By:
Devvy
December 15, 2008
� 2008 - NewsWithViews.com
It seems like I've been writing about saving American jobs forever. Actually, along with thousands of others, we began yelling at the top of our lungs back in 1993 when the vile NAFTA treaty was about to be passed. We warned what would happen and sure as the sun shines, millions of good paying jobs have vanished since unconstitutional treaties like NAFTA, GATT and CAFTA were passed by corrupt Congresses controlled by both parties. Union and non-union jobs went over seas to our enemy the communist Chinese; Americans were left standing in unemployment lines.
I watched a press conference, December 12, 2008. UAW president, Ron Gettelfinger, lashed out at the Republicans (I am not a Republican) for the plight facing his union members. It's all their fault these unlawful loans got voted down last week. When I say unlawful, that's exactly what I mean. Following Gettelfinger's speech, I caught a segment on FAUX News Network between cell challenged anchor, Shepard Smith, and former judge, Andrew Napolitano. Napolitano told Smith, and I'm paraphrasing: We've had this discussion before, Shep. Congress has NO authority to take money from the we the people to give to another group of people who want it. Congress has NO authority to make these loans to the private sector regardless of what product they produce.
Gettelfinger doesn't care about the U.S. Constitution anymore than Lee Iacocca did when he went begging to Congress on behalf of Chrysler decades ago. A dangerous precedent was set back then. Now, everyone can see the madness going on in Washington, DC., because once these thieves in Congress break the law at the demand of the mob, it gets easier to do again and again and again. The Chrysler Bail Out Bust is a worthy read (maybe five minutes of your time) because it provides Americans with the truth about the so-called success of that bail out:
"July 13, 1983. Chrysler Corporation auto sales are roaring into high gear. And so is the myth of the Great Chrysler Comeback. The resurgence of the once dying auto maker has become the favorite example cited by proponents of national industrial policy who call for massive and costly federal efforts to revive what they describe as a desperately ailing American economy. The way they tell the story, Chrysler in 1979 seemed destined for bankruptcy, and now it's showing a profit..... If it all seems too good to be true, it is because it isn't true. The popular version of the Chrysler bail-out is simply a fairy tale. The bail-out is a bust. Closer scrutiny of it reveals that the "great success" rests on a bedrock of myths and half truths."
Do Americans care about the big three auto makers? Yes, we care about the workers, but as I pointed out in a recent column: Who was watching the books for these corporations? Where were the stock holders getting those dividend checks when the balance sheet continued to show for years, losses in the BILLIONS every quarter with nothing being done to bring those companies in line and stop the insane spending?
Gettelfinger wants to blame (unlawfully serving) U.S. Senators who represent Southern States where foreign auto makers have factories. Why doesn't Gettelfinger put the blame where it really belongs?
1. NAFTA and the other unconstitutional trade treaties allowed unfair trade and flooded this country with cheap garbage from foreign countries. Under NAFTA, hundreds of thousands of jobs, including auto industry jobs, were lost to Mexican employees south of the border doing factory work that used to belong to American workers. The result for me was junk parts and endless time at the Ford dealership's repair facility. Ford lost a lot of money on that one vehicle and the general manager told me that since NAFTA, they had nothing but substandard parts come out of Mexico costing a king's ransom in warranty work.
NAFTA was signed into law by Bill Clinton who is not a Republican. It's no secret the big unions in this country support Democrats in huge numbers over Republicans. The Republicans did nothing to get rid of NAFTA, GATT and CAFTA while they held power from January 1995 to January 2007. In came the big change Democrats grabbing power in January 2007 and have done NOTHING since to get US out of those unconstitutional destructive trade treaties. As a result, our most important job sectors have died a slow, agonizing death. Union and non union jobs in textiles, cars, agriculture, steel workers, etc.
Do Americans remember during the phony primaries when Hillary Clinton and Barack Hussein Obama aka Barry Soetoro, aka Barry Obama, aka Barack Dunham, aka Barry Dunham, exchanged spit over NAFTA? Both of them served (unlawfully) in the U.S. Senate. How many bills did they introduce to get the US out of NAFTA? Not one. Congressman Virgil Goode (Republican) did: H. Con. Res. 22 introduced on January 10, 2007. However, it went no where because the Democrats who care so much for the middle class refused to get it passed. NAFTA (No American Factories Taking Applications) is unconstitutional, it has destroyed the livelihood of millions of Americans and undermines our sovereignty. Clinton and Obama mouthed bombastic gas about "reforming" that vile treaty instead of doing what must be done: Get us out and protect American jobs and workers.
Let's not forget the millions of illegal aliens who have stolen American jobs in meat packing plants and other industries. These criminals are holding jobs that belong to Americans, yet the unions in this country wholeheartedly support the Democrats who have blessed and encouraged the illegals invasion. Does that make any sense to you? My brother was a teamster for a long time before he became 100% disabled because of a terrible accident at work. Every election the Teamster's Union would send out a mailing telling him to vote for criminals like Diane Feinstein. Richard threw it in the garbage. Di-Fi and her husband are in bed with the commie Chinese and have made millions from their business dealings with that barbaric, totalitarian government.
2. The cost of owning a new car (other than cheap toasters made by Nissan and Toyota that 18-wheelers can crush like tin foil) is so far out of reach for most Americans anymore. Look at the cost of vehicles manufactured by the "big 3." I would love to have a new Ford Escape Hybrid, but who can afford the payments on retirement income -- or even if you are "lucky" enough to have the American dream: 2 or 3 minimum wage jobs at the same time? With a price tag of $32,000, if you don't put down at least $10,000, your monthly payments, even through a credit union with very low rates like mine, the payments are $350 per month or more. So, I continue to drive my ten year old SUV and maybe one of these days union workers will finally get the big picture and reject the same old non solutions. Then I'll be able to buy that hybrid which supports their jobs - if they still have one.
3. What drives the cost of these cars so high? Industry analysts say part of it is benefits negotiated by the unions. About $1500 - $2000 per vehicle to meet these union contracts for pensions, job banks, medical and other benefits. What are job banks?
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"The terms and conditions vary by auto maker, because each labor contract is different. But GM factory workers who get laid off start out at “sub pay,” in which they receive unemployment benefits, and GM pays the difference, up to most of their salary, for 48 weeks.
"After that, laid-off employees go into the jobs bank, where they have the option of taking 85 percent of their base pay – which averages almost $62,000 a year – plus benefits, without reporting to work. In the meantime, the company tries to find them jobs elsewhere. Or workers can get 100 percent of their pay by reporting to either the union hall or the plant, where they may be called upon to perform tasks around the factory or sometimes community service work.
"But if there isn't anything to do, workers stay at the union hall or factory and find ways to pass the time. Employees can sometimes turn down as many as three jobs at other company factories before they are kicked out with no more pay or benefits. The number of offers a worker can decline varies by company and by how far away the new job is. In some cases, it's none."
The cost of job banks from 2005 - 2008: $4.2 BILLION dollars. I ask you: Is this the way to run a business when your business is losing business? Overhead kills and those union contracts which contain such massive benefits are part of what is killing these conglomerates. Labor costs for GM, Ford and Chrysler are astronomical: Ford: $70.51 ($141,020 per year) GM: $73.26 ($146,520 per year) Chrysler: $75.86 ($151,720 per year).
If Americans want to belong to a union, that is their choice. However, as we've seen with the teachers' unions that have been a huge part in destroying the finest educational system in the world, unions don't always serve their constituency. They support slick, career politicians who ruin their industries and refuse to pass legislation that would provide a huge infusion of spending into the economy to buy their products:
1. Congress refuses to get rid of the withholding taxing scheme. If Americans were able to keep their entire paycheck, they would be able to buy those new (or used cars) on a more frequent basis. Americans who choose to participate in the social security scam can make their payments directly to SSA, but all of the fruits of their labor belongs to them, not a dictator in China or Africa or to support political parties in foreign countries.
Twice in the past eight years, Congressman Ron Paul [R-TX] has introduced legislation to get rid of this insidious taxing scheme; see here and here. Both Republicans and Democrats thumbed their nose at these bills because they want to steal your labor to give to others. Congressman Paul introduced a bill to stop taxing the tips of service workers; both Republicans and Democrats thumbed their noses at that bill which would help those who really need that source of income because they want to continue stealing the fruits of your labor to fight these grotesque, unconstitutional invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan via more borrowed, worthless paper from the privately owned Federal Reserve.
The withholding taxing scheme is a massive and completely unnecessary burden to all employers from the local dry cleaners to the auto makers. It keeps them from hiring:
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"One indication of such hidden taxation is the growing "tax wedge" between how much employers pay and how much their employees receive. As Table 1 indicates, a full-time worker earning the average manufacturing wage makes $27,200 but costs the employer a total of nearly $31,000 when unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, and the employer's share of the payroll tax are included. That figure does not include the cost of fringe benefits and tax and regulatory compliance, which the employer pays, or union dues and the host of other taxes--property taxes, sales taxes, gas taxes, cigarette taxes, and so on--that workers must pay out of their take-home pay.
"As Figure 1 shows, after income and payroll taxes are withheld, the worker gets in take-home pay only about 72 percent (or $22,400) of the $31,000 he costs his employer. The percentage ranges from a high of 75 percent in South Dakota to a low of 67 percent in Hawaii. That means that more than one-quarter of every dollar employers pay to keep an average manufacturing wage worker on their payrolls goes to the government rather than to the worker. The government takes an even higher share from higher-income workers. For a worker earning $60,000 a year in an average-tax state, the government's share is 36 percent (Figure 2)."
2. Congress refuses to stop the IRS from stealing the fruits of your labor. The IRS knowingly misapplies the income tax against domestic Americans while Congress turns a blind eye because they want to steal the fruits of your labor so they can continue borrowing worthless fiat paper from the central bank to fund all their unconstitutional (unlawful) spending. Congressman Ron Paul introduced legislation to begin the real and only solution to our monetary collapse, see here. Republicans and Democrats thumbed their noses at that bill because they're either too ignorant to understand the subject matter of monetary policy or too corrupt.
Ford and GM have shipped American jobs to South America for cheap labor; see here. It's the same old merry-go-round. It's time to get off and implement the solutions instead of going in circles. Stop killing American workers and employers with regulations and heavy taxation (state and federal) and we can climb out of this financial mess over time. Not more MASSIVE government spending as proposed by impostor president-elect Obama with BORROWED money.
If you are unfamiliar with these issues, I recommend you take the time to read (or listen) and get the facts. It is only by investing the time will Americans learn how we're being destroyed and can fight back effectively instead of supporting union bosses who do not have their best interests at heart.
Why
an income tax is not necessary to fund the federal
government: Print or free
on
audio
The right argument
on taxation
The IRS: You have
a right to know the truth
Yes, I do want to see auto workers keep their jobs, but you can't simply decide to break the law of the land because a corporation has made bad management decisions and union leaders make demands that make it impossible for the mother company to show a profit. This is not a new problem with unions, but who supports the unions? American workers. Get the picture? We all know it has to be give and take, but some of these contracts are so unreasonable, now the workers find themselves in dire straits. These same workers who supported their union leadership are going to lose their jobs. Blaming the Republicans won't solve the problem, it only distracts from the solutions.
Bush is going to step in and rob all of us to favor one industry. Since there is no money in the treasury to pay for this looting, it will have to be borrowed from the "FED," with the interest slapped on all of us. Congress will agree because it's controlled by the Democrats who have sold Americans the greatest illusion: they stand for the working men and women of this country. Nothing could be further from the truth when they refuse to pass the legislation that would turn things around over time. Instead, they steal the fruits of our labor to give to others. That isn't freedom, it's indentured servitude.
The solutions to a prosperous economy and freedom have always been available to Congress. By freeing the American people from heavy, progressive taxation, it gives we the people the ability to keep the fruits of our labor, save for our golden years and spend into the economy without government intervention and take over. Congress refuses to implement the solutions and instead are offering up more destructive, proven failures like another "economic stimulus package" when the people's purse is OVERDRAWN almost $11 TRILLION dollars.
While the president of UAW rants against the Republicans, it's up to the American people to make their voices heard loud and clear to Congress: Stop breaking the law, no more bail outs. Ron Paul can reintroduce the bills cited above. Demand Congress get them passed NOW. Americans need the money now to make those mortgage payments, put food on the table, and yes, buy that new car. It's urgent these pieces of legislation are passed and signed into law so the American people can keep the fruits of their labor instead of shipping it to some foreign country and stop this "car czar" nonsense. All it will produce is another bureaucrat drawing a paycheck while running rough shod over private industry.
Links:
1 - Buy American every day of the year. Support American workers which will expand American businesses and create jobs.
1
- Obama's
Gamble - The Ultimate And Final Bet By Obama’s Financial Handlers
2 - Collapse
of Pension Funds: The End of Retirement? "This process is being
accelerated by the newest trick of big business: declaring bankruptcy
to destroy “pension obligations”
3 - Pension
Funds Beg Congress to Suspend Billions in Contributions
1
- Blame
me for job losses
2 - One
in 10 American homeowners fell behind on mortgage payments or were
in foreclosure during the third quarter
3 - Foreclosure
slow, worst still to come
4 - How
the government lies about unemployment figures
5 - 20,000
get pink slips as layoffs accelerate
6 - OfficeMax
Closing 110 U.S. Retail Stores
7 - Citigroup
to cut 35,000 jobs
8 - B
of A to cut 30-35,000 jobs
9 - Dow
Chemical cuts 11% of workforce, closes plants
10 - Sovietizing
the Economy: The Final Phase
How
Socialist Unions rule the Democratic Party
Testimony,
Committee on Un-American Activities
Communist Party infiltrating unions
Goals of the
Communist Party (very much alive),
Congressional Record: Resist any attempt to outlaw
the Communist Party; Do away with all loyalty oaths;
Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts
for socialism and current Communist propaganda.
Get control of teachers' associations; Eliminate the House
Committee on Un-American Activities; Infiltrate and gain
control of more unions.
Next
on school agenda: Teaching communism
