Comments on: Unions & Bailouts * Open Thread

By: TeakWoodKite

TeakWoodKite — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:45:10 +0000

The average class size is 21.1 for public elementary schools and 23.6 for public secondary schools.”

That figure is so far from reality is not even funny.

Have you ever seen a school district ANYWHERE in this country execpt for a one room school house in the middle of nowhere with 23 students?

In ten years of K-12, I have never seen a class less than 30…
With Elementary the class size was 20 in Ca, but to get around it, they made “combination classes” with over 40.

By: TeakWoodKite

TeakWoodKite — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:31:38 +0000

PoVet,
How about 100k just for the birth of a child?

Staggering. just for the “post-op”, what normally would be a room stay for two to three days at the hospital cost 5k a day.

For that, I can get a room in the swankest penthouse in Vegas.

By: Mr. Natural

Mr. Natural — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:28:20 +0000

I know. I’m just venting at the reflex antipathy toward Unions.

Some people, like Seattle, have good reasons to be mad.

By: TeakWoodKite

TeakWoodKite — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:24:20 +0000

Name jacking?

By: Mr. Natural

Mr. Natural — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:05:18 +0000

7.8% of GNP.

We’re getting hosed, dude.

By: C.S.

C.S. — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 21:53:55 +0000

That statement was regarding citizens who were forced to sell because they couldn’t met the tax burden was in response to telling everyone to move to small communities where their money goes further, not unions.

By: Mr. Natural

Mr. Natural — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 20:53:18 +0000

Better; I’ve got the transcript:

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah there’s only one president blah blah blah blah the dog? that’s a very important decision. first of all he’s got to be hypoallergenic. my first thought is to get one from a shelter. A mutt – Like me. blah blah blah blah

Gotta admit, mentioning a shelter dog, “a mutt, like me” was inspired. They can be the best dogs. We’ll see what kind of president they make.

By: torland077

torland077 — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 19:38:25 +0000

7-8% of what?
And does anyone take into account that the demographic of the US is SIGNIFICANTLY different than Norway or Taiwan or whatever? Especially in regards to health lifestyle. I lived in Italy and you see ZERO obese people there. Wont that make a difference?

By: cookiegramma

cookiegramma — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 19:23:42 +0000

I have to disagree with you about this. I have never liked unions, but where my husband works they have done a fairly good job. They have protected older workers in layoffs and helped resolve personal issues that made the workplace uncomfortable for workers and supervisors. Back a few years ago there was an incident involving my husband and his supervisor. I am actually the one who contacted the union about how my husband was treated. I recieved many calls from the union president and the issue was cleared up. That supervisor no longer works for the company and all of the department works nicely together now.

By: Tristan

Tristan — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 17:35:26 +0000

When people are getting huge salaries to do unskilled labor and paid by seniority, they have no incentive to become more skilled and/or productive. And those huge salaries just get passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices. Or the jobs go elsewhere, like Mexico or China. It’s pretty obvious unions are good for the individual members but bad for the overall economy.

This is typical of Obama’s naive economic policies (oil windfall tax?). When his administration tries to tax the “greedy” companies or implement more regulation or incorporate unionization, all that will happen is that companies will raise their prices or move jobs overseas, and it’ll be both the consumer and the worker that end up feeling the pain.

Then of course the economy will slow and we’ll need another stimulus which means more taxes on business which means higher prices, less jobs and the economy will slow…

By: Mr. Natural

Mr. Natural — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 17:05:03 +0000

I’ve read about a few countries, Norway and Taiwan come to mind, with totally socialized medical care. Nobody’s dying in the street and the actual cost hovers right around 7-8%.

Our real costs are over double that, and increasing.

We’re being kicked in the gonads by health “care” providers, the AMA, and the drug companies.

By: Mr. Natural

Mr. Natural — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 16:55:04 +0000

Bankruptcy could fix this

Brilliant. Let’s pile another mountain of valueless debt onto the mountain we’ve already got going.

That, in addition to the disappearance of three and a half million jobs should be great for the economy and your 401K.

Not to mention the damage done in GM/China, India, Brazil, Europe, Russia, and a manufacturing supplier base the size of which you cannot even imagine.

Go ahead. Pull the trigger.

By: Mr. Natural

Mr. Natural — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 16:45:26 +0000

The overpaid executive is as well. Damned few are making those 400-500 x average worker salaries that we’re all hearing about. That happens mostly on Wall Street or oil companies.

By: Mr. Natural

Mr. Natural — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 16:38:32 +0000

The union-as-destroyer-of-America meme is part of right wing propaganda. Divide and conquer.

We’re ALL damned close to being conquered.

By: Mr. Natural

Mr. Natural — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 16:34:05 +0000

Walmart once bragged in its advertising that all its stuff was made in America.

Now they own the single largest port facility in China.

Remember, folks. If you’re not manufacturing, you’re not exporting, and if you’re not exporting, you’re not generating the foreign exchange you need to buy that stuff at Walmart.

The escape valve, right now, is that the foreigners are buying our manufacturing base and property out from under us. When that’s gone, Goodbye America.