4/23/09: Uh-oh… GM to shut most US plants up to 9 weeks
Posted by the912project on April 23, 2009 · 187 Comments
Why did we give GM all that money if they are just going to layoff workers?
Comments
While we believe in the First Amendment, individuals posting to this website agree to maintain a civil tone in keeping with the 9 Principles and 12 Values on which the site is based. Moderators may choose to remove comments that do otherwise and/or restrict future posting.
187 Responses to “4/23/09: Uh-oh… GM to shut most US plants up to 9 weeks”Free Tickets to Glenn’s Show!
The Restoring Honor Rally August 28, 2010
The Plan
Get Involved!
Click here to find an event near you.
9.12 in Action
Who We Are
More From Glenn …
Where is Cuomo, Pelosi, Dodd, Acorn, and Barney Fwank, on this one?
How many BILLIONS in Bailout Money has GM received? For What? A Taxpayer Funded Government Power Grab?
When a Union Company like GM closes plants and Nothing is produced for nine months, yet the UNION people still get 70% of their pay? Doesn't this cost apply to the cost of each vehicle made by GM? How could anybody stay in business with that formula? I couldn't stay in business if my employees didn't produce every hour they're paid!
Being that the 70% pay these employees are to be paid comes from the funding provided by us the taxpayers, I as a taxpayer here-by propose they be mandated to perform comunity services. I propose that service be right back on the line where they work now for 100% pay. This would at least decrease the cost per car by 30%, lowering the cost to us, the public car buyer. If they refuse, tax the 70% at 90%, as we the public do have an interest.
Will anyone ever look at the financial abuses within the UAW?
Sure glad we gave them BILLIONS more dollars today….NOT!!!
You'll love this, I don't remember how many billions from the \”shovel ready\” porkulus bill went for education, now it has come to light that that money can be used to give teachers raises. Now, explain to me how this is going to stimulate the economy. I work for the state, I get a 1% pay raise every year. None of the porkulus money will be used for pay here.
I work pt for the US Postal Service, and look what pay the higher ups get. I am a career employee so I accrue leave time, and retirement benefits, and I contribute (heavily) to health insurance. Most years our small dairy farm operates at a loss (we lived off the depreciation of buildings, equipment and cows). It is really my husband's dairy, he does most of the work. My annual raises are a little more that 1% annually. And when are the idiots going to realize that throwing money at teachers does not produce better students? Philadelphia spends something like 14K/yr/student, and with each increase in spending, academic achievement declines. Reason enough to stop spending and look at other solutions. As to 'shovel ready,' when I worked in local gov't 'shovel ready' meant exactly that…which included funds on hand to pay for it. Sometimes it was HUD or state $, but the money was already there. And I worked with municipalities to secure HUD $ for some projects, and boy did they have to jump through the bureaucratic hoops. I shudder to think what they would have to do now!
Let's recap some of those shovel ready stimulus projects:
$6 bill for university building projects (U Ky just hired a B-ball coach for 4 million/yr.)
$15 bill for pell grants (boy that sure is shovel ready, there won't be any jobs)
$4.2 bill for \”neighborhood stabilization
$5.7 bill for the \”Care\” Act, volunteers?
And of course everybodies favorite the real \”shovel\” ready project, ACORN, for 2.7 billion. Yea these are just some of the many \”shovel\” ready projects that are going to stimulate the economy. Now, there is talk that the $400 \”tax cut\” we were suppose to get will be taken away. Does the term BOHICA mean anything to the hard working American people.
So when they start up again in 9 weeks, the "new" and "improved" GM will need OUR start-up money. Our money, so far, has been to wind them down, now we will have to give them money to wind them back up.
I have a question: just how much money do WE have? Was I truly a millionaire or billionaire and I just didn't know it until I started bailing everyone out? They went through money of mine that I didn't even know I had. As a former millionaire or billionaire, I really don't want to be a shareholder since I'm never invited to the meetings. Totally infringing on my shareholder rights.
I sure ain't gonna hold my breath, I know BH0 and congress won't. As you said, we're sc____
I'm building a 912er member store and need everybody's input if they like the design. There will be much more designs and different sayings so all comments help thanks!
http://www.cafepress.com/The912er
We the taxpayers will be giving GM more money, unemployment compensation on top of the bailout money. It all comes from the same place and goes to the same people. Reorganize upon bankruptcy. It is not like all the GM plants would close or all the workers would be out of a job. The restructuring would keep that which is sound and get rid of that which is pulling the whole corporation down. Make sense?
Well, you realize that if a company can't stand on its own after over 50 years of existence, then no amount of money can save it – Nobody seems to want their cars, and that's why they're going bankrupt
The government wants GM…not for their cars but for ONSTAR. Ready made big bro. They will let Dodge fall and keep GM for that reason.
Oh no, don't tell me nobody wants to but an Obamamobile? Not even Hollywood? Oprah? Anyone? Anyone? I never thought Obama could sell cars especially ones that he made. Maybe Obama should try selling snake oil.
That is nuts! The big three need to be broken down into smaller comapnies like they used to be so they are small enough to fail if they produce crap. With the labor unions and government assistance these companies are a far cry from capitalist enterprise. Just like government, the larger a company grows the impact of good thinking people becomes less.
oh-oh. They're shutting Detroit down! Thought that wasn't supposed to happen–not with how many billions jacking it up? Well, guess who the BIG winners are—Ford Motor and the American People. They didn't buy poorly made junk and gobble up even more debt on themselves to keep Obamas' UAW into the jobs. Ford said no and will clean up in the American Made auto industry…..the only company to defy two democratic high wire acts and nonsense. I love my FORDS and will obviously be buying more in the future–that is if Comrade Obama shares more than the stingy $250 per household 'stimulus' that he might shell our way—and then turn around and increase taxes by about 300%. Ya know, somehow I think Obama just might LOVE creating chaos bolshevik style. He just needs to remember who is Czar now.
And how much of their pay will they get while taking this lenghty vacation????
80-90%?
While this time the future of their jobs are so much worse, it was really hard
for me to feel sorry for them in the past for strikes and shutdowns.
Laid-off GM employee gets $350/week from GM and $450/week unemployment. Where's the GM cut here? did they pay them more for not working?
. My husband has worked in the car business for 20+ years as a manager at a Chevy dealerships. He has not been paid since December. He basically goes to work 14 hours per day to keep our insurance. I was diagnosed with cancer in Sept. so I had to give up my teaching job and we have a daughter that is a sophmore in college (to the tune of 41,000.00 per year, but she does have a 10,000 per year scholarship!Yipee!) But of course we don't qualify for any financial aide for her schooling. We have gone from living on 8,000+ per month to 2,000.00 per month. Our only saving grace is that my husband had the foresight to always save as much as possible, not live above our means and to we have absolutely no debt but our home. But what if GM goes bankrupt. What will he do then? . It is not only a strain financially on the family, but the emotional toll that goes on in the marriage etc. is what is the worse. But on his small salary (if the place stays open) we will keep paying for those who choose not to work, fall between the cracks of qualifing for any kind of assistance in the college arena., and probably end up paying for an illegal to attend college for free!
Bless you virginia1 my heart goes out to you and these tears on my cheek are for you I know that is not what you
wanted in writing your letter. I will be praying for you and all of America.
The money to NATIONALIZE GM and pay back the UAW leadership. They should have gone bankrupt in the first place. We lose and the rank and file employees have lost. NANCY and BARNEY are now auto czars and the UAW leadership will sit on the board. All about socialisim.
Save GM and Chrysler…………………Bankrupt the UAW. When the parasite is bigger than the host we have a problem.
Hey Walt1 did you hear this morning that the employees of GM will be getting 70% of there salaries? There is so much more going on with this. I don't know how the American people will ever be able to get back behind these car companies until they dump the UAW
Yeah I heard that, 70% for doing nothing. Unions need to go, they are destructive to our nation, why do you think the government is behind the unions? As the union parasite eat away at the company host, government seizes the opportunity to nationalize it (take it over). These are hostile takeovers by government!!! The card check bill will turn into a national disaster if it passes….
Excellent analogy.
The government wants GM…not for their cars but for ONSTAR. Ready made big bro
The government wants to nationalize it all. GM is just the beginning.
Ford, on the other hand, will break even this year!
Many beat up on Ford several years ago for their restructuring efforts. Those who did so may now sit down to their main course of crow and their piece of humble pie.
Great comments, superMomGrandma .!. . . . . Welcome to the Discussion.
Has anyone pondered that GM making this decision may be nothing more than a pushback against government and the union? A "this is what you are looking at if you keep pushing the current path" kind of exposition?
Don't get me wrong, I think management of GM has plenty to answer for. I just think that government mandate after government mandate after union demand after union demand served to aggravate the situation instead of lead a way out of it.
Shareholders, labor and management all earn something in the course of business. All are due their just rewards. Throwing government into the mix isn't the solution, that just creates a fourth split harming all the others end receipts, not to mention the imposition of unproductive rules that it endlessly imposes.
The "creative accounting' practitioners, the fat cats, have to see that they pushed too far.
The workers have to understand that their own productivity matters.
The government has to BACK OFF.
The Union has to understand that their activity MUST be limited to Employee-Employer relations and get out of POLITICS!
They should have filed six months ago, and saved us from bailing them out in the first place. Ford is the only one of the three of them that showed any brains and guts. According to reports today, their first quarter loses were less than expected and they have started to staunch the flow of cash they are burning through each month. Alan Mullalley has show real courage in telling the Feds to stick it. I just wish there were some more CEO's out there that would do the same thing. If enough of them tell the Feds where to go, things could be a lot different and this recession would end a whole lot sooner.
GM is in trouble…there is no doubt about that. WHY hasn't anybody mentioned the details on how the unions are bleeding them dry? My dad told me that the UNION EMPLOYEES COST $75-$80 and hour to employ. I checked it out and it appears to be accurate. $28 per hour plus pension plus insurance plus benefits plus job bank= $75 an hour. I want to see the books, how much are the employees being payed? If it is $75 per hour and they are getting $28, where is the rest of that money going? The labor costs are high at $28 (for assembly line workers), but $75 an hour is ridiculous. What is REALLY happening in the GM corp? What ARE their costs? Somebody please post a link to a site the has an honest GM P and L breakdown with labor costs.
If the UAW still has their contract, these people will receive 80% of their pay for at least 6 weeks, so GM doesn't save much (20%) by shutting down the plants. The union needs to face reality.
National Events and Information
http://www.calendar9-12.blogspot.com
News and Issues
http://www.freedoms-fight.blogspot.com
I may P— some people off, but so be it. In '02, needed a new car, I had an '88 Olds, I went to a local Chevy/Chysler/KIA dealer, I was looking at the Tracker, it cost around $23,000. Needless say I went over to look at the KIA Sportage. I compared them from top to bottom, They both had the same equipment and options, the Kia was about $9,000 less, had a better warrenty. I went with the KIA, it ended up lasting 92,000 miles and believe it or not would have lasted longer if it hadn't been drowned at the dealer because of a flood. Also, that vehicle was hit it the rear one day, coming home from work, the next day someone passed on the left and hit me in the front while I was turning. That was a bad week! Well short story long, KIA 2 Oldsmobiles 0. To me, the KIA was better made and the cost lower, I realize people will make all kinds of comments, but when I purchase something, I look for the best value that I can find, and all things considered, the KIA was it. Now, I understand KIA is building a plant here in the U.S.
i don't feel sorry for the workers at GM, in the years past they would go on strike cause the wanted more money, and they would shutdown plants and go on srike and because they went on strike cause of the greed of the unions. other plants that made parts for GM would have to shut down and lay off people. the unions for GM seem to never want to give up anyting. they always seem to want more.
From reports, the government is drawing up papers for bankruptcy for GM. Maybe they can finally compete now. This is how it should have been from the start. Government needs to stay the hell out of private industry. If they really wanted to fix the economy, just drop the corporate tax for a short period. It needs to be lowered all together, but, this would stimulate the economy much more. It makes no sense that companies should get a loan from us and then expect us to buy something so they can maybe think of paying us back. Why even be in business to make money from actual customers when you can get it for free. Just have to grease the right wheels. Obama will make Jimmy Carter look like Ronald Reagan. We are being picked clean and abused by our government. It must stop now!
yea…who's going to stop the unions?
Bankruptcy? Is there actually a judge out there that may tell the unions to take a hike? Nah!
GM now stands for Government Motors. While the UAW may not be entirely to blame, their recalcitrant behavior toward making concessions to save the company and their jobs has given them a bad image. Obama fired the GM CEO. But why didn't he also fire the head of the UAW? What right did Obama have to fire anyone? Just because they took TARP money?
None of this is right. Government should not be allowed to meddle in the affairs of the private sector. The government can't even balance its own budget, and is now putting us so far in debt that if the country survives, it will be in debt for generations to come. So how can the sanctimoniously hypocritical government tell businesses how they should conduct themselves?
GM should be allowed to file for bankruptcy without any preconditions. This should have been done in the first place. Bankruptcy forces the stiff necked union bosses to renegotiate a new contract, and it protects GM from its creditors while it reorganizes. i hope we don't lose GM completely because of a power hungry government that wants to nationalize everything. At this point, if we do lose GM, it will be Obama's fault. He is the puny little dictator who pushed them past the point of no return.
This is a sad day when when our elected officials go against the will of the people and meddle in things they know nothing about and dare I say, competely abuse the trust and power given to them. The GM issue is an unfolding soap opera of things going wrong. We give the company money we don't have only to delay a likely bankruptcy and now we are going to have a shutdown that will likely further hurt the company and many of it's suppliers. During this shut down we are still paying the workers, like a paid vacation. That'sonly a good deal for the union workers…that is while it lasts. What happens if the compny goes under? Will we still be paying the workers? My bet is that yes we will, with money that again we don't have, but then how can the company go under since it is now basically owned by the government? I am seeing an unending drama unfolding.
We the people must wake up and take action and get involved in taking back our country. Seek and promote candidates that share the 912 values.
Interesting comments, but I would add one more morsel of thought to this subject.
We are all being led around like steers by our nose rings. Firstly, GM has already made public statements that it can not continue without a bankruptcy. The UAW will not bend or yield any concessions, and the feds won't give any more money to GM/UAW. So what do they do??
They say they will shut down most plants for 9 weeks, and during that time they will file for bankruptcy. The doors will already be closed, and public outcry will be minimized. They are politely bowing out.
Do not look forward to GM opening those doors once they are closed.
Interesting comments, but I would add one more morsel of thought to this subject.
We are all being led around like steers by our nose rings. Firstly, GM has already made public statements that it can not continue without a bankruptcy. The UAW will not bend or yield any concessions, and the feds won't give any more money to GM/UAW. So what do they do??
They say they will shut down some plants for 9 weeks, and during that time they will file for bankruptcy. The doors will already be closed, and public outcry will be minimized. They are politely bowing out.
Do not look forward to GM opening those doors once they are closed.
Interesting comments, but I would add one more morsel of thought to this subject.
We are all being led around like steers by our nose rings. Firstly, GM has already made public statements that it can not continue without a bankruptcy. The UAW will not bend or yield any concessions, and the feds won't give any more money to GM/UAW. So what do they do??
They say they will shut down some plants for 6 weeks, and during that time they will file for bankruptcy. The doors will already be closed, and public outcry will be minimized. They are politely bowing out.
Do not look forward to GM opening those doors once they are closed.
I replied to another with this info, so forgive me if you've already seen it. My husband's friend recently moved to Ohio as an employee of GM. The layoffs have yielded him $350/WEEK from GM (union contract) and $450/WEEK unemployment. He doesn't know how long he can hang on if the GM doesn't turn around. I am totally disgusted to think that my tax dollars are helping pay someone more than I make in a week for not working! Another big reason why the company is in trouble.
Those employees will still be paid those 9 weeks as well! Also, according to the NYT, if GM does go to bankruptcy, guess who will pay for the UAW workers pension and health care? THE US TAXPAYER!!!!
http://membership.nrahq.org/default.asp?campaigni...
Everyone please unite in defending our constitutional rights by joining or renewing your NRA membership today!!
Click on the above link to join!
http://www.freedoms-fight.blogspot.com
Below is from a NYT article (June 17, 2001) about Russia's declining car industry after the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. You can see where I replaced with the American equivalent in parentheses. Very scary but true.
" . . .But the auto industry is a mess. Even the government, which counts it among the country's economic priorities, says so. At a meeting with auto company owners early this month in the Kremlin (White House), Mr. Putin (Mr. Obama) derided them as producing ''yesterday's cars.''
GAZ, (GM) built in 1932 (1908) with the help of engineers from the Ford Motor Company (William Durant), has made cars with no eye to market demand. Even after the collapse of the Soviet Union (capitalism in the US), the government continued to provide a steady diet of state subsidies and debt forgiveness in return for promises of eternal employment for the company's more than 100,000 (266,000) workers.
''It was a preserved island of socialism here — absolute stagnation,'' said Victor Panyushkin, one of Mr. Deripaska's new managers at the plant."
The American taxpayers are going to pick up the tab anyway, don't forget the workers will still get paid, and when that runs out, there is unemployment. Heard that the UAW penition (sp) & medical for Chrysler so that they can get straighten out. No matter what any of the Auto Cos. do we paid for it. Frankly, bankruptacy is the best way, let them get rid of the UAW, and start from scratch, but as long as BH0 is in charge and nobody challenges him in court and force the enforcement of the Constitution. I really think the best thing for the U.S. is to bust the unions, they started out doing good things for the workers, but now, they have gotten out of hand, they are controling our politicians and inturn controling America.
I agree. Labor unions, particularly the UAW are the reason for bankruptcy and our jobs shipped over seas. Think about how much cheaper a car would be if it didn't take the UAW to build it. I think it's ridiculus that someone can make like $90 per hour installing a car ash tray. They wonder why people aren't buying cars. Abolish Unions.
This is what central planning is all about. When the govt. tells you which cars to make and what MPG you vehicles have to have and what color paint you can use this is what you get.
I've said it before and I'll keep saying, Somebody has to stand up to these people. The stockholders of the companies, The CEO's that are being \”fired\”. GM,Ford and Chysler all made hybreds and nobodywants to buy them, thus the Government is telling them they have to make them. The only thing the government runs correctly is the military, which if I'm not mistaken is theonly in the Constitution they are suppose to provide for, not private industry, WHY IN THE H— ISN'T SOMEONE CHALLENGING THIS TO THE SUPREME DUDES????
My friend if you are waiting for Bee-Rock our magic president to bust the union, I just hope you don’t
hold your breath. And if the government will NOT, who will, ,,, no one we are screwed (pardon my French)
My husband told me about his friend (a GM employee), who moved to Ohio last fall. He is getting $350/week from GM and $450/week unemployment. His wife is working. He doesn't know how long they can hold on with the uncertain future of GM. Now I happen to think that $800/week to stay home and hope the company turns around is a far cry from hard times. If this is representative of all the employees' compensation, I can't find in myself to be too sympathetic.
That's 1600 every 2 weeks, I don't make much more then that and I work 5 days a week. Actually I figured it out one day, people working in the auto industry make more / hr then I do. am I have 2 Degrees. Good figure.
Did anyone notice that it was announced today that if Chrysler goes into bankruptcy the govt (we the taxpayer) are going to cover the legacy costs for UAW workers and retirees. Bankruptcy is probably best but only if they are sent through our normal practices not a special targeted bankruptcy that leaves the taxpayer on the hook!
Of course Obama owes the unions big! Get ready to bail the unions out!
I did, and posted so a number of days back. Even more important is the liability that we the people pipck up when GM follows this very same route. It's not just pensions, it's healthcare as well and i predict that this will be the norm for workers, not just retirees.
The only way for GM to reduce it's costs and become competitive is to reduce it's expenses. The only expenses it can reduce easily are the entitlement programs for it's workers and retirees.
GM will have a bankruptcy that will carefully handled. What is inherently unfair about all of this is that Ford is not hving the same issues so what is it that they are doing that GM isn't? This is that first, unannoucned step towards single payer health care (unviersal health care). Watch as this transpires – we have no say in this, except possibly in the Senate, where limited compromise is still possible. The House is a write off.
*********************GE and NBC*********************
http://www.digitalmarch.blogspot.com
Full list of contact information for both.
Send the link to everyone you know and let's let Immelt and Zucker hear from us!
I heard on the Tom Sullivan show that Chrysler is going to do bankruptcy initiated by the treasury dept. It seems that union pensions ,health care and wages will be exempted. Now that is change we can believe in! It is truly evident that the government runs the auto industry. What is sad is that here in Michigan we are being destroyed day by day.
Here is the simple solution to the problem, but it will NEVER happen because no one running GM, working for GM or the government (who should never be involved with GM in the first place) has any common sense, and some lawyer would file a lawsuit if they did it. This company has to cut a TON of costs to survive or go OUT OF BUSINESS. ALL employees need to take a DRASTIC pay cut. ALL former employees need to take a DRASTIC cut in benefits, if they don't , CLOSE THE DOORS ! Then none of them will have a job and none of them will have any benefits. BUT, now that the government is telling employees they will "bail them out" none of them is under any pressure to solve their own problems and we taxpayers are holding the bag again! What in the world is going on in this country?
The Liberal Dimocrats who have lied their way into power know they can simply print money like there is no tomorrow.
>>>Why did we give GM all that money if they are just going to layoff workers?
Because GM is still going to be paying those workers they've laid off. No cars will be made, which I suppose might reduce the stockpile, but the Union members will still be paid as if they were working 60 hours a week.
And the pay to laid-off workers is $350/wk from GM and $450/week from unemployment. Feel sorry for the workers? I don't.
I think the GM shut down is to retool and to reveal their new hybrid vehicle called the STIMULUS. This vehicle will only run on unconventional fuels such as Greenbacks, pensions, 401k's, stocks, bonds, home equity. Coming to a dealer near you soon.
That's good, except you need to add "to run on taxpayer money."
Hahaha, the only thing the Stimulus will exude from its tailpipe is frustrated gasps drastically reducing global warming.lol
What Else Should We Expect From Government Motors??
Am I wrong to think that bankruptcy is the best possible solution for GM, Chrysler and Ford? Couldn't they then renegotiate those ridiculus union contracts? I heard a report that stated GM must pay the union people the gap between unemployement and their regular pay. They already pay union retirees 90% of their pay. Hello, there is not a company out there that can sustain paying employees that do not produce!!!
yes they could, but BH0 doesn't want that, don't forget he owes the Unions. In fact, they are shutting down, but the UAW workers are going to still get paid.
Eric
"Hello, there is not a company out there that can sustain paying employees that do not produce!!!"
You mean out side the government right, Seems like we are paying everyone NOT to PRODUCE.
But I do get you point, I just look at odd angles.
My mom is liberal. When my I was 6 I saw one of those Retired bumper stickers. I asked my mom what that meant. "It means they dont have to work anymore cause they're to old." Makes sense "Okay" I say "how do they make money" "Well you see the company they work for keeps paying them." I thought about that for a long time. I thought about how many people in my familly and my community were old and retired. So I ask "what happens when the money runs out??" I think sometimes kids have more incite than politicians.
Yep, from the mouths of babes comes words of wisdom. Of Course you aren't a child anymore. Just thimk, with all the bailouts and pork being spent, what could 50-100 billion do for social security and another 50-100 billion do for the Vets. Yet, you notice a strange silence on these 2 issues, at least until the next election.
This is disconcerting, however, I do have to give GM kudos for doing something to attempt to cut their costs. However, this shuttering is just a short term fix for a long term problem. Until the UAW loosens their grip on the auto industry, this is going to be an ongoing story. Bankruptcy will only work for GM if the contracts with the UAW are wiped out completely. At that point, GM would be wise to completely avoid the Union and work to hire and train any able-bodied person willing to build cars.
Have you seen The Obama Deception movie yet? check it out here~> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw
they took the bail out money gave it to GM so the could go lobby washington and give the tax payer money to the politications this is nothing but extortion they are extorting tax payer money and laundring threw bail outs they cant directly take it .then it would be imbecilement and to easy to get caught this way the money changes hands a couple of times and harder to trace back to the tax payers and if someone is going to blow the whistel you make it look like the hung them self like at freddy
I think the next chapter for GM is bankruptcy. Reducing inventory while cutting expenses will look good in the short term, but it doesn't address the real long term problems GM has. It's not competitive and simply "taking a break" just postpones the issue.
Maybe they are gambling on the "glimmer" of light at the end of the economic troubles tunnel? I'm not sure how bright or pervasive those glimmers are, but from all that i read, it still doesn't look all that rosy.
Wow, the Government takeover is really working out well with GM isn't it? Once again, Washington has screwed up something else.
National Events and Information
http://www.calendar9-12.blogspot.com
News and Info
http://www.freedoms-fight.blogspot.com
AMEN to that!! Dear GM, please go out of business so we the people don't have to give you clowns another friggin nickel. Your cars are crap anyway.
So despite the sluggish sales and the shut-down, Union employees will stil pull most of their pay from Government Motors (your taxes) without working. Government Motors is a black hole of Union patronage and Obama payback that our taxes are being shoveled into.
Yes because the unions funnel money back to Obama and he fills his pockets and so do the other Talking Heads in washington NONE OF THIS IS ABOUT HELPING AMERICA OR THE PLANET IT IS ABOUT GET AS MUCH MONEY OUT OF IT WHILE I T LAST WASHINGTON IS HAVING A GOING OUT OF BUSNES SALE. THEY ARE TRYING TO LIQUIDATE AMERICA we have to stop this
We are seeing firsthand what it is like to give unions OUR money and watch them piss it away, and piss it away in preparation for bankruptcy. I can see it now, GM goes down but the UAW survives. Wait until we see the damage caused to us when the banks don't cooperate and they have to keep asking US for more money even though they won't lend to us.
This is the stupidest administration I have ever seen in my years alive. No one is benefiting from pumping money into businesses; only the citizens of America are suffering more each day from this. There needs to be a new law: you can't spend our money without our permission. I am baffled that they don't see nor care that they are crucifying the American people. Like someone said today: they aren't even micromanaging; they are micro-meddling. Micromanaging means you know what you are doing; micro-meddling means you are snooping around hunting for something that meets your cause/agenda.
The super nanny micro-meddling state has arrived – Mr. Goodwrench (B. Hussein Obama) is still giving speeches that he was correct and that we need to properly inflate our tires to save gas just as he said in the campaign. Next thing you know at his next press conference he will give us tips on antifreeze and proper oil viscosity so we can keep our Government Motors' warranties in force.
That is because every move is not about helping America, but about keeping Mr. Popularity in power. He might be prom king for now, but someday he is going to wake up and figure out that no one is at the dance any longer. In fact, he might just be getting burned in effigy at the NEXT high school bonfire.
What blows me away is this "everyday" issue thing; it's almost every few minutes something more bad is happening. Now I heard today that the Dems are going to kill the 95% tax credit Obama ran on; they will let it expire this year and not extend it into next year (whoopee…$8 a week). They are going to stop this tax credit and spin it as an investment into healthcare; they need that tax credit back after all! So one more promise has bit the dust!
government and the unions are to blame for GM going under .
No…GM's bloated capacity is to blame.
Perhaps we should have told them to file chapter 11 last year. Oh thats right, they were too big to fail and chapter 11 would destroy the auto industry. I guess that six months has "changed" everything. Another $14 Billion we will never see again. Thank you washington. My pockets are empty, can you spare your "change".
I am sensitive to Unions, but when they are one of the many problems that all American manufacturers are weighted down with, something must change. If the Unions are still much higher in total costs then other manufacturers, there needs to be a leveling out of these costs, just to keep the companies operating! American car builders not only have worker costs, they are coming into more stringent Obama environmental costs that in it self will probably make it impossible to compete with foreign car makers of witch have few, or non-existant environmental guidelines! Like I have said before, with tighter mandates on polution control via the Obama administration, this alone will kill domestic car manufactures! Obama has more guidlines coming down the pipeline in other costs as well, from health coverage, to other unknown taxes that are costly!
Obama just don't get it! He is not to smart as for America! I believe he has plans that are not in the best interests for the USA!
Most people know someone in a union so they are sympathetic to them. But the fact is that unions are a leach to whatever host they attach themselves to. Teachers unions are a great example. Do you know how hard it is for a school to fire a bad teacher? And they are out there, bad teachers that do not deserve to teach and there they are day after day. And the schools have very little power
There's a teacher at Albany High School in NY that sits in a room all day reading the paper because they can't fire him, but they won't allow him near the kids because of his past sexual harassment of high school girls. So we're paying this disgusting piece of crap to quite literally do nothing. Unions have NO PLACE in schools, not with the current policies.
 IntenseDebate Notification <DIV> I was a Union worker for 45 years, but there were things I didn't like about them. My biggest problem was that my Dues were used to support the scum from the Democratic party only! Unions were a needed process back in the early 20th century, but have been counter-useful in recent years!</DIV> <DIV style=\”FONT: 10pt arial\”>
Greetings DO. You get it. Wait and see what happens when they legalize the 12 million illegals mexicans. How PO'd will out of work UAW workers be this summer? Class warfare here we come. Man are we naive out here, or what? Oh yeah, satan doesn't exist, neither does hell. nobody could be that evil. Hitler, Stalin, Lenin were a figment of our imaginations. So was Napoleon, who kidnapped the Pope way back when.
So isn't this exactly what was going to happen before the American taxpayers shelled billions of good money after bad? I hate to say it but I truly believe that no one here is really shocked or surprised that government control didn't work. Too bad we didn't save our tax dollars for something we really needed instead of flushing them down the toilet and then hoping it clogs and backs up so we can retrieve our money that only smells a little like crap.
I know exactly what is going on with GM. They will be shutting down plants in America temporarily and will not open back up. Instead they will be reopening in China. Why? Because our government has created such a hostile business environment to companies. GM is selling more cars in China than they are in America and so China is a better prospect. So I think we have been hoodwinked!!!
If I remember many people warned the democratic congress that this would not help and even with the shutdown GM will be going into bankruptcy. Our political leaders are corrupt and dumb as a fence posts and need to be replaced.
Well what did you expect, this is how they keep their power is by sleeping with the unions.
This just posted on http://www.drudgereport.com. Chrysler is on the brink to file bankruptcy as early as next week. The Treasury is guaranteeing the UAW benefits. You've got to be kidding! That means we who do not have pensions are paying for others to keep theirs. OMG. When is this insanity going to end?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/business/24chry...
The GM bailout will go down in history as the biggest ripoff of taxpayer money ever.All it did was prolong the inevitable,what made these morons in Washington think anything would change buy throwing good money after bad?
I think Social Security will be the biggest ripoff a year or two down the road.
lol well I hope it is because the outlook of it I think our constitution could be the biggest ripoff.
I am also confused with the Big "B" word on the way, I thought our government said they could not fail or that would lead to the even BIGGER "D" word. Huh?! What 17 billion dollars and now we can say "bancruptcy." This is what they should have done before the bailout, so they could get rid of the union through restructuring. I just wonder how long till we can say "depression" ? Ooops I didn't mean to say it….
I am also confused with the Big "B" word on the way, I thought our government said they could not fail or that would lead to the even BIGGER "D" word. Huh?! What 17 billion dollars and now we can say "bancruptcy." This is what they should have done before the bailout, so they could get rid of the union through restructing. I just wonder how long till we can say "depression" ? Ooops I didn't mean to say it….
The sick part of this whole shut down at GM is, the union members will continue to be paid their regular wages. They will be able to sit at home, work someplace else for nine weeks and still get their regular pay! HOW WOULD YOU LIKE THAT?
Simple question, since the BO administration seems to be running GM will everyone get a free car? I remeber hereing about how peoples mortages wee going to be paid and how there would be free gas.
Well nothing is free. We will be getting the tribant like model.
Or maybe a Volga or Lada!
Right now, the mortgage defaults are rising like a cake in the oven. The moratorium is up. Self employed people can't even apply for the govt program. There's another round of real estate price collapse coming. Banks might be nationalized, and then the government will be holding your mortgage and your car loan.
Imagine this. They knock on your door one day and tell you you don't have enough people living in your house. You're going to have to take in another family and split the payments or beat it. They are nationalizing all property with ggovernment backed mortgages. Come on, now, chip in, will you? You must give up the space for the good of the homeland.
By the way, that Lexus that you still owe 80% of the original price on? You don't need that. Here's a compact model. The payments are lower anyway and we know you can't afford the Lexus. Those are reserved for the top level Americorps workers.
If you control the debt, you control the people. Prices of assets may come down, but the debt balances don't.
Debt without much equity = slavery.
No free cars but I heard that Mr. Goodwrench, I mean B. Hussein Obama is offering free oil changes and they will back your warranty.
Yeah! We DEMAND our new cars, gas, houses, and all the rest. Obama you PROMISED! Spread the WEALTH. We want it NOW!
Am I the only one who thinks the unions are just running a giant ponzi scheme? I'm sure their bosses will skate from this totally uneffected even if it means bankrupting the pension fund.
Pension? Did I hear pension? Whoa. Forget that. They will all be broke in short order. The big bosses will be taken care of, however. You are right about that. The union workers, if the auto jobs dry up, will be recruited for civilian corps jobs. See where it's all going?
I'm beginning to think that the bailout money given to the auto industry was for unemployment benefits for the unions.
I hate to say it, but they need to close their doors and sell off whatever they can. I'd buy a Japanese car made in the US but as soon as Card Check hits the streets, they will be out of business as well.
When the US is 100% dependent on imports, Obama will slap a carbon tax on them and you won't be able to afford to buy any car.
So, to hedge my bet, I started looking at horses. But it turns out that a horse has a higher carbon footprint than a car.
I bought it anyway hoping that global warming it causes will somehow stop the coming ice age. Besides, it had a cool name and big brown eyes.
Anybody know how to get back to Kansas?
Your beginning to think it's for the unions? That's what it's all about, unions effectively weaken a company like a cancer in your body. This is what this administration is banking on happening to all business in our nation so they can be nationalized. Research the card check bill, it's more disaster for America from Obama……
As a matter of fact, yes, I do know how to get bakc to "kansas" Dorothy. Philosophically, that is. Pulling it off is going to be a miracle, though.
Dorothy ran away from "home" because she was tired of some of the annoyances and the nagging and the responsibilities and chores there at home. What she found out was that it was far worse in another system run by evil forces. they will kill you if you don't play their game.
Many of our citizens hate capitalism because other people worked harder or smarter and got more stuff than they did. Obama and company rile up their natural tendency to hate the richer person rather than get up off their butts and make something of themselves.
When they wake up and find out that all their liberties are gone, and they have to share their homes with another family and get government issue this and givernment issue that and have the living hell taxed out of them and no longer even have a prayer of enjoying the fruits of their own labor in freedom….
They will want to click the glass slippers and go "home"
There are no glass slippers, though. Once they're gone, they are gone. We all need to wake up out of the dream of Dorothy and realize that evil forces really are at work, and our president is just a mask in front of them just like the Wizard. Somebody else is pulling the controls on the wizards countenance.
Going "home" is waking up to the reality we are too frightened to face. Going "home is accepting our chores and responsibilities and shedding the attitude of entitlement that brings too much reliance on debt right along with it. Going home is realizing how much we love those around us and wanting to do things for them and realizing they really did have our best interests at heart when they told us to stay out of debt and do our chores and work hard and stay away from evil stuff.
Kansas will need to be fought for all over again. We have met the enemy and it is us. We need to wake up and take it back.
HATE TO SAY I TOLD YOU SO, BUT AMERICA, GLENN SAID THIS A LONG TIME AGO. 912ers KNEW IT WAS COMMING AND CAN TELL YOU MORE….
GM might close the plants for 9 weeks but I'll bet you the Union workers still get a pay check each & every week like clock work. May be the Union workers should do with out some to they helped cause this mess right along with the government & its stupid rules & laws that the auto makers have to follow. Once again the government & it union lackeys wreck another industry.
yep they get paid. Nice summer vacation for them, maybe they could go down to Cancun while the house is burning down. ( a fire they set too)
I say I agree C_Marie and I also say, "Let these companies fail then send all of their equipment to a few non-union southern states and start a successful car company that is run by the owners rather than greedy union workers!"
I own a 2006 Hyundai Sonata, the best car I have ever owned, and it was made by a foreign company, but by non-union American workers in America (Alabama) for a fair wage. The Big-3 can have that same success, it boils down to rebuilding their businesses in conservatives states that don't punish business with workers who are willing to work for their pay rather than hold their employers hostage for their pay.
Has everyone forgotten? Pres. Obama now runs GM and is instituting change there. He isn't laying off anyone but giving them an extended vacation to unwind and relax from all the pressures of life. He may even personally give them massages to ease the tension. Think about it, he is also taking over the mortgage industry so the GM workers can't lose their houses and wants to provide healthcare to them as well. Actually, he is also pushing his climate agenda because no one in Detroit will be able to afford to light and heat their homes anymore. He is not as dumb as we think.
This is what we get to look forward to from Government Motors.
Unfortunate for you, Jaggers, the unions will be getting their full benefits while they lolly gay around for 9 weeks this Summer! Because GM has chosen to honor their contract with the unions!
Yeah they shut down the plant but correct me if I'm wrong, the employees still get unemployment PLUS the UAW mandates that GM (Government Motors) makes up the difference of their salary for whatever Unemployment doesn't pay… that's nice.
Spring break for GM!!! Everyone pile into your new cars and head to Florida for some fun in the sun… Don't worry the taxpayers will float the bill…AGAIN!!!
America is on a crash course with a Financial Disaster, else the government letting the "Free Market" starting being a free market again. The Federal Government nor the Federal Reserve understand "Fiscal Responsibility". The Federal Goverment spends like a spoiled rich kid with a huge allowance!!!!
Even as the unions have destroyed The Big-3 Automakers, and are doing the same thing to Boeing here in WA, they continue to push for Card-Check with the help of Obama so that they can bring their Union policies of greed that destroy the very companies that employ them to other companies. Sympathy for the UAW? Not from me, I'm laughing, this is a true case of one's chickens coming home to roost.
Letter to the American Union Worker.
Well now your jobs are being flushed down the toilet and the companies are folding. For so long you have blamed conservatives for your situation and have put all you love and trust in the democratic party. Well look what it has gotten you and the company that you work for. Through greed of the Union you now are faced with no job at all and the company is faced with closing its factories forever. NAFTA has lead to your destruction which I will admit both corrupt parties are responsible for. But, Union greed has lead to your companies inability to survive. Think they call it Legacy Cost. Wake up those few Union workers left in the country. Your party has sold you out for illegal immigrants and foreign companies. The democratic party has used you as their pawn for years and now they toss you by the wayside. Minorities you are next. The 20million illegal immigrants will take any good paying jobs you can get and hurt your communities. They care nothing for you other than your money and your vote. They care nothing for America.
We do on the other hand. We want to rebuild American companies and American workers. We want to provide you with the jobs that will make America great again. Join us in the 912 Movement to help through all these corrupt government officials out of office and bring back the change that you can believe in.
This is sooooooooooo true! I'm from an all union family and have watched the "unions" for years preach about union brothers and sisters voting for the democratic party all the while making them pay union dues when they had "NO" job!!! Some sat on the bench for over 6 months with little to no help from the union!
Aye and to boot Union pension plans have been raided how many times by Union leaders who were so corrupt that many of them ended up in prison? Most America business owners want nothing more than to provide a good living for not only themselves but the workers who make it all possible. Not going to say there are not some bad apples. But those guys do not keep employees very long. I have a small business and want nothing more than to see my employees do well. Unions many years ago before the Labor laws we have today served a valuable purpose. But , those days are now gone. Now Unions are nothing more than strong arm Mafia stealing from the common worker.
Those American Union Workers that live in Michigan are getting taxed to death by their Democrat Governor. Her outrageous taxes have a mass migration moving out of Michigan and it started last Fall. I stopped being sympathetic to these people in Michigan after being forced to live in the Detroit area for 18 months! Some of the most obnoxious people I ever met were the union workers that were laid off for the first three months we lived there–was never so happy in my life to get out of Michigan and back to a real frightfree life as when we left!
While I agree with most of what you've said I fail to see how NAFTA has effected the auto industry. Maybe I'm missing something but I don't see it.
Ok guys , since you request I must Opine. The North American Free Trade Agreement in my humble opinion was the biggest disaster to ever hit the country. It allowed free trade between countries I agree. But, we gave up a lot for this quote free trade. For example. It took all tariffs off goods and services imported into the country. While this made products cheaper for the American consumer. It allowed Companies here in the states to close their doors and move their factories to other countries where labor was cheaper and environmental regulations were less intrusive. It is the reason that you have the job losses that you have seen in the country. We no longer are producers we are now a consumer nation. But look at what we consume. Now your washer last five years at the most when before it lasted twenty. The products being shipped into the country are of a far cheaper quality and last 1/4 the time the old products did. But does the door really swing both ways no. Our products that we still produce still have tariffs. There was never any free trade it was just a open door agreement to let all of our nations industry to leave the country.
Then we have the matter of National and Trade defense. In WWII when our nation was attacked we had many factories that were changed over quickly for military use. To create tanks jeeps, aircraft, uniforms, etc…. Now we have no factories left in the country to do this which leaves us much weaker. To do this we will have to import goods and services from other countries. Which will enable our enemies to embargo us much easier than before. Then you have the matter of defense secrets. Where as before everything was in house by American workers who were loyal to the country and the companies that they worked for. Now we have everything made in other countries where defense and trade secrets are getting handed out like candy.
To sum it all up NAFTA was the biggest mistake that every happened not only for America but the American worker. The sooner it is struck down the better in my very humble opinion.
You are correct, but I too don't understand how NAFTA affects these particular union workers. I don't want to see people lose their jobs but their union's intransigence has caused them to continue to lose money and as a result a company may go bankrupt. These same unions are not even siding with the American workers that paid dues for years – they now are on the side of illegal aliens to boost their membership.
I feel for those individuals that work at GM. They are misrepresented by their unions in a lot of cases. And now they are going to be given a nine-week sabbatical. This is not good, GM took that money, and what have they done? We are going to have other manufacturers follow suit, we will have unemployment take a huge jump this summer, and that will cause even more problems economically for all regions. Not just their jobs. The effects of this are so far reaching that things could hit "critical mass" this summer because of all the effects. Shame on GM for taking all that money, only to do this to cut costs. I wonder if the top executive levels cut all their pay, and the board went without pay for the year, if they could cover the cost of doing business those 9 weeks,
I can't say as I feel too bad for the workers. Due to labor contracting, they will still receive their pay.
Well, some will, some won't I think it will be based on when they entered. But if they get paid, I don't feel too bad for the workers either. I was under the impression that they wouldn't get anything. But it is still going to have a far reaching effect across the country. Including the importing and exporting of goods as well.
You are right about the unemployment. All the satelites industries will be shutdown as well but those workers won't be getting paid. That pretty much means the cities of Lansing and Detroit will have no one working for at least 9 weeks this summer! I would say STAY AWAY FROM MICHIGAN THIS SUMMER AS THE CRIME RAKE IS GOING TO SOAR! When we lived in a Detroit suburb, the crime rate was one of the highest in the country in the mid 70's! Worst year and a half of my life as you feared going out of your house and prayed you were safe in your house!
No they will be getting a pink slip because GM government motors is moving to china!!!
Some one needs to explain to me how "card check" is going to help if this is the outcome of union "control".
That's a good one. It will just add to the chaos of class conflict that is being engineered.
Your not supposed to ask that! Just pay your dues and shut up!
Card check gives the union a chance to walk and say "sign this" while their thugs surround you to make sure you sign it! Then the union is forced down the owner's throat and there is nothing that owner can do. Watch all the entrepreneurs that start a business go out of business because they can't afford to pay the unions off! WONDER WHERE JOBS WILL COME FROM THEN! This is called the death of America thanks to the thugery of the unions!
If a union member knocked on my door requesting I sign for card check, I would immediately rip his badge off his shirt if he had one and call the cops that he was trespassing, an intruder, frightening my children. I would then press charges. Then I would call FOX news.
Aren't most government employees unionized? I hope that the government will go out of business.
It won't help. Remember what Biden said in Fl earlier this year – "You go home with the one who brung you to the dance. And man we're gonna dance!" This is payback for the billions that the union leadership (leadership that shold in itself be recognized as a corpoartion) has poured into Democratic party coffers.
This is corruption at it's stinking worst, and gives a virtual guarantee of political support/money/advocacy and votes towards the Dem if it passes.
I'm sure the Union retirees worked very hard for their money, and that their pensions and packages were promised to them, and that they earned them fair-and-square.
However, the simply fact is that there just isn't any money. Why should the taxpayers pay for the bad promises that GM made decades ago? Why should today’s taxpayers pay for bad promises made by FDR and other past Presidents?
The simple truth is that the pensions/benefits ARE going away, the Unions can release their stranglehold on the Auto-Industry, and save a few thousand jobs, or they can take them all down with them, but the money has dried up.
If you think the government can indefinitely pay for your union packages, think again. We're already trillions in debt, and other countries are already making plans to dump our dollar as the reserve currency. The government is in the same predicament as GM, only on a much larger scale, and with much more dire consequences.
It all WILL go away, and you can either give it up with dignity, or try to pull down the entire country with you. We can end Union control gracefully and recover, just as we can end entitlement programs and begin to inch out of this crushing debt now … or we can wait until it's too late, and we don't have a choice.
It will all end one way or another.
Don't companies bust unions when they lock the doors for 30 days? At least that's what it takes here in NJ with supermarkets. Since they're closing down anyway, why not kick the UAW out?
I was thinking that all along shut down production until inventories are low, but what do i know?
and set in their leather wrapped offices while they call the working man in and hand him his pink slip
Honestly, did anyone really think that a government bail out would work? If they file for bankruptsy, the courts have the decision to make as to if the bail-out funds are still a liability or will they be forgiven. And, without a doubt, they will not be set aside, the GOV will then come in and, with the help of the unions attempt to make GM a "model" government run entity. Well, if you remember the Ranch (brothel) in Las Vegas that the GOV took over for back taxes and how they ran it right into the ground then you know that GM will either have to fight to survive or will lose it's fight very soon. If you expect the RIGHT thing to be done in this situation, then you're expecting too much. On a side note my father retired from GM and draws a hefty pension, he is a BIG obama supporter, I told him not to look to me for support when Obama rips his world right out from under him. That is how strongly I feel about this mess.
Why am I not suprised that the only house of ill repute the govt. can run is congress?I've been convinced from the begining that NOTHING is to big to fail.What part of our economy will be further damaged by this shut down? I can't see the laid off workers spending much money, but I can see the possibility of them defaulting on any debts they may owe.Or will the union that is so concerned about them support them all summer?
Excellent point. The Union is a greed monger, and soon when there are fewer and fewer employees to pay in dues (as jobs fall of the cliff) their tactics could soon reverberate mob coersion tactics. They will save themselves before any employee. Will the Union open up all their golf courses for tent cities or their vacation condos for the families who do not have a tent or a car. This shut-down will be a shut-down heard around the world as parts manufactuers, paint companies, plastic manufactuers, etc. come to a screeching halt. Now in the past plant shut-downs were used to re-fabricate the plant for new models as re-tooling took weeks to complete. As a kid I remember my Father being home on shut-down vacation and we'd head to Colorado for vacation. Is it possible that the plants are being re-tooled for future manufacturing of green cars? Hmmmmm, nine weeks, long time from my experience.
I think it would be awesome if they could sell their intellectual property to a non-union company that could then build the machines without being beholden to the unions that are crippling the American side of the industry. That would go a long way to fixing the mess. May not be called GM, maybe it would be called NGM (Not GM). Wouldn't that be great to allow for the greed of the unions (not the members necessarily, but certainly the lion's share of leadership) to consume itself?
You might be on the something!
You might be on to something!
Wow, if there's a way to do this legally it's perfect.
Moving intellectual property, sounds cool
BUT What is legal anymore with this current administration?????
That's a great idea but I think it only fixes part of the problem. One of the biggest expenses is the so called legacy benefits the still have to pay all those union members. People that have retired still get huge pensions after they've stopped working.
If the company goes under, gone, no more, kaput, call it what you will, and a new company emerges that has only the intellectual property without the baggage would that new company be beholden to the unions? The unions are the ones that promised the legacy payments. The unions took over the pension plans. The unions are on the hook for the payouts … not the company.
What the GM workers need to do is kick out the Unions.
yep right on, the unions ruined a once great company. And I bet that they will still get paid on their summer vacation
and recieve their bonuses
I'm not a fan of unions. UAW workers they had better spend their vacation time re-training themselves. I blame the Corporate bosses for giving INTO HIGH wage demands from UNION THUGS. The American Taxpayer is left throwing good money after bad to try and fix something that can't be fixed because GM cars someday will no longer be made in the USA because car companies can't afford to pay UNION WAGES. WE should cut our losses and sell GM to CHINA.! At the rate congress is spending money CHINA might as well get something for their money.
YOU CAN'T BARGAIN WITH THE UAW! They just strike and you are stuck! Strike means no work–it is called no bargaining, no work, company goes bankrupt–the companies have given in resulting in all the costs that can't be recouped even when they sell the product! UNIONS, UNIONS, thankfully now reap what they sewed!
The unions were a great idea and needed in the early 1900's they worked. Now it has come to the point that the unions are in the role of the oppressive element.
I don't knows greeder Unions or CEO's?
Sadly I agree. Bankruptcy appears to be the only option. They need to get out from under the UAW. The union officials are the only people that are coming out good in this. There is no place for unions in this country, any longer. At one time the need was there. Workers were being obused and prejudiced. But these things, although still happen from time to time, are no longer an issue. Our laws prohibit this from happening. They protect us, as long as it is known, from these things.
The unions must go to keep our industries competitve with the rest of the wolrd, and to keep our jobs in this country.
Well, GM is implementing a self imposed time out. The employees still get paid and the UAW still gets their dues? Why shut down? Probably to allow the state and unemployment to shoulder a majority of the financial burden. They need to get it over with already. Every limb has a tourniquet and the bleeding continues. File already and let the Phoenix rise.
This is something that should have been done long ago. They need to declare bankruptcy and re-organized, much like the airlines have done. The unions need to get realistic. They are a dinosaur. American car companies need to be able to be competive with the Asian companies and they cannot do that with the unions and the government telling them what they can and cannot do.
Shut it down and let someone come in, buy the company and tell the Unions bubye…
Then tell the Government they will build the cars Americans want…Not a rollerskate with airbags and 1000 pounds of pollution control devices.
Posturing is all this is! During this first three months of 2009 GM lobbying the U.S. Government the sum of 2.8 million dollars.
They should shut down completely and restructure without the union. They make great cars but can't compete because of all the EPA regulations and the unions choking them too death.
Why give them the money? So that UAW could have their contractual agreements met and get wages met above their unemployment checks? Sad to say, the political payback goes on and on…
What say you?
Finally, something that makes sense!!!
But…………..General motors will pay furloughed employees 70% of their normal wages while shut down.
This will of course, be the bailout dollars that our government has given them. Basically, this amounts to a paid vacation for all of the G.M. workers. Damn, where do I sign up for a 9 weekation with pay.????????
Let them go 9 weeks without pay. See if they may want to renegotiate their contracts after that period.
How may of you have lost employment for 9 weeks or more ? Wouldn't be so bad if your employer continued to pay you, even if you did not have to show up.
I'm coming up on 1 month since I was summarily "kicked to the curb" and now I hear of this with an already sizable mountain to climb in an effort to gain employment…
As the fictional character Luis Woo said in "Ringworld" "TANJ! There Ain't No Justice".
People that are making a hobby out of the "Upcoming Zombie Apocalypse" genre- here it comes folks- the dead are in the streets and the only ones not running for cover are the ones who want this new world order and the government- satiated in their own power lust to even realize that what they've wrought is the very thing they've created.
RusS out.
We have highway work going on here, and some of the workers are striking. The company has to hire temps to replace them so the work remains on schedule. These union workers sit on the side of the road on their ass with this big blow up rat and signs. Everytime I pass them by I want to yell " you should be grateful you have a job". I'm not sure why they are on strike, probably because they have to pay a $5 co-pay or something greedy and underhanded I'm sure
Yeah!! Right!! Funny!!
Just to be clear. I was not disputing your statement about NAFTA having serious negative effects on our country. I didn't support it when it was imposed. What I meant was that I don't see a direct effect on the auto industry. I fully agree that it has had negative effects on many other industries.
We aren't sure if that $800/wk is after taxes, I suspect it is. I was raised to know the difference between needs and wants. Am I the only one????? If these people had to live on what we do (which is about 35k annually) they would learn that difference in a big hurry. We own 2 farms and a house in PA. Over 10% goes to property taxes alone. My husband inherited the farm and I the house, where we each grew up. The farm we live on we paid for, and we own it – not the bank. We worked our butts off to pay off a 15 yr mtg. in 5 yrs. We have virtually no debt, and I very much resent that the tax dollars we pay will help bail out big companies, big banks, insurance giants, and union workers and others unable to live within their means. Did we have tough times? You bet. We made it through the tough times with frugal living and hard work. I rent out the house in PA, and last month reduced the rent $150/month to help my excellent tenants, one of whom lost her job last year. I CHOSE to help them, and resent the confiscation of our money so the gov't can decide who needs help. There I go again…another mini-rant.
Well if you call General Motors and ford both moving most of their production to Mexico no effect then I would agree. Not only that most of the parts are now outsourced outside the country. So there was a large effect. And no worries mate I write these things to bring discussion and understanding for myself. But I also write these things to help people put the puzzle back together again. We have to know what we did wrong in order to fix our country. and the only way we can do that is by good honest debate and not dictatorship. Even if we gain our country back from these yahoos. We have to recognize what drove the average Joe to vote for this idiot. That answer was desperation for change. Things had gotten that bad. We have to recognize the problems that most Americans face on a daily basis and fix them. I see a lot of post about doing away with government entitlements. That in my opinion is not a answer either. Entitlement programs have their place. But, need to be strictly regulated by not only the government but by the people. The moral of the story is the government has lost touch with the common man. Which is detailed in our Declaration of Independence. That it is up to us to replace the government at that point with one that is beneficial for the people. Hopefully we can do that through the election process. But, at this point I am having serious doubts about waiting that long. This guy is really scary. Thank you for letting me Rant:) Take care prw201
I'd sure rather have a tax cut then government backed health care. Go to any nursing home and ask to see 'intermediate care.' That is what you will get in your aged years. Or go to a VA and check out how many are sitting in waiting rooms so that you can sit in another waiting room. All day long. And when you finally see a doctor, it is a first year resident who doesn't know which way to point a thermometer.
Both my parents were in nursing homes, rather my mom was in an Alzheimer's facility. They are most definitely understaffed and we saw them decline much faster. They are both gone now. My point was this tax credit was so miniscule that it most probably helps no one, and now he's even going to reverse that to use the money for nursing-home type nationalized health care. No one has ever received truly great healthcare when it is nationalized; I've seen it in Canada and in Honduras; it is degrading and it is dangerous because the health care staff aren't motivated to do a good job or even give the appropriate meds.
Very true. In the 80's I worked as a unit director in skilled care for a few months. I quickly realized the staffing and budget problems and the insistent cry bybureaucratsto 'cut waste.' We didn't even have a push button phone in the facility—and one LPN cared for over 60 patients at night. Anyone who has ever cared for the elderly with conditions like Alzheimer's knows that as the sun goes down, the restlessness and confusion goes up. Instead of staffing higher at night, we were told how many nurses and aids could be used by some bureaucrat in DC who has never EVER cared for the elderly. The push toward more government intervention has NEVER made a better quality product, instead, a much worse experience for both patient and staff. All to 'save' people money. If it were up to me, I would get rid of it all, except for the people who have absolutely nowhere else to turn and I would hold BIG BROTHER accountable for their living conditions, not the staff.
I had a girlfriend whose mother held a PhD in nursing and she held a Master's degree. They wanted to open a small facility of only women with mild to moderate Alzheimers and give them the very best of care with a staffing ratio of about 6:1 and much higher use of registered nurses, not as supervisors, but as direct care providers. They worked out their own budget and could meet and exceed the local nursing home per patient. They were turned down…….the government TELLS nurses how many nurses that these patients can have, not the other way around and they were 'discriminating' against males with Alzheimers. They went back to the drawing board and came up with a plan that they could have a male wing and a female wing of the house that they were going to provide care in. They were again turned down, they needed a 'medical director' and all other excuses. They obtained one, part time. They said, no. It had to be full time. And on and on and on—one excuse after another. Finally, they gave up in frustration. Two talented, wonderful nurses who were willing to sacrifice salaries to give people what they REALLY needed were told they couldn't.
BTW, anyone who has someone at home with Alzheimers and needs cheap care—hire an illegal. I know several people cared for by illegals from eastern europe and they receive much better care than through a nursing home. Just pay them as 'companions.' And the government can't and won't say a thing!
Thanks for the info…just what the heck does a 'neighborhood stabilazition' entail? is said neighborhood wobbling around the city or what? What a ridiculous term. Kinda like 'community organizer.' In order for community organizer to be necessary, don't we first need a disorganized community? And what does that mean? School in the wrong place? Someone put some houses on top of a manhole? Someone's backyard is out front? What? I think I'm in cynic mode. Oh well, beats the mini-rants, I guess!
And what the heck do Pell grants have to do with shovels?
I got awhole list of them, but my finger gets tired typing.