by Sunnygal41 66 Replies latest social current
wierd thought? even though I haven't been following it closely, it seems to me that EVERYONE is demonizing them, and I just wonder whether they are really just a convenient scapegoat for our anger from long repressed feelings of powerlessness. Yes, for the past eight years, most of us, in one way or another felt powerless over our daily lives in the USA. we finally have gotten mad enough to make our voice heard, and start making a change, a new start.
thoughts anyone?
Yeah, why attack the lawmakers when NEITHER side or party seems to address the idiots who got loans they knew they eventually couldn't pay and instead blame the "predatory lenders?"
Cutting off our nose to spite our face.
My thoughts are unpopular here.
Because the auto industry is one of the last places you can find Union workers who make good wages and benefits, the right wing is against them. Blue collar work is no longer respected in this country apparently. Some are willing to defend the white collar financial types, the CEO's, the ultra rich, the Oil companies etc..............but not the workaday guy who actually makes this economy turn. They want us all working for third world wages. Besides, with another 3 million unemployed next year, Obama's job will be even harder, and it's nearly impossible now. It's worth it to the right wingers to let the country go down the tubes, if it means they can stop the move toward the center/left.
Not so fast, the Dems aren't very enthusiastic about bailing out the auto industry. While I can see the Repulicans being against the bailout, why in the world aren't the Dems doing more for the auto industry, after all they relied heavily on Michigan and Ohio this election. Ohio never would have voted Obama had it not been for the jobs issue.
And why the heck was Nascar bailed out? I wasn't aware they were having financial troubles.
This country definitely has its priorities wrong.
Its a similar situation up here in Canada , the Canadian Auto industry wants help right now from are government and its stirring up quite
a controversy within the general pubic. The main contention of course being why do the tax payers have to pay out their pockets for companies that do not
run themselves in profitability and have had a history of doing so, what makes the auto industry have favoritism over other industries or companies.
Partially for myself I think its the companies responsibility to operate on themselves to assure profitability and use what means they have.
In that way they know that if there has to be salary roll backs or shift cut backs then that is what has to be done.
I thinks because of previous situations when they went on the brink the government pulled them out and its like they expect it.
There is a underlining precedence that has been established which my opinion is unfair to the body of tax payers.
The other side of he coin is that the auto industry is quite large once you consider all of the other off shoot companies that do business with the big 3.
The body of jobs that are involved directly and indirectly are huge and this is impart they main reason that the government should step in once again.
It has to be realized also that in 2009 the entire auto industry, will be seeing a drastic drop in sales as the recession will most likely continue throughout the year.
This could be another reason for the asking of help.
I heard that there is a $2,000 cost on each car JUST for auto worker's pensions, and that $70/hour is not unheard of. I don't fault the unions, they can and should get what they negotiate...just like the sports players and Hollywood movie stars. But, at some point, the company has to build a competitive car. With $2000 going just to retirement...makes me realize that the auto makers have less money to play with materials, quality, and innovation. And, I can't get to a baseball or football game like I used too. The cost of tickets puts it out of reach for my family to enjoy. Personally, I have one Jeep and one Honda (made in USA). My biggest consideration in buying a car is the resale value. Hence, Honda has been my choice for 3 of my cars. The Jeep I've had for almost 10 years, and it has 160,000 miles on it and is going strong (knock on wood). Skeeter
I don't know about anyone here, but I sure as hell don't want to consider buying new cars from China, Japan, or some other foriegn country and that be the only option.
We own 2 vehicles from Ford (2005 models), and they have not given us any problems. I would much rather buy from my own country. Both models bought were produced here in the US of A.
I believe the auto companies in the US need a bail out more than the banks. GM screwed up dismantling their electric car....now they all need to get going.
Banks be damned as far as I'm concerned....obviously Paulson is covering his buddys on wall street. So typical of the Bush administration.
Everyone is reporting that there is no oversight....of course not! There was never any oversight on any thing under Bush. Why would it change now while he is still in power?
Thats my take on this matter.
r.
I say more power to any union that can get their workers a good living wage and benefits. I only wish there were more of them.
Auto workers don't make seventy bucks an hour. In almost every single other country, healthcare costs are much, much less than they are in the USA. So like your career senators and representatives, they get good health insurance - big deal. In other countries the pay gap between top executives and the employee is much less, and in some cases formulated by the governments whereas in the USA that gap is not set and can run 600%. In some of these countries, the government and the government run banks provide loans to the companies already. I can tell you how they keep throwing up that seventy buck figure - I worked in an office where we forced these calculations on employees so that we could toss them around in public and then hold up the paper and say 'see...we do pay a lot more than anyone else.'
This is the way we did it for example -
We would take the employee wage, the one the guy paid taxes on and the one he really had to live on. It was 10.00. Then we added on our cost of their health benefits...say that's 2.00. Then we added on our portion of the unemployment insurance, payroll taxes and social security taxes..even though that's government mandated and the employee has no say in the matter...so we tacked on another 3.00. Then we added up any holidays they got - mandated or not, calculted out the dollar value and added that figure to the bottom wage. Then we added up the 2 weeks vacation you might be entitled to, caluculated out the hourly cost of that and added it on.
You get the picture - every single thing we could think of that you got as a benefit - whether or not you took it, or it was a government tax, we added on. At the end of it all we could proudly crow that you were being paid fairly and you were better off than other employee's in comparable professions, even though you still only earned 10.00 bucks an hour and lived on 7.00 - damn it people would know your wages were 20.00 an hour.
Interesting enough this is done to prove that you are a liability, you cost us as employers..sad really, since the only worth an employee has in the workplace in these cases is his manual labor, his back...and instead of treating these employees as assets..we create systems that cast them as liabilites to us and therefore in many ways - both expendable and worthless. sammieswife.
Sammielee,
Here in Florida we have a law called. "Right to work" which means squat. It means an employer can fire you when ever they feel they want to.
I worked for a large Well known firm here in Orlando......The owner earned hundreds of millions, drove 5 different exotic cars...it was sickening.
The Legal secretaires were considered the lowest paid in the business, and when this man lost money after running for office, he cut benefits.
If he fired an attorney the secretaries were fired too, no matter how good a job they had done...he was paranoid about what they knew.
We had salary limits, and no matter how long you had served this company, once you reached that limit, you could never earn more, and lost benefits to boot, because Mr. J. wasn't making enough. There were legal secretaries who had been there 10 years and were earning $10.00 and hour, because they had started at $5.00.
Client's checks from the insurnace companies were held for months on end....as the client's suffered.....some were Millions of dollars and we as secretaries had to beg the accounting department for clients, to get some small payout while this firm held their funds. It was a constant disgusting battle.
If you have a personal injury situation in Orlando, PM me for information on what FIRM to avoid!
I guess my point being...we need Unions in every area. I know my father always had to hire union workers in Chicago...it was never an option not too. The work was always top notch because the workers were paid what they were worth.
r.
