Posted on 06/20/2008 12:39:31 PM PDT by Deltaforceeoo7
NAFTA's WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS COUNTRY! OIL IS HIGH BECAUSE ITS TRADED ON A GLOBAL BASIS TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER. TODAY ITS OIL, TOMORROW MAYBE IT WILL BE FOOD. THE USA NEEDS TO GET BACK TO TRADE PROTECTING TARRIFFS, LIKE IT USED TO BE. JOBS WONT BE GOING OVERSEAS IF THEY HAD TO PAY A TARRIFF TO GET THEIR PRODUCTS BACK INTO THE USA.
Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death throes? He's now 82 years old and has new book, and here are some excerpts:
'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car.
But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course'Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America , not the damned 'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!'You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up.
I hardly recognize this country anymore.The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the ' America ' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for.I've had enough. How about you?I'll go a step further.
You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The Biggest 'C' is Crisis ! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of leadership, crisis being the first.)Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history.
We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A Hell of a Mess. So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way. These are times that cry out for leadership.But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the leaders gone?'
Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it.
Make a plan . Figure out what you're going to do the next time.Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it?Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem.The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?Had Enough?
Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope I believe in America . In my lifetime I've had the privilege of living through some of America 's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: the 'Great Depression', 'World War II', the 'Korean War', the 'Kennedy Assassination', the 'Vietnam War', the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11.
If I've learned one thing, it's this: 'You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play..That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to 'Action' for people who, like me, believe in America . It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had enough.
By “bail out” you mean the government gave a loan to Chrysler which repaid it with interest, right?
I hate to break it to you, but food is traded globally, and this is of huge benefit to the US, which is the leading food exporter.
Protective tariffs would cost me my job overnight. I’ll pass.
Lee I. did not rescue Chrysler. He was the President of the company when the US Taxpayer rescued the company. I was against it all the way. Chrysler products are goofy anyway.
No, the American taxpayers rescued Chrysler Corporation...Iacocca took the taxpayer quaranteed loans to keep Chrysler afloat, but he really didn't rescue Chrysler or the U.S. automobile industry from the structural issues--poor quality, high labor costs, etc.
His call for tariffs is really a call for doing more of the same...putting off the day of reconning.
Iacocca is a Democrat and was once being considered as a candidate for president.
The no win policy for wars comes from the Democrats. After four years of trying and fighting Democrat obstruction to the war, Bush is now backing off on a lot of his strong positions, and who can blame him.
Although it should be in our playbook and ready to kick off in a moment, any actions against Iran, including its first nuclear weapons, are off the table. There is no way that Bush or McCain or anyone could committ to actions against Iran no matter what they will do, thanks to Democrats in Congress and the media, and a lazy, ignorant, unschooled populace. Iacocca should be focusing his anger at his fellow Democrats, rather than this screed.
Meanwhile, get ready for four years of hell, no matter who is President - appeasement to Iran and China, amnesty and open borders, more taxes, liberal judges (even with McCain), huge growth in government, nationalized health insurance, and unchecked Democrat corruption.
F him and his tariffs.
Oust the incumbents. All of them. Demand that the major parties submit real leaders as candidates. It’s not too late. The conventions haven’t happened yet.
OK it’s just a dream, I know. But what else can we do? Vote for Tweedle Dee or Tweedle Dum? What’s the difference? Yeah, yeah. I know: McCain is (Marginally) better than Obama so I’ll probably hold my nose and vote “R” across the board in November.
But Iacocca is RIGHT! It is time for action. But what action? Is it really time for box #3? Is there any other way to get their attention?
How Bill Clinton Helped Boost CEO Pay
"A law he championed to curb compensation has backfired -- and pay packages have exploded "
The bailout occurred before Clinton.
"... Chrysler's top management has taken deep salary cuts until Chrysler's financial problems are resolved. When Chrysler was petitioning the federal government for the financial assistance it wanted, in 1979, the company announced its Salary Reduction Program. Under this, executive salaries were cut between two and ten percent; Lee Iacocca's salary was reduced to one dollar a year (although it was made clear that, under the program, Iacocca would collect the balance of a recruitment bonus due to him in 1980. If Chrysler's financial performance was adequate after two years, the executives would be eligible to receive retroactive salary payments to make up for these reductions.
"Despite the fact that Chrysler lost nearly 500 million in 1981, the Salary Reduction Program ended that year, and executive salaries were restored to their 1979 level. Moreover, the company House Report No. 96-690, December 6, 1979 made retroactive payments to its executives for about two-thirds of the income they lost while the program was in effect, on the theory that its stock price in 1981 was about two-thirds of its 1979 price. Iacocca himself received over $360,000 in salary supplemental payments, and director's fees in 1981--including amounts paid in accordance with the Salary Reduction Program according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All of this despite the fact that Chrysler was still losing money. Not that there is anything inherently wrong in paying high salaries; Iacocca probably could be making much more money at a much healthier company. But the much heralded sacrifices made by Chrysler executives did not last long--just about long enough to secure federal support for the company."
I agree that we have a tremenous lack of leadership in this country....we have an apparent front runner prez canidate who is lining up every single filthy corrupt company behind him so to cover their ass...we have a Rat Congress that would rather you and me pay $10 a gallon for gas rather than do what other countries are doing...look for oil offshore...
we don't have anyone in power willing to build a fence an allow immigrants to actually apply for entrance and citizenship...
I am so disgusted....
we have no place to go in this world...
some people are independently wealthy or have fat pensions and then can go to Costa Rica...or wherever...
but the vast majority of us are stuck here....we lose everything we've sacrificed for thru taxes or health care...
our parents stormed the beaches of Normandy and IwoJima....and this is how we thank them....
Rudy...Fred...Mitt....and now McCain...
nothing like patriotic freepers and/or conservatives to kill off their own....
where was the support for Pub candidates during the primaries?...nowhere....we had non committed pundits...instead of helping candidates, we actually had one pushing to elect a communist Rat fink....thx Rush...
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