Geez... I can't even get the hang of posting! You'd think I would know better than to hit "Back" after previewing, but NOOooo, not the smartypants I.T. guy! I have to go and blow out a whole long post that I was working on. Damn.
Oh well...
The gist was that I'm pleased Obama won, that it looks like the Dems will hold a solid majority in the House & Senate, and there's no such thing as a filibuster-proof Democrat majority because they just can't agree on what they want. The Republicans will always be more successful at getting what they want, because they don't want to be all things to all people.
I wonder if we'll get GM, Ford & Chrysler bailed out in time to avert a depression? I bet if the UAW would agree to disband, W & his cronies would bail them all out so fast it would make your head spin, but so long as they have a union to bust, no deals will be struck (and to the douche who claimed they get $75/hour for sweeping floors, what are you smokin', dude?). They would rather see 25% unemployment than allow the big three to keep us afloat while we transition to greener and more efficient forms of energy so long as they're staffed by union personnel.
The thing is, though, that the decisions about the cars made and the quality floor of the product are choices made at the executive level, not by the factory personnel, and the making of low-quality low-mileage SUVs instead of high-quality environmentally friendly vehicles (remember the Datsun B-210?) has done more to bring them low than any union contract could. Besides, the unions have renegotiated their contracts in the last couple years to allow for lower-paying jobs to replace higher-paying ones when employees are replaced. I'm more concerned about Rick Wagoner's $15.7 million salary than I am some dude in the factory making a decent wage. And that's just the CEO (whpo oversaw the decline, I might add). What about the other executives? How many millions could be saved by replacing the executive level (VP and above) with people making something a little more realistic? Does the executive at the big three really represent almost 300 times the value of a factory worker to their crporation when they are helping bring it low?
Well, I guess well just have to sit tight and see how things play out. I'd hate to think that the Republicans would let their political agenda bring about the collapse of the world's economy, but it certainly wouldn't be the first time politics caused or even agravated a disaster, and likely won't be the last...
