i almost forgot again. yikes!
and yeah, there isn't much going on in my head except to tell you how cute my kid is - just one of those days.
well, either that or i could tell you the laundry list of things i have to do - cuz that's what's going on in my head at the very moment.
here's the song that's been in my head all day - well, a few lines of it anyway
so when it rains it pours - carl now has two jobs he's applying for. one is what he really wants to do and one is an awful lot of money (well, to us). i'm really hopeful for him that hears from them both around the same time and one says no. it would just make things much easier
so - for you michiganders - tuesday is the big day. the three turn in their essays on how they are planning to use the bailout to rise above business as usual. no commentary - just pointing it out if you want to keep abreast of these things.
in other news - http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/39530622.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUnciatkEP7DhUsl
not that i see that ending the debate
you say it isn't enough? you say you want more
were you born this big a pain in the ass?
3 comments:
Look, for all intents and purposes, if one or both of the automakers fail, but the parts suppliers are buffered, then that is all right.
I am all for market capitalism to punish bad actors, but parts suppliers can only supply parts to customers that are profitable to them, lest they themselves be bad actors.
So, a good idea 24 months ago isn't a good idea today. That's fine. Cut capacity, sign new supply contracts to other cust-- wait. There are only so many customers, and those other customers already have their own suppliers? Fuck.
Maybe it was naive, but parts suppliers made the assumption that two of the world's largest corporations would not self-destruct in only eight fiscal quarters.
There is a difference between gradual industrial recession and utter economic chaos. Parts suppliers don't deserve to die for GM and Chrysler's sins.
i think it's specious to say they would. the cars on the road will need parts for years to come. and the void left will be filled by someone and then they have a new audience.
i also don't think this is overnight. i think all the signs have been there. and in the face of gas crisis warnings etc. gm put its money and resources into marketing the hummer and the hummer 2 and the girl's hummer. and as we speak the are boarding two new hummers. and granted one is supposed to run on ethanol but the reality and usefulness of ethanol is hahahahighly questionable.
that everyone decided to stick their heads in the sand doesn't mean that this thing didn't show its ugly face from the get go.
these are the same people who believed there would be wmd's in iraq; we'd find them in minutes and it would cost us a couple of million dollars.
wishing doesn't make it so.
Oh, obviously not all of GM and Chrysler's suppliers will fail because GM and Chrysler failed. That is true. However, we have already manipulated this market, and have to see it through to its conclusion.
Parts suppliers would need to retool, or reduce capital costs in a matter of weeks in a market that has an abundance of supply compared to demand. Michigan already has an unemployment rate of 10.7 per cent. This is before parts suppliers shut down in the face of a lack of customers due to bankruptcy. We bailed out the automakers, but the parts suppliers are left to sink?
I have a class mate, Todd, who is thirty nine. He worked for the Lear corporation, which made seats for cars. He loved PCs, and has his high school diploma. He is taking advantage of "No Worker Left Behind", and will leave school as a trained network systems administrator. However, what about the fifty year olds who joined the manufacturing industry at 17 and never bothered to get a high school degree?
Who is going to hire a fifty one year old with a GED, and certificate from a community college? How many fifty year olds will be in a position to get that GED and certificate in the first place?
Gradual industrial recession is the only plan that is humane and practical. People were buying Hummers two years ago. Building Hummer parts made money two years ago. A 48 year old in a plant that made Hummer parts probably didn't think he was signing his death warrant by not getting a GED.
People stuck their heads in the sand because sand was making money.
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