no third solution » Archive
Perpetual Mourning
A few weeks ago, I inquired about what in my opinion, has been a period of anannounced but perpetual mourning. Flags everywhere appear to be constantly at half-staff. Well, that’s not going to change anytime soon, because of a new law “requiring federal agencies to lower their flags to half-staff if the governor of the state where they are located orders it to honor the deaths of military service members.” C’mon. Is Jenny “From-the-block” Granholm going to bring charges against the Treasury office in Detroit? Who’s going to enforce this? And don’t they – like always – have anything better to do? … Read entire article »
Filed under: Potpourri
“We Want to Save the American Auto Industry…”
OK. Stop paying people to not work! Many of the Flint jobs bankers worked in a plant that no longer exists, the sprawling Buick City complex that closed in 1999. General Motors Corp. has paid them between $70,000 and $85,000 annually. They also received health care, which ups the total significantly. I’ve blogged extensively about collective bargaining, work rules, and the so-called jobs bank. Adding insult to injury is the fact that worldwide capacity to produce automobiles is something like 90 million units, whereas global demand is in the neighborhood of 60 million units. This is a disequilibrium of epic proportions. There’s not much more that I can say about the fate of American manufacturing – it needs a complete overhaul, and paying people for a job they … Read entire article »
Filed under: Michigan, Strikebusting