Interesing article at Popular Mechanics on why things are so bad for General Motors. The money paragraph:
Every car GM makes carries “legacy costs”—the costs of providing healthcare and pensions to scores of retired workers. For every GM worker, there are about 10 dependants, which are defined as retired workers and their families. According to Cole, “When the international car companies came to the U.S., the move stuck the domestics with a very large disadvantage related to legacy costs. And that’s $2000 a car.”
Ten dependents for every one GM worker. Social Security currently has 3.3 workers for every retiree, which is projected to decline to 2.1 workers per retiree by 2040. America’s future may not look as bad as GM, but the consequences for America’s financial failure are much greater.
On OpenLeft, Chris Bowers sees a Major Opportunity on Defense Spending… on cutting defense spending, that is:
Many political observers might instinctively think that the September 11th attacks have now made reducing military spending a third rail in American politics…. Those observers would be wrong, for two reasons. First, costly adventures overseas amid an economic downturn at home have once again turned the public mood back toward a reduction in military spending….the second reason[:]…opinion within the House leadership appear[s] to be turning toward reducing military spending.
Bowers quotes House Finance Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) as being of the belief that military spending could be reduced by as much as 25%.
There also seems to be widespread approval of the change from John Dingell (D-MI) to (the frightening-looking) Henry Waxman (D-CA) as Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Dingell is viewed as having blocked higher fuel efficiency standards for years, and Waxman is expected to push those higher standards through. So, progressives appear willing to throw the United Auto Workers onto the sacrificial altar of the Church of Global Warming.
Wonder who’s next…
Victory in Iraq Day: November 22, 2008
ZombieTime.com is declaring Saturday “Victory in Iraq Day” and lots of bloggers are joining in. I’ve been a supporter of our efforts in Iraq since the beginning, and it’s amazing to think that it’s now possible to think of declaring victory.