contribute to the economy? A city like Indianapolis or Detroit etc. shouldn't have a drop out rate higher than 50%, they do and it's a disgrace. I wish I had the answer, but my guess is a lot of the problems start at home.
No, but I have driven a truck with air brakes once, which were four wheel drums, and I gave everyone lots of room. My experience with four wheel drums is pretty much that of my folks driving, until 1981, a '74 Beetle.
Most of the people using payday loans can't even get a bank account, so I think not. In any case, payday loan establishments make even banks appear honest and their charges reasonable.
The only sensible way to use a credit card is to pay off the statement balance in full each month, thereby avoiding any interest charges. You're asking for trouble if you roll over any part of your balance. From that point on, the bank owns you.
We use credit cards for most of our purchases - it's safer & more convenient than paying with cash & we pick up some rebates along the way - but we haven't paid any interest or finance charges since Carter was President.
I agree 100%...the problem with our education system is that they care about teaching history, sciences, etc. but forget FINANCIAL ACUMEN. The only way I use plastic is pay it off the entire balance each month...the Monti Cristos flame out at that and the Corvossier burns going down!
$1,500 for a TV is fools fodder...unless its a 60 inch Pioneer Pro150! Then, pull out the plastic and don't look back!
"...and there is guaranteed freedom of speech that you do not have in Canada..."
No freedom of speech in Canada? No wonder they are all so polite.
As for the issue of wages, you are only worth what the guy waiting in line behind you is willing to work for.
I was talking to a friend who was shocked that I earn over $20/hr. as a school bus driver. I asked him how much he thought the job was worth. "Anybody can drive a bus" he blustered "I think it's worth $8/hr.".
I then asked him if he would do it for $8/hr. He responded "Heck no, all those screaming kids for so little?".
I then told him that since he wouldn't do it for $8 and I wouldn't do it for less than $20, that $20 was a "fair" wage for the job.
If the gal who was making $9/hr. was the only one who would do the job at that rate she should ask for more money. If there isn't someone behind her who will do it for the same price, her boss will have to raise her pay.
The trouble is, with illegal immigration there are plenty of people who are standing behind you willing to do the job for $1 or $5 or $10 per hour cheaper. All the UAWs in the world can't overcome that fact.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
So the big three have made mistakes. They fail to factor in the rise in energy prices. For that matter even the foreign auto makers are low on small cars. Tundra and Titan are just not selling. Do the folks who work at these plants share in the blame?
No this is why the CEO gets partially compensated with a stock option. If he/she is a pathetic loser the workers will suffer too. My CEO got stock options in the millions and the stock doubled. He purchased the for about $50 a share and turned around and sold them for about $100 a share. Therefore he is a winner and we all gain. Some more than others.
So is there life after the UAW? It a coin toss. Computers (main frames) did away with a large number of file clerks. So they had to find something else to do. Some did better and others didn't.
What is different here and or this time? These same pathetic large companies are shipping factories, jobs, and the American way of life overseas. Our standard of living is declining, while that of China/India (aka Chindia) is rising. Anything whatsoever, that makes the American standard of living worse, I'm against.
UAW jobs are good. Buying American (made in USA) is good.Its simple you fuel that fire by venting on a union. You need to vent on the management of that company. We/you are the union. Its not productive to blame those who are not responsible. You will be accountable/responsible if your standard of living is eroded by buying/fueling Chindia.
I see lots of venting on the union or union workers who are supposedly overpaid. Poor corporations were forced to sign labor contracts and are helpless.
Spare me please. Many non union companies have fled as well. Envy is not going to solve the problem. The UAW doesn't operate the corporation.
To state the obvious. Don't buy/fuel the Chindia madness. It stands to reason. These corporation are doing business with their eye on the future consumers of Chindia. If we don't buy in and or boycott their Chindian products, there screwed.
Tundra and Titan are just not selling. Do the folks who work at these plants share in the blame?
Toyota is shutting down the Tundra & Sequoia production for several months. I doubt they pay the workers during that shut down.
As far as buying made in China products we try our best not to. I just bought my wife a new HP computer that came from Mexico. I would rather help out my neighbor than a Communist country. Don't forget this Congress that is supposed to be so labor leaning, mandated CFL bulbs that are not made in the USA. All made in China. They will be shutting down the GE Union shop that made incandescent bulbs. If anyone finds a CFL made in the USA let US know before we lose all those jobs to China.
They (Toyota) aren't, but, as I understand it, it is being broken up into manageable timeframes so no one has to go several months without working, just a week or two at a stretch.
I'm kinda glad that we won't be making CFLs here, as the heavy metals used are best left to pollute someone else's country. If we did it here, the environmental regs and the higher labor would make them much more expensive. I'm only sorry that our democratic-controlled Congress was so short-sighted in what they mandated for us to be forced to use to light our houses and businesses.
They are buying into the global warming junk, and, fortunately, more and more scientists are vocalizing that the "science" of global warming is barely worth calling junk science...now if they only can get ahead of Pelosi and the wacko Democrats before they strangle this country with their stupid CO2 rules...
They can't predict the weather for tomorrow, but they think they know 20 years out...and now, they are talking about a 20 year global COOLING cycle, and THEN the feared global warming will engulf and destroy us...
These are the same idiots that if we were living in the Ice Age, would complain that global warming would melt all the ice...which it did, and now we have the earth like it is...but they would have stopped it if they could, and we would all be living under ice...
Toyota is shutting down the Tundra & Sequoia production for several months. I doubt they pay the workers during that shut down.
Think again. I find it amusing when the Asian transplants get many of the same unemployment benefits as the UAW but I never see anyone jump on here and squawk about it.
As a fellow Texan , I'd like to agree with you and perhaps with half, I do. But when you go subrogating laissez faire and the underpinnings of capitalism I find myself scratching my head. "UAW jobs are good. Buying American (made in USA) is good. Its simple you fuel that fire by venting on a union. You need to vent on the management of that company. We/you are the union. " Huh ? Why exactly are UAW jobs good per se ? Granted their management, union and corporate were no better than the average bear but should not Americans be able to buy the best vehicles at the lowest price? It would be nice if they happened to be American companies, but there has been a three decade transferance of companies exporting labor which can be done more cheaply elsewhere. We tend to be capital intensive in the that, the US is more technologically driven, and that is our comparative advantage. The second world tends to have cheaper labor. That is is their comparative advantage. Economics states that , that which can produced at a comparative advantage should be produced there. Tariffs and subsidies that seek to subjugate comparative advantage never work and subject the citizens of countries that try it to higher costs.To wit: if you have to protect an industry producing a product " they shouldn't be producing it." We are guilty that Chindia have stolen our lower level jobs, Our national debt and trade deficit and budget deficit are a joke and we deserve to have a weak currency. Let's hope that in the future the reversal gets made a priority. Now if you had said, boycott the bastards because they put anti- freeze in your toothpaste, lead in your childrens toy's, enbalmimg fluid in the pyjamas and God knows what in the wal-mart farmed fish, I would have have agreed with you.
> I just bought my wife a new HP computer that came from Mexico.
I bought my last desktop 3 years ago from Systemax (tigerdirect.com is one of their companies). It was assembled in Fletcher, Ohio, but I realize most parts came from overseas sources. The consultant on the phone taking my order lived in the area. He helped me build it of fast pieces by specing the motherboard, e.g. I figured out later he is probably the son of a guy who was in the TRS80 computer club with me long, long ago.
Remember when Walmart advertised "Made in the USA"?
We already know the attitude of the corporate elite and how they feel about the general workforce. When you're Number One, there's only one place to go and that's the bottom. It may take years, but their empire will crumble. They're certainly looking at a more comfortable retirement compared to us proletariats, but if there is any justice in the after life- know that theirs will involve the flames of an eternal hell. If there is any social justice, a special place of torment has been preserved for them with the likes Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Saddam Hussein and Pol Pot. Every day that passes by, every breath they take is one step closer to their eternal demise.
Hey, Mr. Outsourcing CEO! Enjoy your 8 bedroom house, your new BMW, your beautiful wife, your unbelievable stock and all your other riches. The time will arrive when you wish that you didn't laugh at the 300 pound woman who's getting evicted from her apartment. You'll wish that you hadn't fired the 10-year employee who had 4 absences in 3 months because his wife died. You'll wish that you hadn't cut payroll to fund your vacation in the Virgin Islands. You'll wish that you hadn't had all of those secret meet ups at the hotels with those pretty girls that you individually hired because of their looks. You'll wish that you hadn't embezzled the extra $5,000 out of the charity fund to pay for a ring for your wife after you had sex with the office manager. You'll wish that you hadn't targetted specific individuals for termination, because they've reached a respectable rate of pay. I could go on and on with the sins you have probably committed.
No, Toyota is playing musical chairs. The Mississippi plant that was slated for Highlanders is building the Prius, the Highlanders are going to Indiana, and the Indiana Tundras are going to Texas.
me, an Arizona Cardinal supporter? Think again. Actually, my son(now living in Tucson) has offered to buy us tickets for the Seattle-Arizona game in late December in Phoenix. We'll go, dressed in full Seahawk attire, and root for the visitors! We'll see how nice Arizonans are when the enemy is in their midst. :P
Non-UAW produced Kia's are still flying off the lot up in Manistee, MI, rock. Apparently Optima's are very hot, outselling Spectra's now.
Yeah, some people are more concerned about whether nine millionaire baseball players who wouldn't spit on them if they were on fire win a game versus their own economic peril. Eat your pizza, drink your beer, and be merry at the prospect of your team winning, for tomorrow you shall be poor.
My friend is there a difference in free trade and fair trade? Knowing macro economics is just silly for knowledge sake. We must apply common sense to the principals. Perhaps, IS and LM curves are only good in theory.
Where exactly do you see this no govt interference in our capitalist system? When millionaires/billionaires seek tax revenue to build these stadiums/arenas we see no risk. These serve their egos as much as their pocket books. Bail-outs on Wall St are a common thing these days and these large concerns lobby the govt for this form of welfare. I say you must be consistent in not putting the poor, much less the rich on the public dole.
If one would look into who exactly get the most benefit from the estate tax, it surely not the large family farm as it was sold to the public, but this same group of rich folks. However, it was sold as a family farm which the tax system was breaking up for the next generation.
Then after the DOT COM bust brought out the well to do conservatives who sued in California (Radio Shack and others) for overtime, and won big time in class action multi million dollar verdicts. Then we were told that there was a family value in comp time which was to be enacted.
These large concerns have taken control of govt as well as the media. They have done well in labeling and lobbying. If you think they aren't conspiring with communist China, think again. China has and will continue to support a large steel industry. The one metric that China is concerned with is JOBS. The high level communist and their families fear social unrest. This is not part of globalization and capitalism. Is anyone crying foul? No, the more efficient steel plants will go out of business and the workers there will lose employment. Multi nationals are being blackmailed by these communist. Copyrights and intellectual rights aren't a reality in China and no one brings this up. As the CEO of Calloway put it "its just the price of doing business in China".
Burlington Coat Factory was selling coats made with dog fur manufactured in China, toy companies and lead paint, pet food, and the list goes on. Who pays for all this? The consumer as usual. We pay for CEO abuse as well as shoplifting. We get to pay for the stadiums and arenas.
imidazol wrote: The consultant on the phone taking my order lived in the area. He helped me build it of fast pieces by specing the motherboard, e.g. I figured out later he is probably the son of a guy who was in the TRS80 computer club with me long, long ago.
Remember when Walmart advertised "Made in the USA"?
That I do i, that I do. Old Sam drove a '78 Ford pickup with AM radio only. When asked why he didn't have FM he answered, what for? A patriot, he championed made in America giving a break to any American source that could compete with overseas. In the '87 crash they asked him how it felt to lose 1 billion dollars and he answered, " it was paper then and it's paper now ." Sadly he died and his progeny couldn't throw out made in America fast enough.
Though not computer literate at the trs80 stage, perhaps we may have traded a file or two on my 2400 baud modem on compuserve.
Comments
Imadaz, you have a very good point here. You will see that in a previous post I suggested that the UAW take some additional responsibility to protest or strike inferior products. If they're earning a lot more than other comparable workers in different industries, then there should be some additional value, right? Why are they more concerned about making high wages and benefits than the quality of their product, both when it IS assembly issues as well as when it IS design or quality of materials?
It's also naive to think that the union demands are not affecting product quality, even if it is indirect. The automakers need to be profitable. With high wages and benefits costs, management cuts costs elsewhere. And for the past 20-30 years, that elsewhere has been in the product quality -- nickeling and dimeing -- which supplier makes the cheapest seats? The cheapest dashboard?. We can't afford to develop a modern 6 cyl OHC - we'll throw that old raspy pushrod into this "new" model.
Is this the fault of management? Sure, partially. Yet when the UAW strikes had the companies hemorrhaging millions, the management tried to find a way to end the strike quickly. And sometimes management agreed to demands that pushed the pain forward by 10-20 years, such as retirement benefits. Well that 10-20 years ahead is NOW. And so while the management is clearly responsible in a major way, the unions have accelerated the demise of product quality and are NOT adding value anywhere near commensurate with their high cost. And so guess why the Medium 3 are moving manufacturing jobs out of this country? It's a rational decision in trying to keep the company profitable.
Regards,
OW
Have you ever driven a car with drums on both the front and rear? My first car was like that.
Cheapest dashboard goes to Camrys that I looked at. A red w/ white interior SE and a gray one an acquaintance has and a gray one on the showroom floor the salesman practically pulled me away from last winter because he wanted to escort me around the showroom rather than let me look at the darn cars as I had asked to do.
Cheap seats goes to the Accords that I sat in last year. The Civic had better seats.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Nope, I never have. But I have driven vehicles with rear drums where the brake system still performed well and 4whl disk systems that have been terrible. The '00 Suburban I had appeared to have the right hardware, 4wheel vented disks that were fairly large, but the brakes were horrible. They were mushy and never inspired confidence. The '01 Nissan Pathfinder I owned had rear drums, but the brakes performed great, even while towing, and had much better pedal feel than my Suburban (along with most GM brakes systems of the day).
While I'd prefer 4 wheel disk brakes, I don't agree that they are a must have on a everyday fwd small to medium sized car. The two biggest advantages for disk brakes are they dissipate heat much better than drums (less brake fade) and they provide better directional stability because disks are likely to "grab" when applied. They work equally well going forward or backwards (nice when backing down a steep boat ramp and very noticeable difference).
In your average fwd car, the vast majority of your braking is with the front brakes, the rears do very little. How many people perform multiple high speed max brake stops in a row? I'd bet that in a car like a Cobalt a good disk/rear drum setup can stop just as fast as a 4wheel disk setup during one panic stop.
From a marketing standpoint they are probably more important.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Debra Fowlkes, a life-long Philadelphia resident, lives this struggle daily. She's doing her best to make ends meet, but earning just $9 an hour as a security officer at a state welfare agency doesn't support her three children. She can't remember the last time her bills were paid-up, and despite her hard work, she's lost hope of ever catching up.
Debra's not alone - one in four Philadelphians lives in poverty. Despite working hard to create better futures for their families, they are making little headway in an economy that's producing low-wage jobs like there's no tomorrow.
At the same time, this past year marked the fifth straight one in which the number of millionaires in our country grew - now at 10 million. The top 1 percent of households take home 22 percent of all income - more than double the 9 percent of 30 years ago. This is the highest concentration of income in the hands of the wealthiest one percent since 1928, a year before the great stock market crash.
At no time in our history has the disparity in income been so wide and in no other industrialized country does it come close.
CEO compensation is more than 400 times the take-home pay of an average U.S. worker. For an industrialized country, there is no parallel to this growing income divide between the highest- and lowest-paid workers. Corporate executives in England make half as much as those in the U.S. while the lowest-paid workers there earn a higher wage than their U.S. counterparts.
As we look toward the upcoming election, which will put the fate of our country in new hands, we must demand national policies to change the direction of our economy. Pegging the minimum wage to a percentage of median income would raise it and then keep the lowest-paid workers on pace with future increases of the rest of the workforce. Expanding the earned income tax credit - a cost that would be offset by closing tax loopholes for the very wealthy - would also help those low-income families teetering on the brink of poverty.
At the state level, establishing prevailing wages and benefits for workers at state-owned buildings and facilities, as well as publicly-funded projects, would be a critical step forward in making sure work paid enough to get by. In fact, Pennsylvania is behind the curve in establishing these standards which already exist in many neighboring states.
ASIDE FROM government action, companies, particularly those benefiting from tax breaks, must raise pay in low-wage industries if we are to make an immediate and widescale impact on poverty. Government programs alone will fall short, and unions have shown they can work with business responsibly to bring low-wage workers out of poverty.
In Pennsylvania, low-wage union workers make nearly 13 percent more in wages than their non-union counterparts and are 25 percent more likely to get employer-paid health care and a pension. But joining a union can be hard for many workers who fear employer retribution. Passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, which creates a more neutral environment for workers to decide on union membership, would help low-wage workers join the union and get the raises they need.
We've long held to the notion that having a job means you can make ends meet. But unless steps are taken to address the growing imbalance in our economy, we could wake up one day in a city of just the very rich and the working poor.
You seem to dwell on what the CEO makes instead of what the UAW pays for a given job. How do you propose to change what a board decides to pay the CEO? The board represent the owners of the company (stockholders). If they want to give all the money to the CEO how are you or any government agency going to stop them. You like to look at Norway. Do you think the King (think CEO) is over paid for riding around in a limo dressed in fancy cloths doing NOTHING?
As far as my job the techs from India can have it for whatever wage they like. I got called last week again wanting to know if I would come back. The last new hire lasted exactly ONE DAY. They had hired him out of Wisconsin. He spent a day at the office in Anchorage and one day in Prudhoe Bay. I guess he did not like working with swarms of mosquitoes around his head all day. The weather is crappy year round. When I left there was a crew of 3 per shift with no on sight supervisor. Now there are 5 per shift plus a supervisor. Seems it is hard to find any self starters in the work force these days. There is only one of the original crew left. The rest of us have retired. We had worked together for 37 years as a crew. You want a Union job that pays $100k+ per year with great benefits and only 26 weeks per year, go for it. Get your name on the books at Teamsters local 959. They are hard pressed to find qualified telephone technicians with digital switching, cable splicing, Cisco & Microsoft certs, FCC radio license, Cellular, Internet and Tower building experience.
PS
I agree with you on trade, tariffs & illegal immigration. I just do not support the Unions blindly as you do. The UAW has done a disservice to their members and the companies they have contracts with. They are now suffering the consequence. The UAW is partially responsible for jobs going elsewhere. Especially to Mexico and Canada.
Sounds like she made a few mistakes in her life. Where is the father and child support? I paid $1300 per month until my two children turned 18. That was from a divorce in the 1980s. It is not the wages that are the problem. It is the lifestyle and the debt we get ourselves into. My sister is paying 30% on CC debt. Hopefully she has that paid off by now.
There are a lot of sad stories. There are a lot of good stories also. It is still a far cry better than just across the borders both ways. My cousins moved down from Canada and are very happy to now be US citizens. They were not happy paying very high taxes for very little in socialized services.
Even with all the Unions in Canada it is more expensive and people do not live as high on the hog as here in the USA.
When we left our borders open decades ago we started to lose our uniqueness. Now the only chance is to bring up our neighbors at least close to our standard of living. I think the MFG jobs that are now in Mexico are going to eventually have a positive impact on our economy. Many Union jobs were lost to Mexico. Not just the UAW. They are just the last to be really hit hard. Many states learned from their losses and became more business friendly. Michigan politicians are slow learners or hard headed. You have to portray an image of being friendly to business if you want to attract new manufacturing. VW did not see that in Michigan and will spend a $billion in TN.
The down side is we have tried to maintain the highest standard of living in the World on a credit card. Time to pay I would say. Things cannot be all bad. I see people lined up at Costco with big screen TVs. Who would have paid $1500 for a TV 10 years ago? Only the wealthy could afford the flat screens that are selling like crazy right now. All on credit as you have said.
I think the movement from here to Canada and the reverse are probably equal. Those going to Canada believe the system up there is better. Those coming down here know that the taxes are lower and there is guaranteed freedom of speech that you do not have in Canada.
People buying on credit is worse than people going without. The worst is yet to come in this area. The bills will come due, and with real incomes falling and the socio-economic gap growing, these bills won't be paid.
Yes, Canada and the US both have problems. The freedom of speech issue there is valid, and the police there are less competent than here, at least in my eyes. I do not know the numbers but I suspect the immigration is similar, maybe some more to the US just due to raw population draw of the US, and some immigrate to Canada to eventually get into the US.
For all the interest you pay on those cards, do those guys from Visa and Mastercard do anything for you? Will I see something like this?
The door bell rings.
"Hi, I'm the CEO of Visa, Mr. Lemko! I see you're paying me 9% on your credit card balance. Is there anything I can do for you since you're paying me so much? Can I mow your lawn, clean your bathroom, wash your car?"
Not likely.
More likely the guy has his feet up on the desk and is drinking Corvossier and smoking Monte Cristos and laughing at all the chumps paying all that money for nothing.
To pander to the thread topic...this wasn't nearly such an issue back in the day when the UAW was a positive force. Greed destroys all.
Gagrice's government addition is also valid. The public sector seems to be well compensated for what they do, you don't often hear of hardships on that side of the fence.
Consumers have plenty of reasons to be disgusted with credit-card companies these days.
Without warning, banks are tripling a cardholder's interest rate, to levels as high as 32 percent. Late fees, which averaged about $10 a few years ago, have risen as high as $39. Mailed statements seem timed to give the consumer the fewest days possible to return a payment by the due date.
About one-third of credit-card companies engage in "double-cycle billing," charging customers interest not only on the unpaid balance, but also on the portion of the balance that was paid on time.
The growing number of consumers' complaints about unfair credit-card fees and deceptive business practices has prompted the Federal Reserve Board, and some lawmakers in Congress, to consider cracking down. The need for action on behalf of cardholders is clear.
The tricks played by credit-card companies are making it harder for consumers to dig out from under a growing mountain of debt. Americans were carrying $960 billion of credit-card debt in May, up from $879 billion at the end of 2006. The average household with credit cards has a balance of $8,600.
The Federal Reserve Board is proposing new rules to protect consumers from unfair practices such as double-cycle billing. It is inviting the public to post comments on its web site at www.federalreserve.gov. Click on "Consumer Information" and go to the "Proposed Rules for Credit Cards and Overdraft Services."
Since May, more than 12,000 consumers have logged their complaints and suggestions. Among them is a Drexel Hill, Pa., man who told the Fed that his credit-card company raised his rate from 8 percent to 28 percent despite never having missed a payment or exceeded his credit limit.
"How can an institution justify this, and how is it fair to a consumer who honored and continues to honor his obligation?" he asked.
A man from Sewell, N.J., complained that his credit-card company raised his interest rate 8 percent, despite an improvement in his credit score. And Paul Kelley of Havertown, Pa., told the Fed, "Enough half-truths and shell games. Credit-card companies do not give people an honest chance to be responsible."
Congress has been hearing the outrage, too. An Ohio man testified to the Senate Small Business Committee that he paid $6,300 on a $3,200 credit-card debt over six years, but still owed $4,400. How? The card issuer had charged him $4,900 in interest, $1,100 in late fees, and $1,500 in over-the-limit fees. (He was charged over-the-limit fees 47 times, although he'd gone over his limit three times). The fees and interest totaled $7,500, for a total charge to the customer of $10,700.
Although it is no guarantee, there is a way for consumers to fight back in the short term. Some people have reported success when they contact their credit-card company to restore a lower interest rate or to waive a fee that they believe was charged unfairly.
Banks scored record profits thanks to questionable lending practices. The emphasis on credit-card fees and penalties has grown out of whack because it has become too important to a bank's profitability. It is time for the Federal Reserve Board and Congress to restore some fairness to the system.
In addition to the Fed's proposals, a bill languishing in the Senate would prohibit the charging of interest on debt that is paid on time. It would also require companies to provide 45 days' notice before raising interest rates, and to mail statements at least 25 days prior to the due date.
The deadline for the Fed to receive public input is Aug. 4. Go online and put your outrage to good use
I also am sure the banks are behind the push to get rid of the PayDay loan type stores. It is taking people away from having to deal with banks and their hefty overcharges.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The difference are choices and opportunities. My parents didn't go attend college and had 3 kids by the time they we're 25. My dad worked his butt off at a grocery store and gradually worked his way up to the corporate office, where he is today. That provided him with ability to help (didn't pay all) and steer us towards continuing our education beyond HS.
Maybe I'm optimistic but I'm not worried about my two daughter's (10 & 6) not being successful. We actually do things with our kids. We don't let them sit around in front to the tube or Wii all day. We travel, we camp, we go boating, we play games. Basically we try to do things as a family and promote activities that well help them be well rounded. My parents are very active in their lives too.
Will it guarantee they'll be successful, no, but they will never be able to use the excuse "my parents didn't encourage me to (fill in the blank)". The money should (never know what the future will bring) be available for them to attend college and pursue a career that they want. My parents and my wife's parents didn't dump us into the world after HS unprepared and it has paid off. I will make sure I'll do what I can to help my kids make the next step in becoming more successful than my wife and I.
It's not hard to see where the problems lie in the big cities. When you have less than 1/2 the students earning a HS diploma, how the heck can you expect them to significantly contribute to the economy? A city like Indianapolis or Detroit etc. shouldn't have a drop out rate higher than 50%, they do and it's a disgrace. I wish I had the answer, but my guess is a lot of the problems start at home.
We use credit cards for most of our purchases - it's safer & more convenient than paying with cash & we pick up some rebates along the way - but we haven't paid any interest or finance charges since Carter was President.
$1,500 for a TV is fools fodder...unless its a 60 inch Pioneer Pro150! Then, pull out the plastic and don't look back!
Regards,
OW
No freedom of speech in Canada? No wonder they are all so polite.
As for the issue of wages, you are only worth what the guy waiting in line behind you is willing to work for.
I was talking to a friend who was shocked that I earn over $20/hr. as a school bus driver. I asked him how much he thought the job was worth. "Anybody can drive a bus" he blustered "I think it's worth $8/hr.".
I then asked him if he would do it for $8/hr. He responded "Heck no, all those screaming kids for so little?".
I then told him that since he wouldn't do it for $8 and I wouldn't do it for less than $20, that $20 was a "fair" wage for the job.
If the gal who was making $9/hr. was the only one who would do the job at that rate she should ask for more money. If there isn't someone behind her who will do it for the same price, her boss will have to raise her pay.
The trouble is, with illegal immigration there are plenty of people who are standing behind you willing to do the job for $1 or $5 or $10 per hour cheaper. All the UAWs in the world can't overcome that fact.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
No this is why the CEO gets partially compensated with a stock option. If he/she is a pathetic loser the workers will suffer too. My CEO got stock options in the millions and the stock doubled. He purchased the for about $50 a share and turned around and sold them for about $100 a share. Therefore he is a winner and we all gain. Some more than others.
So is there life after the UAW? It a coin toss. Computers (main frames) did away with a large number of file clerks. So they had to find something else to do. Some did better and others didn't.
What is different here and or this time? These same pathetic large companies are shipping factories, jobs, and the American way of life overseas. Our standard of living is declining, while that of China/India (aka Chindia) is rising. Anything whatsoever, that makes the American standard of living worse, I'm against.
UAW jobs are good. Buying American (made in USA) is good.Its simple you fuel that fire by venting on a union. You need to vent on the management of that company. We/you are the union. Its not productive to blame those who are not responsible. You will be accountable/responsible if your standard of living is eroded by buying/fueling Chindia.
I see lots of venting on the union or union workers who are supposedly overpaid. Poor corporations were forced to sign labor contracts and are helpless.
Spare me please. Many non union companies have fled as well. Envy is not going to solve the problem. The UAW doesn't operate the corporation.
To state the obvious. Don't buy/fuel the Chindia madness. It stands to reason. These corporation are doing business with their eye on the future consumers of Chindia. If we don't buy in and or boycott their Chindian products, there screwed.
Toyota is shutting down the Tundra & Sequoia production for several months. I doubt they pay the workers during that shut down.
As far as buying made in China products we try our best not to. I just bought my wife a new HP computer that came from Mexico. I would rather help out my neighbor than a Communist country. Don't forget this Congress that is supposed to be so labor leaning, mandated CFL bulbs that are not made in the USA. All made in China. They will be shutting down the GE Union shop that made incandescent bulbs. If anyone finds a CFL made in the USA let US know before we lose all those jobs to China.
I'm kinda glad that we won't be making CFLs here, as the heavy metals used are best left to pollute someone else's country. If we did it here, the environmental regs and the higher labor would make them much more expensive. I'm only sorry that our democratic-controlled Congress was so short-sighted in what they mandated for us to be forced to use to light our houses and businesses.
They can't predict the weather for tomorrow, but they think they know 20 years out...and now, they are talking about a 20 year global COOLING cycle, and THEN the feared global warming will engulf and destroy us...
These are the same idiots that if we were living in the Ice Age, would complain that global warming would melt all the ice...which it did, and now we have the earth like it is...but they would have stopped it if they could, and we would all be living under ice...
Think again. I find it amusing when the Asian transplants get many of the same unemployment benefits as the UAW but I never see anyone jump on here and squawk about it.
Economy Brings Toyota Back Down To Earth
"UAW jobs are good. Buying American (made in USA) is good. Its simple you fuel that fire by venting on a union. You need to vent on the management of that company. We/you are the union. " Huh ? Why exactly are UAW jobs good per se ? Granted their management, union and corporate were no better than the average bear but should not Americans be able to buy the best vehicles at the lowest price? It would be nice if they happened to be American companies, but there has been a three decade transferance of companies exporting labor which can be done more cheaply elsewhere. We tend to be capital intensive in the that, the US is more technologically driven, and that is our comparative advantage. The second world tends to have cheaper labor. That is is their comparative advantage. Economics states that , that which can produced at a comparative advantage should be produced there. Tariffs and subsidies that seek to subjugate comparative advantage never work and subject the citizens of countries that try it to higher costs.To wit: if you have to protect an industry producing a product " they shouldn't be producing it." We are guilty that Chindia have stolen our lower level jobs, Our national debt and trade deficit and budget deficit are a joke and we deserve to have a weak currency. Let's hope that in the future the reversal gets made a priority. Now if you had said, boycott the bastards because they put anti- freeze in your toothpaste, lead in your childrens toy's, enbalmimg fluid in the pyjamas and God knows what in the wal-mart farmed fish, I would have have agreed with you.
I bought my last desktop 3 years ago from Systemax (tigerdirect.com is one of their companies). It was assembled in Fletcher, Ohio, but I realize most parts came from overseas sources. The consultant on the phone taking my order lived in the area. He helped me build it of fast pieces by specing the motherboard, e.g. I figured out later he is probably the son of a guy who was in the TRS80 computer club with me long, long ago.
Remember when Walmart advertised "Made in the USA"?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Hey, Mr. Outsourcing CEO! Enjoy your 8 bedroom house, your new BMW, your beautiful wife, your unbelievable stock and all your other riches. The time will arrive when you wish that you didn't laugh at the 300 pound woman who's getting evicted from her apartment. You'll wish that you hadn't fired the 10-year employee who had 4 absences in 3 months because his wife died. You'll wish that you hadn't cut payroll to fund your vacation in the Virgin Islands. You'll wish that you hadn't had all of those secret meet ups at the hotels with those pretty girls that you individually hired because of their looks. You'll wish that you hadn't embezzled the extra $5,000 out of the charity fund to pay for a ring for your wife after you had sex with the office manager. You'll wish that you hadn't targetted specific individuals for termination, because they've reached a respectable rate of pay. I could go on and on with the sins you have probably committed.
"You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns; you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold."
(From Bryan's speech at the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.)
Yea, but the polar bears would be happy.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Don't forget the recent survey. 85% of Americans are happy with their lives. I know I am...
Regards,
WM
Non-UAW produced Kia's are still flying off the lot up in Manistee, MI, rock. Apparently Optima's are very hot, outselling Spectra's now.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Where exactly do you see this no govt interference in our capitalist system? When millionaires/billionaires seek tax revenue to build these stadiums/arenas we see no risk. These serve their egos as much as their pocket books. Bail-outs on Wall St are a common thing these days and these large concerns lobby the govt for this form of welfare. I say you must be consistent in not putting the poor, much less the rich on the public dole.
If one would look into who exactly get the most benefit from the estate tax, it surely not the large family farm as it was sold to the public, but this same group of rich folks. However, it was sold as a family farm which the tax system was breaking up for the next generation.
Then after the DOT COM bust brought out the well to do conservatives who sued in California (Radio Shack and others) for overtime, and won big time in class action multi million dollar verdicts. Then we were told that there was a family value in comp time which was to be enacted.
These large concerns have taken control of govt as well as the media. They have done well in labeling and lobbying. If you think they aren't conspiring with communist China, think again. China has and will continue to support a large steel industry. The one metric that China is concerned with is JOBS. The high level communist and their families fear social unrest. This is not part of globalization and capitalism. Is anyone crying foul? No, the more efficient steel plants will go out of business and the workers there will lose employment. Multi nationals are being blackmailed by these communist. Copyrights and intellectual rights aren't a reality in China and no one brings this up. As the CEO of Calloway put it "its just the price of doing business in China".
Burlington Coat Factory was selling coats made with dog fur manufactured in China, toy companies and lead paint, pet food, and the list goes on. Who pays for all this? The consumer as usual. We pay for CEO abuse as well as shoplifting. We get to pay for the stadiums and arenas.
The consultant on the phone taking my order lived in the area. He helped me build it of fast pieces by specing the motherboard, e.g. I figured out later he is probably the son of a guy who was in the TRS80 computer club with me long, long ago.
Remember when Walmart advertised "Made in the USA"?
That I do i, that I do. Old Sam drove a '78 Ford pickup with AM radio only. When asked why he didn't have FM he answered, what for? A patriot, he championed made in America giving a break to any American source that could compete with overseas. In the '87 crash they asked him how it felt to lose 1 billion dollars and he answered, " it was paper then and it's paper now ." Sadly he died and his progeny couldn't throw out made in America fast enough.
Though not computer literate at the trs80 stage, perhaps we may have traded a file or two on my 2400 baud modem on compuserve.