Good Points about the Auto Bailout

From The Tennessean:

Auto hub may go South

"Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina recently wondered whether BMW would have built its plant in Spartanburg if the government had been handing out money to its rivals, and Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia voiced similar concerns about the state's Kia plant, which might bring 2,500 jobs to his rural district.

"Let's face it, who would want to come over here and put their investment into this country if they knew the government was going to be subsidizing their competitors?" he said. "It's just not right. It just goes against the grain of the free-enterprise system.""

The Good in People

How 'bout some good news for once!? This is the type of story that reminds you that good people are out there, no matter how famous. It's people like the Dallas Cowboy's QB Tony Romo that you pull for and you look up to in sports. Not guys like Pacman Jones. Whether you are a Cowboys fan or not, Tony Romo is the epitome of the cowboy in the white hat who looks out for his fellow man. Pretty cool guy if you ask me.

Romo lends a hand to a homeless man

In a rags-to-riches story that might sound like the premise for a Hollywood production, a homeless man found himself being treated to the movies by multi-millionaire Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo recently, The Dallas Morning News reported on Thursday.

And so the $67 million quarterback, who made news by changing a couple's tire on a roadside on the way home from a game in September, and the homeless man sat next to each other and shared laughs for 90 minutes or so.

Auto Bailout

I'm giving this current economic situation a name. I'm calling it "The Great Correction." If you think about it that's exactly what it is. This country has been run into the ground by greed and mismanagement and now we're having to correct things. When things are thriving, business is good and everybody's making money you can get away with mismanagement and reckless business practices. However, when times get tight it seems that only the lean survive.

GM, Ford and Chrysler are not lean. They have allowed Unions and poor management to put them in a dire financial pit. Now, they've hopped their individual private jets to fly to Washington to ask the taxpayers to bail them out.

A few things seem ironic about this.

a. While it's been noted on every major news source, I'd be remised not to question the use of private jets to fly East and beg for money. Flying to Washington on private jets goes further to show how rediculously clueless these fat cats are. They've overseen the downfall of three of America's greatest companies, yet they show their disconnect when they arrogantly fly in on private jets!?

b. You have mismanaged your company, you have built less than competitive cars, your operating cost are astronomical and not competitive so your margins are thiner than say....Toyota or Honda (both of whom are building vehicles in the States and by all appearances are doing just fine.); therefore, consumers looked elsewhere when it was time to buy a new car. Since they(we) didn't buy your cars and you didn't adapt fast enough to changing market trends you've now come back to us, the taxpayers, many of whom walked away from your products, to ask for money anyway. Sorry fellas, you should thought about that when you were designing and building your cars. You should've thought about the threating storm that was brewing with each UAW renegotiation. Well, the storm's here. You got greedy, you got fat and you were the only ones who didn't see the brewing problems. You did this to yourselves, you didn't adapt and now your situation is dire.

I'm not heartless....I am concerned about the negative economic effects that the collapse of the big three will have on our economy. The trickle down effects are enormous. However, is a band-aid really the answer? This is Capitalism! If you don't adapt to market trends you don't survive. It's simple economics and is something that even myself, with nothing more than an undergraduate degree in economics, could have easily told you.

This is part of "The Great Correction." Companies like GM, Ford and Chrysler need reform. They don't need a bailout so that they can continue to try and be competitive in a market that has passed by their methods. They should take a page out of the books of the Airline Industry. Not long ago many of the big Airline companies filed for bankruptcy in an effort to merely survive and to protect themselves from credit collectors. This gave them the opportunity to completely overhall their operations and emerge leaner and profitable. While the economic implications may be painful, this is exactly what the big three should be forced to do. From the standpoint of running and efficient and effective business model they're a joke. Trust me, I know from firsthand experience that business school professors love to use the GM-UAW relationship as a great example of how not to run a business.

The time has come for "The Great Correction." It might hurt but it's necessary and it's part of Capitalism. Eventually greed will be penalized even in a Capitalist society.

Kanye West.....The Voice of this Generation!

Mr. West,

Forgive me, but who are you again? I'm sorry, I know you sing that one song about golddigging, but other than that what other contributions have you made that have had mass appeal? And what generation are you claiming you represent? I don't know anyone (actually I know one person) that listens to your music and I know a lot of people. Does that also make me the "Voice of this Generation?"

Kanye West says he's 'the voice of this generation'

Michael Jordan never professed himself to be the greatest, others awarded him that distinction based on his accomplishments. In your case, no one is awarding you the distinction that you believe you deserve so you awarded it to yourself. I don't call that influence, I call that arrogance.

Where do we go from here?

Is this what it was like in the years following 1929? Is this as bad as it's going to get or will it get worse before the tide turns?

Over the past 20-30 years of prosperity corporations and the Government bent the rules further and further until there were enough loopholes that companies could walk the fine line, gambling with everyone's money, recklessly, yet silently, leading our Country down the road to recession.

Companies have stopped hiring, manufacturers are ordering only what they need, or are recounting their inventories to see if they have enough to get by. Instead of employees getting 40 hours a week they now get 32. Financial institutions and automobile giants, both employing hundreds of thousands of people have recklessly mismanaged their interests for the past 20-30 years and we sat by, assuming everything was okay, assuming that those who we elected to lead us and those who we trusted with our money were operating in our best interest. Well, turns out they weren't.

How will all of this effect our country? How will we change? Will we come out of this downturn much in the same way our Grandparents did with caution, living inside our means and saving more than we spend? Who was it that said great events in history skip a generation? Our grandparents experienced great turmoil due to a major fiancial crisis, when our country slowly recovered the mood of Americans was to take only what they needed and save what you didn't need then for a rainy day (which is the reason why many of our grandparents died with a bank full of money). We grew out of those times and the lessons learned mostly went ignored by much of the next generation, a generation that most likely grew up in a frugal family as many families were, always wanting. Finally, when they had their chance they took all they wanted, anyway they could get it. However, over the years some of the same recklessness of taking all you want and more carried over into the heavy spending mood of Government and Capitalism. Now, we've hit the wall. How will we come out of this? How will we go from prosperity and privilige to protecting ourselves from future failures by those we trusted.

My hope is that our country sees the struggle of Americans and how far we've fallen from grace in such a short time. My hope is that we will concern ourselves more with the troubles on our home soil than with those of other countries. We have problems here and now that need our attention, resources and money. The rest of the world can wait. You've gotta take care of number one first before you can worry about everyone else. America needs to take care of number one.

Aid to Auto-Makers in Detroit

I'm a little uncertain as to how I feel about Pelosi and Reid's call for immediate aid/relief to the auto giants in Detroit. I understand failure of these companies could be far reaching and could destroy our economy. Therefore, I'm not against some sort of bailout for these companies. However, I have criteria that each company must follow:

1. Stop opening factories in Mexico and Canada. You could close those plants, and return those jobs to the U.S. providing an economic boost to those communities instead of shutting plants like Ford has recently done in Kentucky. These are U.S. cars and they should be made by U.S. autoworkers.

2. Force fiscal responsibility and force give and take for both the UAW and the auto companies. This relationship is reckless and it's the reason why many industry suppliers are moving out of Detroit. Unions, while originally great in their efforts to improve work condititions of employees, now have been given so much leverage and strength that they are demanding auto companies satisfy unreasonable requests, driving up costs.

3. NO GOLDEN PARACHUTES! NONE! Auto execs have run these companies into the ground, making millions along the way. They've made their millions, others have suffered job loss. There should never be a reward for failure. You've done such a bad job running these companies that you now need the government and tax dollars to bail you out. I'm sure I speak for all taxpayers when I say you don't deserve a dime of my tax money. That money belongs in the hands of those suffering and should go to help these companies survive.

4. The government should demand benchmarks be met by these companies in order to recieve bailout money. If, at any time, bailout money is misused or abused like the wonderful people at AIG, then the consequences should be swift and immediate.

5. This bailout money belongs in the hands of the people. Therefore, these monies should only serve the purpose of providing these companies with the safety-net they need to effectively restructure their company's success model while insuring the job security of the American Autoworker. Now, I know that some cuts must be made, but before you cut American jobs the jobs in Mexico and Canada should go first. Only, after doing everything to responsibly preserve the jobs of the American Autoworker should job cuts occur.

American auto companies are finally making better cars; however, due to perception they continue to lose market share to foreign car companies. While some foreign car companies make many of their cars in the U.S. many of these cars are still made elsewhere. Of the cars made elsewhere there should be a heavier tax levied on the import and sale of these cars to provided a competitive advantage to the cars that are made in the U.S..

Americans should buy American made products, yet due to liberal trade agreements arranged by our government much of what is sold in America is "Made in China" or "Made in Indonesia." Jobs leave our country everyday, and the economic impacts are far-reaching as we're not vividly learning. If you want to point a finger, point it at the U.S. Government for allowing trade agreements to exist that hurt U.S. Companies. There should now and should always be tax advantages and competitive advantages for companies that operate in the U.S.. However, it's cheaper for Springs, GM, Ford and so many other large companies to relocated to 3rd World countries and import back to the U.S. at a fraction of the cost. This should end, NOW!

More thoughts from Thomas Jefferson

So this is day two of my exploration into the quotes of Thomas Jefferson. It can't be said enough how insightful Mr. Jefferson was then and even now. We can learn a lot from his teachings and apply them to our current America. Much of what he said then is easily applied to today's politics and should be used now, as it was then, to build a better Nation.

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."

"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock."

"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government."

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."

"That government is the strongest of which every man feels himself a part."

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

Just a sampling of Mr. Jefferson's thoughts. Nevertheless, these are the thoughts of one of the men who built the platform by which this Nation could succeed. We celebrate Mr. Jefferson with a Monument within eye sight of the White House and the Nation's Capitol. In today's Government we debate about Big Government, Small Government, the Redistribution of Wealth and so on....I wonder where Mr. Jefferson would stand on these issues......

The footprint for a successful Democracy was laid out for us years ago. I fear if we allow the Government too much control then Democracy will no longer exist and we may no longer be individuals but loyal subjects to too much Government.

Thomas Jefferson

I see Tuesday's election of Barack Obama as some form of rebellion. The people of this country, myself included, are tired of the Washington way of Politics. Whether I agree with canidates chosen on Tuesday or not, the people of this country want change and Tuesday was a clear indicator that the people expect change to happen. We are tired of seeing our leaders argue on end without resolution while we the people suffer. As I walked my dog out in the cold early yesterday morning I was thinking about the majority's choice for the next President and trying to label what it means in simple terms. I came up with a famous quote from Thomas Jefferson that was on the back of a Spring Break shirt from my high school days:

"A little rebellion every now and then is a good thing"

A great quote!

I decided to search other Jefferson quotes and was impressed to find out how much of his advice and thoughts still ring true. It's amazing, that one of our greatest leaders, a man who died in 1826, has left us with so much insight that one could use the his ideas as the blue print for how to effectly run our everyday lives as well as our country.

Here are few Jefferson quotes that caught my eye:

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."

Thomas Jefferson, Letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin (1802)

"I'm a great believer in luck, I find the harder I work the more I have of it"

"Nothing gives one person so much advantage of another as to always remain cool and unruffled under all circumstances"

"The spirit of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object"

"Advertisements....contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper"

"A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine."

"A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government."

"Commerce with all nations, alliance with none, should be our motto."

"Every generation needs a new revolution."

"I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend."

I could go on......

A Blue Day

We witnessed history yesterday. Not just for our Country, but for the world. I'm not necessarily thrilled, but I'm certainly intrigued. I'll admit that America is in dire need of change. We do need a new direction and we need a new way of getting politics done. However, I think many people think the mere election of Barack Obama and the overall Democratic landslide of November 4, 2008 will automatically right all the wrongs. It won't. The Clinton Administration set our country up for Financial Crisis in 1999 when they pressured Fannie Mae to ease credit requirements for home loans. It wasn't until 2008, towards the end of Bush's 2nd term, that the bottom from that brilliant idea fell out. Nevertheless, the actions of last night are historical on so many levels. I sincerely hope that Obama follows through on all that he says he'll do. We need reform, we need help and Obama has promised it.....now, it's time to deliver on that promise. Our Government needs to get their heads out of their own asses and get back to effectively governing. I'm not an Obama supporter, but I'm a fan of Democracy and last night Democracy had one of it's more glorious nights.

I sincerely hope Obama leads this Country in a better direction. I hope he restores faith in all it's citizens. Our Country is an amazing place full of amazing people. Over 200 years ago our ancestors began coming here in search of something better. We've gotten away from that over the past few years. We've gotten away from being good neighbors and from looking out for each other. We've spent more time being divided and hopefully in the near future that will change. I certainly hope it does and I'm certainly willing to be as supportive as I need to be to help restore faith in this Country.

It's worth noting how impressive it is for a candidate to come along that inspires so many people. We haven't seen that in a long time.

John McCain is a great America. He's given more than the majority of people living in this Country ever will. He spent five years being tortured in a Vietnam POW camp and has dedicated his life to servicing this Country. I'd imagine he has crossed party-lines more times than any other Senator, President or Congressman. We need more people like John McCain.

I hope Sarah Palin doesn't fade into obscurity. Many people don't like her, but I do. She's a real America. She is not a North End Liberal politician who claims she knows what pains real Americans, she actually does know what pains real Americans. She's unpolished and because of that she comes off as real. Being real and believable is a lost art in major politics. However, she pulls it off and I believe it's not an act.

Talk about interesting....hang on, the next few months are going to be a wild ride. Bury your money;)!

Celebrities need to worry about lattes and Ferrari's and stop trying to influence true American's decisions. If you live the life a Hollywood Celebrity you do not live in reality. Don't tell me how to vote and what to believe. You haven't lived my life and you don't struggle the way most normal Americans do. Your High-Horse is nothing more than a prop.