Responsible bail out

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-13-2008
Responsible bail out
272
Wed, 11-19-2008 - 9:05pm

I am for the bail out. I've supported the overall idea since it was first proposed. What is distressing is how we are apparently totally bungling the power granted to this administration.


My bad. I should have known they could not even get this right.


On the way home tonight, NPR's Marketplace ran a story on how executives are being paid bonuses, and that companies are paying dividends - out of this funding. Few are doing anything remotely close to lending.


Barney Frank was right to be outraged at the lack of assistance for homeowners, and the continued reluctance of the administration to assist homeowners.


And today comes word of deflation, a huge, huge red flag that screams the 'd' word. Folks, we are on the cusp of 1930, and our leaders, given latitude they did not have in 1930, are f'ing it up.


I am no expert on this, but the way they explained this tonight, deflation can spiral downward, last occuring way back in the 1930s.


There is 450 billion left. How do we use this intelligently? First thing that has to happen is mandate no bonuses and no dividends to any company receiving funds. Mandate they must lend, and we will gurantee mortgages they renegotiate to better terms for the homeowner, allowing them to stay, with a certain acceptable parameters. Set quotas on how many mortgages they must underwrite a day, how many auto loans, etc. Publicise acceptability criteria, so people know before going in whether they qualify.


If there are one too many automakers in Detroit, don't close one, set it to a different task - any ideas out there on how we could divert them to something that helps us face other issues? America has to build things again... what can we get them to build? Financing isn't the problem, the money will be there - any ideas?

Full length fiction: http://llhaesa.org/ (pronounced la.hay.ess.sa)



Full length fiction: worlds undone

"You have no power over my body..." ~ Anne Hutchinson

Pages

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-13-2008
Sun, 11-23-2008 - 1:34pm

It’s much less volatile and dangerous than allowing unions to drag out strikes as they’ve done in the past.


Full length fiction: worlds undone

"You have no power over my body..." ~ Anne Hutchinson

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-13-2008
Sun, 11-23-2008 - 1:36pm

I used to cl this board, and voluntarily gave it up. I cl another iV board.


If your


Full length fiction: worlds undone

"You have no power over my body..." ~ Anne Hutchinson

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-22-2008
Sun, 11-23-2008 - 1:52pm

First, your link is talking about straight salary and does not include benefits, which is where much of the US automaker's income is made.


iVillage Member
Registered: 08-13-2008
Sun, 11-23-2008 - 2:10pm

Is your ultimately measure going to prove to be average world income, because if it is, you are advocating a serious decline in American wage earning. Do you wish prices to fall along with it, and again... do you fear deflation? Because an awful lot of economists out there consider deflation far worse than inflation.


In any case, I'm bowing out, my points are made, and I wish to concentrate on writing fiction for my book.



Full length fiction: http://llhaesa.org/ (pronounced la.hay.ess.sa)



Full length fiction: worlds undone

"You have no power over my body..." ~ Anne Hutchinson

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-20-2008
Sun, 11-23-2008 - 3:12pm

"The math is simple. According to many posters here making less than $60/hr just simply isn’t a ‘decent’ wage, so let’s use that as a barometer shall we? I mean that unskilled flagger that turns their little sign from ‘slow’ to ‘stop’ most certainly is worth $60/hr right? That’s what those here claim this person needs to make a ‘decent’ livable income and we surely wouldn't want our government paying slave wages now would we?"

No sure why you hijacked my post for your 'explanation' but I don't buy much of it. For one thing I have a college degree as well as a masters degree but do not make $60/hour so I don't buy the resulting conclusions you draw. I am sorry if one poster made this assertion, but baring some statistics to support the claim there is really no logical reason to cite that as the 'barometer' for the rest of the argument.

In addition, it does not make logical sense to follow the rest of the argument as if Obama has proposed spending $60/hour on 2.5 million jobs. Since that is, apparently, the basis for the rest of your argument I am afraid the rest of the argument fails.

.
.
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-14-2008
Sun, 11-23-2008 - 3:16pm

Well, good for you.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-19-2008
Sun, 11-23-2008 - 5:17pm
Perhaps a better comparison would be between the workers in the Honda/Mercedes?Hundai USA plants and those working for the UAW/big three.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-25-2008
Sun, 11-23-2008 - 5:31pm

I've never owned a "Big 3" car.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-19-2008
Sun, 11-23-2008 - 5:32pm

>>> I thought the whole point of this discussion/debate is that the union did make concessions and in 2007 part of that concession was to ultimately eliminate over 70,000 union jobs in the company.

I guess the point is that it wasn't enough.

>>> I see concessions that happened last year with workers and the union but can't say the same for the CEO's flying around and owning a fleet of VERY expensive private jets. I wonder if the also took concessions on their salaries?

To be frank, worker salaries/benefits are "big picture" items and CEO salaries are "small picture/PR" items, but I do think that concessions on both sides would have been in order. The sale of the "fleet" would make a nice PR move, but again, it's probably the company believes is a commodity that is worth the investment.

>>> What has management done to change the vision of the company and be more productive to what its consumers want and need?

I don't know...but I'm sure that there are a host of marketing surveys, etc to support decisions that were made.

>>> Why do the union workers always seem like an easy scapegoat? This is not the worker's or the unions fault.

I didn't say that it was the worker's fault. They should try to get as high a salary as they can...just like the company should try to keep their salaries in line with the market. Unfortunately, their salaries and benefits have outgrown the market and an adjustment is in order to make the company competitive. I'd also advocate firing every one of the company's Sr. Management are replace them with new, more visionary leaders.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-20-2008
Sun, 11-23-2008 - 5:42pm
Interesting. I have only bought a 'new' car once and then realized that I had lost value the minute I drove it off the lot. Since that time I have purchased gently used cars - once I got a car that had only been driven for about one month before it was traded in - or fleet cars. All were American, Big 3, cars and I guess I have just been incredibly lucky as I have never had to do more than standard maintenance.
.
.

Pages