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michigans lost decade
DH:
Save some of your accurate ire on President Bushcheney who presided over the worst job creation and economic growth record over 8 years since the Great Depression(Wall street journal January 2009).
Save some of your ire for Bushcheney who killed 5000 brave men and women and maimed 10,000 others so he could get his name in the history books for democratizing the middle east when all his other lying theories proved false.And by the way the 1 trillion dollar price tag for the Iraq war went on the credit card and the fiscal conservatives just looked the other way.Bushcheney brought this country down to a lower level in all areas. And Bushcheney will still get their pension and live the good life while the rest of us pay dearly.
Yeah the Democrats and Pelosi are idiots too.Our only hope is a viable 3rd party that realize politics is not religion and that compromise is usually the best alternative.
GM-OPEL
Well LONG before GM there was OPEL...they have won car race in 1920-1922 etc.
They raeson GM got involved is Building trucks and machine for the 'WAR" .....in 1935-1945...
So lets get it right?
GM made a 36% profit in china! Any Idee WHO is bulding tucks, machine for the Afgahinstan.Pakistan .... war?
our soldier complain off bad "Workmanship and materiel qualities"! coud that be "outsourcing and cheap labor" plus "NO UNION".
How much money did Debbie Dingell get from here "buy-out from GM? really like to know?
Exausted and Demoralized
That's how the people at Opel feel right about now. I know it is how their CEO GME boss Carl-Peter-Forster felt shortly before he couldn't take it anymore. And it is how i feel after writing two extensive comments just a few minutes ago. One of them titled Adam Opel: GM's Waterloo is still there. I don't know what happened to my other work.
Basically GM just shot their legs off. One thing GM never seems to understand is just how disliked they really are. Especially by the European press. The difference here being that Germans, politicians even rival automakers were actually rooting for the NEW OPEL this time around. All that changed from Friday to Monday. Amazing! Amazing that GM did not realize that this would happen. Even more amazing how Whittacre didn't worry about this happening. Being that he hates overexposure.
Opel's cars have never been better, thanks to the capable leadership of Carl-Peter and Hans Demant currently president of Opel. The Insignia has won awards and the Astra is following suit launching in December. GM can easily coast along for another 5 years just on Opel technology alone. But then what. Opel needs at least 7-8 B Euros in future investments. GM doesn't have that kind of loot.
But the negativity that surrounds GM now casts such a shadow over the operations, the leadership and the workforce that the launch that should have been the launch of NEW OPEL seems to doom the fanfare of what should be a happy moment.
Instead of Magna taking the hit for the headcuts, GM will now take them, just what they don't need. At the same time they come begging for money. The whole situation is now in the toilet. I'll have to recharge and come back and try to write someting intelligent. But i've had it with GM.
I'm not just afraid, i almost know with certainty that the next waves of negativity will be more violent than any GM has ever faced in the history of the company. And with a listing ship and squabbling captains on the bridge arguing about which path to take through the Arctic, this cannot come out well. GM squandered another good will opportunity, the Germans have run out of good will. The remaining mgt. at Opel, the works council, the metal unions, the dealers, the workers, and lastly the potential buyers have all been left out to dry.
Nobody is going to want to see German taxpayer money going to this moribund US bunch of crackpots.
As a long time Opel fan it pains me to witness this. But even i feel it is time to face the music. Insolvency is the only road for Opel to travel now. Bowing out to this NEW Government Motors is just more of the same painful path to oblivion that they have been on for decades now.
Sometimes putting a stake through the heart is better than to live a life in chains. Especially if those chains only lead to hell. Unless GM switches their minds. Unless they give Opel the AG instead of the GMBH. Unless Opel gets to market their own cars under their own logo in growth markets, with access to US and Canada, it is over for them.
The end for them is near, once Opel goes under, GM will follow in short order. Meanwhile the competition is rubbing their hands but i don't think that even the other German competitors are all too happy to see Opel go down.
It is the negative press, and negative tongues that will bring GM down. Not bad product. It's the leadership now at GM that is to blame not the product. Leadership and marketing. The worst in the industry. ~MW
Peters does good, calls McCain's bluff on viability of Chrysler
McCain is getting a kickback from the foreign auto companies, just like the other senators. How do they sleep at night? SHAME on them, that's all I have to say. To allow NAFTA to carry on like this a sin. I want our government to tell me why when our cars are exported to other countries, that they are taxed to death, yet the imports that come here are not. WHY?????????
Peters does good, calls McCain's bluff on viability of Chrysler
Mr. H.,
But, but, but John McCain is a WAR HERO, and is a STRAIGHT TALKER, and has a pretty wife, and..and... and has always been a knuckleheaded, loudmothed hypocrite, valorous naval and POW service notwithstanding.
He talks like he knows something about making money, or investing, or something besides his big mouth. In fact, had he not married well (extremely well, if you ask me) he would likely be living nicely on a government pension somewhere, assuming e followed prudent investment advice.
All that aside, I think (and have posted same) that the nation would have been better off, on balance, had GM and Chrysler both been brought to task before the bar. The government takeover of this industry will rebound in ways not yet apparent, and it is not going to be pretty. This opinion does not make me a McCainac.
Thanks for a good post. Post more often!!
Regards,
Brian Reilly
opel-opel
Get Penske back on line. Ask Geniholm to join the team. Then get Ford to lease out the Wixom plant. Have Opel update the drive line on the cars they make for Saturn. 1.8 is to weak for the American driver 2 liter engines would be perfect. Ship the drive line in from Belgium. Make and assemble the rest of the car in Wixom. Then get Geniholm to lower the SALES TAX on MICHIGAN ASSEMBLED CARS to 2%. After
the first year of production add a mini van to the same platform (the car that Saturn buyers still would like back.
Of course, this requires thinking and accountability. Maybe another stimulatin' package from Obam-bam would be better
Dave FederEntitlements
DCH,
A putative argument defined in one sentence...the rest of the world has learned how to build cars.
Chris D: You're doing it again, you 'ignorant fool'
Chris D says, "I consider an electrcian semi-skilled at best."
Chris D, I consider you an ignorant fool at best. Go read NFPA 70, the national electrical code. See if you can understand one word of it.
CL:
I know I couldn't understand a word of it, at least in the technical sense. This war of words, gentlemen, is getting a little too inside baseball. Soon folks in this forum'll be asking you to take it outside, so to speak. :)
-- DCH
We here in Michigan are not 'ganians, but 'ganders
Quote: "I suspect I speak for many Michiganians when I ask..."
If the author cannot properly call us Michiganders, then he certainly is not one of us. As such, he should not try to speak for us either.
I am a proud Michigander, not a "Michiganian" (sic).
Don't ever call me that again.
Otherwise, yes, I agree. To veto a bill simply because one's name is not on it is absurd. If it works, it should pass. Michigan passed the point of ego stroking long ago. Those who still need their ego stroked should be shunted aside so some real work can get done.
JDL:
I stand corrected, because I double-checked. Michigander is the noun; Michiganian the adjective. That said, have never claimed to be "one of us." Was born in Ohio, but was not -- repeat, not -- raised a Buckeye fan. Some things are just too horrible to contemplate.
-- DCH
'If your degree is worth so much ... compete globally like everyone else'
Chris_D, because of your obviously self superior attitude toward others, I would not hire you. I doubt very many employers would; knowing you would alienate much of their workforce and disrupt corporate synergy. The fact is, an engineer or any other specialist is as much a dime a dozen as any electrician. Their only safety is in immigration laws - government intervention. If you think your degree is worth so much, then why don't you want to compete globally like everyone else?
Entitlement mentality, lack of job skills is losing proposition
First of all, please learn to read. I didn't bash you for being unskilled, I bashed you for your entitlement attitude in light of your lack of job skills.
You spent a lot of time researching, maybe you don't work very much or very hard. But your sloppy research, self-aggrandizing and chest-thumping only underscores my point...
I'm familiar with what it takes to be a union electrician (I know two former union electricians)and [in] journeyman programs. I consider an electrician "semi-skilled" at best. So did they, that's why they went back to school got "real" credentials (college degrees) and got out of Michigan. They saw the future for semi-skilled laborers, leaving the rest of their counterparts to fight over scraps from dismembered industries.
Let's face it, in today's job world, you're not competing with with people who have HS degrees or six to 12 months of electrician's training (which you got paid for, by the way). You're competing with people who have 4-, 6- and 8- years worth of college education. They paid their dues putting themselves through school and working in a job with no union protection or "due process". Let's also not forget the obvious, they are MUCH harder to replace than you are...
What have you done? What choices did you make to put you where you are today? Why should you be entitled to the same perks that that those with "in demand" skills receive?
You were paid for training and now work in a "protected" and "structured" union environment. So stop your sniveling because you can't compete outside the UAW without a significant cut to your bloated lifestyle...
Your list of companies is impressive. But you didn't bother to mention which of those companies provides those services to their manufactuing employees company-wide on a global basis. Oh, most of these companies aren't manufacturers. How naive of you trying to compare them.
With your list of McDonald's benefits, you also assume that those services are absolutely free and are as robust as your UAW benefits. Nice try. Anyone with half a brain knows that is not the case....
By the way, I find your snobbish inference about people who work McDonald's -- ("Talk to your employer, even Mickey D's has employee benefits they offer.") -- ironic coming from a UAW member who's skills aren't much higher.
Maybe you should take advantage of the "educational assistance" you've had access to for years (but clearly haven't used), to educate yourself and better your career. Nah, that's too much work. Crying about conditions is much easier than adapting to them...
In summary, your limp attempts to research and unseat my argument have failed because you have only done the job halfway. But that's the kind of job we've come to expect from UAW members. Thanks again for validating my points...
CD:
Might quibble with your delivery, but not the content of your argument. What you're positing here -- and the reaction it elicits -- is a perfectly rational economic argument joined with an equally predictable response: Change the terms of the debate, weight it with sarcasm and a dollop of entitlement and attack the messenger. Welcome to my word. Ain't it fun?
-- DCH
'Pile another embarrassment:' Uninformed misses Metro handle
What the hell does DTW stand for?? No where in your blog do you give the entire name. As a former newspaper journalist I give you an F in composition!
MG:
You can give me an "f," but I refuse to take it. Ever flown in or out of Detroit? DTW is the international designation for Detroit Metropolitan Airport, which used to be "Detroit-Wayne." Hence, the handle. Thanks for asking.
-- DCH
Toyota hand: Don't believe GM about the viability of the Chevy Volt
DCH: Love your stuff, but come on. If Toyota doesn't do [it], GM shouldn't do it. The Steelers and Patriots don't model themselves after the Lions, and Jessica Alba doesn't follow Rosanne Barr's fitness routine. At that price point, GM is continuing to "whistle by the graveyard," as they have done for decades. Do you have any doubt a Volt would need $2,000 worth of repairs annually to keep it on the road as soon as it's out of warranty?
S:
And you based your prediction on the warranty repair record of a Volt on what -- the numerous models just like it that GM has fielded in the past? Remember: Global automakers push technologies that are right for, in part, their home market. The Germans love diesels because their governments and tax regimes do, the same reasons the Americans hate diesels. The Japanese, mainly Toyota, prefer gas-electric hybrids cuz they've been successful with them and they're acceptable in their home market, which does't like diesels, either. You get the picture.
What I know if that GM needs to push the envelop with the Volt, especially now. If you're right and GM falls flat with the Volt, you'll have the satisfaction of being right -- not that it would help things 'round here much.
-- DCH
The best piece of advice of all: 'Quit your whining'
Just to add on...These programs were implemented in the best interest of the employer, not the employee! Talk to your employer, even Mickey D's has employee benefits they offer. Here is the list taken directly from your employers website:
* Vacation
* Holidays
* Anniversary Splash
* Sabbatical program
* Summer Hours
* Leave of absence
* Alternative Work Approach
* Adoption assistance
* Child care discount
* Educational assistance
* Matching gifts program
* Employee Resource Connection
* Auto and home insurance group discount program
* International Fitness Club Network
* BeyondWork Internet discount program
* Profit Sharing and Savings Plan (includes our 401(k) feature)
* MCDirect Shares
* Mc$ave
* Credit union
* Financial planning services
* Base pay
* Incentive pay
* Company car program
* Recognition programs
* Medical
* Vision supplement plan
* Dental
* Flexible spending accounts
* Short and long term disability
* Employee and dependent life insurance
* Accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D)
* Travel and business travel accident insurance
Quit your whining!
N:
Is this where we should cue the "Dueling Banjos" music from "Deliverance?" Who gets the Martin guitar?
-- DCH
You are doing it again!
Response to Chris D. in Ann Arbor. First off unfortunately since you just want to badmouth me based on me being non-skilled, I am a SKILLED electrician at Ford. This invalidates your 2nd assumption automatically. If we don't have the benefits, then how can that be used to determine over-compensation? When Ford established these programs for their upper level, mid level and low level management no one complained. When they allowed SKILLED and non-skilled workers to use these facilities (some require out of pocket expenses with NO DISCOUNTS) then you whine? Yes other companies support child care sponsored programs,there are over 1000 and still counting. These are NOT FREE to the employee!
* 3M
* Adobe
* Allstate
* Alston & Bird, LLP
* American Express
* Amgen
* Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts
* Boeing
* Bristol-Myers Squibb
* Carnival Cruise Lines
* CBS Corporation
* Chick-fil-A
* Cisco Systems
* Eli Lilly and Company
* EMC Corporation
* Ernst & Young
* The European Commission
* The George Washington University
* GlaxoSmithKline
* Intuit
* J Sainsbury plc
* JFK Medical Center
* Johnson & Johnson
* JPMorgan Chase
* Johns Hopkins University
* Marriott International
* Mattel
* Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
* Merck & Co.
* Morrison & Foerster LLP
* NBA
* NBC Universal
* Northwestern Memorial Hospital
* The PGA TOUR
* Procter & Gamble
* Ropes & Gray LLP
* SC Johnson
* Staples
* Target
* TIAA-CREF
* Time Warner
* Toyota Motor Manufacturing
* The Venetian
* Viacom
* Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children
These are just a small sampling.
Me=1, you=0! Don't make assumptions. Do some research and base your argument on facts.
This is just the kind of "uninformed" sentiment that makes people hate whiners.
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