Big Dogs House

Are THESE Saved Jobs?

Jun 10, 2009 Political

Today’s the day- oh boy, I’ll bet the workers at the Chrysler dealerships who voted for Hussein are feeling a bit betrayed by the beloved leader. Oops— his bad. Yep, today, at least one third of all Chrysler Dealerships, with their salesmen, repair crews, make ready and body repair people, all are out on the street. Hussein must be so proud. Yes, in one bold stroke, he put another several hundred thousand people onto welfare. Democracy at work, as he does that voodoo he does so well.

As of today, those dealerships may not operate as Chrysler new-car showrooms, nor may they provide warranty service. 

The two courtroom triumphs were clear wins for the automaker, which filed for bankruptcy April 30 and has been blazing through what can be a drawn-out process.

They are also a victory for the Obama administration. 

It has lent Chrysler $8.6 billion in bailout funds and has pushed the automaker’s bankruptcy on a fast track, arguing that time is of the essence in ensuring the company stays in business. Under terms of its deal with Fiat, the sale of Chrysler into a new entity must be completed by Monday.

latimes.com

This is a total of 789 dealerships, and the reasons given are murky at best, and completely dishonest at worst. The fact that the dealerships have to actually buy the automobiles makes this a case of the government hindering commerce, something that should be unthinkable in a free market system, but as we have seen, Hussein wants to redistribute the wealth. You could see it in the way the government restructured the bankruptcy of Chrysler, and that of GM, giving the unions first grab at the candy, and shorting the creditors who by contract law rights, should have been first in line.

And now comes the flood- stuff flows downhill, and the dealers are at the bottom, and if you think Hussein cares about the dealers, think again.

The original motion to reject the dealers’ contracts was, in our view, extremely overreaching and appeared to preempt multiple state franchise laws,” said Stephen Lerner, an attorney representing roughly 340 of the targeted dealers.

He and other lawyers argued for several hours Tuesday that the automaker’s decision to eliminate a quarter of its dealer body was capricious, unwarranted and arbitrary. Further, they contended, the automaker had not shown that doing so would improve its financial situation. 

On May 14, the automaker notified the dealers slated for elimination that it would use the bankruptcy process to terminate their franchises Tuesday. Chrysler argued that its network of roughly 3,200 dealers was far too large, affecting profitability and customer service. 

In response, dealers sought to nullify the terminations or at least extend the deadline, giving them more time to unload inventories of vehicles and parts. But the bankruptcy judge, Arthur Gonzalez, soured those hopes. His ruling dictated that as of close of business Tuesday, those dealers would no longer be allowed to sell new Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles, perform factory warranty service or display signage indicating that they are Chrysler retail showrooms.

latimes.com

This is just another in the series of “Let’s see just how badly we can run this Nation.”  Between this action, and the “Czars”, people Hussein appointed, who have noone but Hussein to be accountable to, we are on the way down the hill, with Hussein greasing the slide.

What will now happen, is that the jobless numbers will increase, and Hussein will use this CRISIS OF HIS OWN MAKING to ask for more power and more money, so he can do other stuff that doesn’t work either.

The man isn’t a man- he is ignorant, he is spineless (Yes, Virginia, he DID just tell Iran they could have nukes), and he is dedicated to the destruction of the Capitalistic system in this country. If you do nor believe this, just ask any dealer of American cars today- if they are not out of business, they are scared that they will be next.
And they will- no doubt of that- it’s only a matter of time.

On Friday, the automaker sent those dealers contracts guaranteeing reallocation of their remaining stock — amounting to roughly 26,000 vehicles as of last week, according to spokeswoman Carrie McElwee. 

But the automaker will charge dealers $350 for each car and truck that is reallocated, and in some cases the loss on the vehicles could be larger than that. McElwee said that closed dealers also would have the option of selling any remaining new cars on their own, but that they would not have access to any sales incentives, nor would they be able to advertise as Chrysler dealers. 

But because dealers had been scrambling to unload vehicles, many had sold cars for a larger loss, leading to frustration among those selected for closure.

“We had another dealer come by who basically wanted us to lose 10% of invoice price on every car,” said Gary Kihs, general manager of Larry Menke Inc., a Chrysler dealer in Seaside, Calif.

latimes.com

Don’t you just love it when the government orders you to lose money on YOUR cars- talk about arm- twisting- I can tell that Hussein simply must have our best interests in mind when he hurts us so lovingly. 

He amputates our businesses with all the subtlety  of a Civil War Surgeon using an axe on someone’s leg.

At least give them something to bite down on.

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Tags: chrysler, hussein, socialism, welfare

Hillary Does not Understand the Military

Apr 13, 2008 Political

Once again the Socialist part of Hillary Clinton has reared its ugly head. Clinton was speaking at a transmission plant in Indianapolis when she started discussing Pentagon contracts. Ms. Clinton told the workers that the Pentagon would have to look at how a contract affected jobs in America during the award process. Hillary must have missed my article about the Pentagon NOT being a social welfare department.

Speaking at a plant here that builds transmissions for military vehicles, Clinton said she would limit the Defense Department’s ability to buy foreign-made products, in part by making the agency consider the impact on U.S. jobs when it awards contracts. WBAL

Clinton is obviously pandering to people working on a defense project. She is trying to portray problems as a failure of the Bush administration (she used those words) and that she would ensure Americans had work because she would make the Pentagon look at the impact on American workers. This is typical of liberals because they never expect people to have to produce quality in order to be rewarded. I am sure these workers do the best job they can and are proud to be working on items for our troops and I am sure they would not want troops saddled with substandard items just to appease politicians or to ensure jobs.

The Pentagon should not have to look at how jobs are affected. The goal of the Pentagon is to procure the best equipment for our troops regardless of who makes it (short of enemy or potential enemy countries). If American companies want to win contracts then they need to put forth a proposal that shows why they are the best for the job. They need to make superior products for a reasonable cost in order to win. The Pentagon certainly does not select companies because they are the cheapest or the worst so if American companies are not winning it is because their product does not match up, plain and simple.

Once again we have a Clinton using the military as a social program. In this case it is to provide jobs and in her husband’s case it was to make homosexuality socially acceptable by allowing gays to openly serve. The Pentagon is not the social welfare department and exists to make sure we have the best equipment and best troops to defend this nation. Besides, the Pentagon provides a great number of jobs already. People can enlist in any of the branches of the service and they will have a great job.

The Pentagon does not need Clinton or anyone else playing politics with the procurement process. This in and of itself shows why she is not fit to be the President.

Clinton also addressed the issue of security and ensuring our technologies are not sold off to other countries. I wonder why nothing like this was in place when her husband sold missile technology to the Chinese in exchange for donations. Somehow I don’t think the Pentagon is what we need to worry about with regard to security. Seems to me that the Clintons are a security risk in and of themselves.

Hillary has run an abysmal campaign. She has tried to be everything to everyone. She might have had a better chance if she actually took stands and stuck with them (and did not lie) but now she is toast and she is only hanging on because she is delusional (not that I mind them continuing to ruin the party). These recent remarks clearly demonstrate another reason Hillary Clinton should never run this country.

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Tags: budget, contracts, jobs, Military, pentagon, welfare

This SCHIP is Way off Course

Oct 16, 2007 Uncategorized

The Congress will try to override President Bush’s veto of the expansion of the S-CHIP program this week. I do not believe they have the votes needed to override the veto but the Democrats have spent a lot of effort on this expansion and want to pass this costly legislation. Unfortunately, many of those on the left who support this bill seem to lack an understanding of the system and the people this bill would cover. While they claim it is all for the children, the bill would cover people up to the age of 25 which hardly seems like a child to me though I suppose one could argue we are all someone’s child. It would also expand coverage to include families that make up to $61,000 a year. This is hardly the description of a poor family. Of course, if they did not have to pay 25% of the income in taxes [state, local, federal] they might have even more to spend on health care.

I realize that not all employers provide health care coverage but there are many that do. The left uses the argument (as evidenced in comments at And Rightly So) that it is the greedy health insurance companies that cause all the cost. They act as if somehow the government will reduce the cost by running health care for this expanded group and one person cites the “fact” that there is far less paperwork and overhead with the government. I do not know what planet this person is from but the planet is not named Reality. The government has huge overhead for its socialized medicine programs but the government does not include those costs in the calculations of the cost of the benefits. The salaries and such of health care company administrators and the associated paperwork and other overhead is part of the cost of a plan. In the government, these costs are absorbed by the taxpayer but not calculated into the cost analysis. Anyone who has ever filed income taxes knows that the government is paperwork intensive. There is also a track record that people seem to ignore. The government has never run a program at a cost under run. Every program always costs more than they estimate and every program is run with far less efficiency than in the private sector where cost control affects profits.

The left likes to trumpet how heartless the right is because it is taking away from the children. The Democrats paraded some kid out to talk about how the program benefited their family. Later reports indicated that this family sent its children to private schools and had the money for insurance. I do not know what they have, and it is really none of my business. Those who think it is wrong to attack that message should realize that if you parade anyone out with a message, that message is fair game and if one does not want to be part of the attack, don’t speak up (or at least make sure your message passes scrutiny).

There is this talk about how S-CHIP helps families who just cannot afford insurance, and on the lower poverty levels, I know this is true. However, the idea that people are sitting around fire barrels wondering about health insurance for their kids is just ridiculous. The poor in America would be classified as rich in nearly any other country in the world. In fact, the poor own homes, own cars, own color TVs and have air conditioning Heartland Institute. While the poor certainly do not live like Bill Gates they do not live like Tiny Tim (an allusion to a comment at one of the Liberal sites).

Health care is not a right. I know it is hard for the left to wrap its arms around that but it is a truth. Everyone in America has access to health care (why do you think ILLEGALS can get it) but there is no right that it will be provided free of charge. There are programs to help the truly destitute ans S-CHIP has been one to help poor kids but in its new form it helps people who should be able to afford their own health care. Cell phones, computers, cable TV, expensive cars, and fancy clothes are luxuries. I see children in poor neighborhoods wearing expensive sneakers and clothing that, had the parents bought bargain items, might have paid for health care. Living life is about choices and one of those choices is what you will spend you money on. If a parent spends disposable income for the luxuries then they are taking a decision to neglect buying health insurance. The old adage goes, you must pay yourself first. This is the key to saving and it is the key to health care insurance. After this, then what is left may go to the luxuries. The problem is, people have the priorities wrong. That and they believe that it is a God given right for them to have insurance at the expense of others. As an aside, libs will take away your right to own/carry firearms but demand we provide health care. Only one of those is a right under our Constitution.

If we want to reduce health care costs we need to reform the tort laws. Put an end to the lawsuits that stifle the health care industry and drive up costs. Sure, negligence should be dealt with but most of the suits are insane and cost lots of money. When I was in nursing school we were told that 19 out of every 20 dollars in health care goes to lawsuits. I cannot verify that but it would not surprise me. We also need to stop mandating what insurers must include in a package. States require certain items and this takes away choice. A basic package should have wellness visits and regular check ups as well as emergency care. Then, people can add on what they need. If you are going to have children, you can add the OB-GYN package and if you believe in and might have an abortion then you can add those services. It makes no sense for a 50 year old woman who cannot have children to have to pay for OB-GYN just as it makes no sense to have to pay for substance abuse counseling if you do not drink or use drugs. This is, after all, how we buy our cable TV services, and people seem to do fine with their choices.

We also need to allow groups to band together to get group rates. Civic organizations, clubs, and home owner’s associations could be offered group rates for insurance premiums. Those who do not belong could benefit if the Better Business Bureau or some other organization were included under the group plan and people could sign up.

One thing is for sure, there are problems but they will not be solved by throwing more money at them and by getting the government more involved. The educational system has gotten more money and more government involvement over the years and the only thing it has not gotten is better. Health care is the same.

As for those on the left who still think that the government is the panacea when it comes to health care. Keep in mind that the health care our soldiers get is provided by the government. It is not the military that makes the rules or runs things. We have some of the best medical people around doing truly amazing things. All the problems you read about are with access to care, paperwork problems, and cost.

While you libs are out there pretending to be horrified at the boondoggle that our military members face in health care, keep in mind that the boondoggle is caused by the very people you want running your health care. The government has had a long time to get that right and yet, it just hasn’t happened.

If you want your health care to be run like the VA, then you are on the right track.

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Tags: Democrats, health care, Political Commentary, Republicans, S-CHIP, veto, welfare