Pouting and Tantrums

Why, I ask, was so much time spent debating the bailout and deciding against it, if the President can just step in and meet the demands of the pouting and tantrum throwing union?

Who are we bailing out...the auto industry or the union who has driven them to ruin? I had to get up and leave the room before I burst an artery watching anymore of the ongoing debacle. Even with the TARP money, there is no guarantee that the same practices, same wages, and lack of profits will make any future difference. It's a band-aid on a scratch, and this statement says it all:

"Even as Detroit's Big Three teeter on collapse, United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said Saturday that workers will not make any more concessions and that getting the automakers back on their feet means figuring out a way to turn around the slumping economy."

If you are asking someone to save your ass, shouldn't you at least be willing to make concessions? Clearly past leadership, spending and high wages demanded by the union are not working.

Not very long ago, I watched a special on FORD's most automated plant, now operating in South America. Rather than allow the technology to be affected in the United States and put a few people out of jobs, the UAW declined, so FORD closed their entire plant, put everyone out of jobs and went overseas. There are a lot of happy employees abroad, but what good did the union do here? They are the reason that many of our business have bailed on operations at home. The economy is hemorrhaging, and continuing to salvage businesses without any sort of oversight is ridiculous.

Private citizens have no 'bail out' avenues in place. If you face financial woes, you are forced to file bankruptcy, have a trustee assigned, an must restructure your spending habits. A repayment plan is put in place, and you have to follow it. Why can't businesses do the same thing? It isn't 'throwing in the towel' on operations, just facing the fact that what they've been doing in the past clearly isn't working in today's economy. I'm certainly not a financial wizard, but I'm wondering why those who are aren't saying the same thing.

I'm quickly losing faith in our government and wondering why we have parties. It seems we do so that Democrats and Republicans can engage in continuous finger pointing and blame. Shouldn't we all be ONE and work together? All I can say is President-Elect Obama may be wishing he had his old senate seat back. He seems to be facing an insurmountable task.

Oh...I think my next blog might be on why we don't have term limits for certain elected officials.