no snitching
Posted on 11/20/2008 4:39:41 AM PST by kellynla
Detroit depended largely on SUVs for sales and profits for many years. But those vehicles were very popular, and there was very little competition from foreign automakers.
In 2002, General Motors sold more than 2.8 million light trucks including 1.2 million SUVs. That was an increase of 6.2% from the year earlier. That same year, GM sold 2.3 million cars, a drop of almost 9% from the previous year.
When gas prices spiked in 2007, buyers suddenly shifted to smaller cars. That was quickly followed by an economic crisis that drove down sales of all types of vehicles. But trucks remain an important part of Detroit automakers' product strategies. Even with marker share for cars increasing, GM sold more trucks than cars in October
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
I would compare it to most large US cities with corrupt local governments. There are definitely some areas where you wouldn’t feel safe IN THE DAYTIME and additional ones where you wouldn’t go AT NIGHT.
It was bad 35 yrs ago when I was up there, and significantly worse now.
“How many regular Dick or Janes can retire at 55 with a pension and health care benefits?”
anyone who works for the federal government including postal workers and congressional members have an even better deal!!!...and that’s why the p.o. and the feds are losing money and our taxes are so high...
“Congressional pensions, like those of other federal employees, are financed
through a combination of employee and employer contributions. All Members pay
Social Security payroll taxes equal to 6.2% of the Social Security taxable wage base
($97,500 in 2007). Members covered by FERS also pay 1.3% of full salary to the
Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund. Members covered by CSRS Offset
pay 1.8% of the first $97,500 of salary, and 8.0% of salary above this amount, into
the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund.
Under both CSRS and FERS, Members of Congress are eligible for a pension
at age 62 if they have completed at least five years of service. Members are eligible
for a pension at age 50 if they have completed 20 years of service, or at any age after
completing 25 years of service. The amount of the pension depends on years of
service and the average of the highest three years of salary. By law, the starting
amount of a Member’s retirement annuity may not exceed 80% of his or her final
salary.
As of October 1, 2006, 413 retired Members of Congress were receiving federal
pensions based fully or in part on their congressional service. Of this number, 290
had retired under CSRS and were receiving an average annual pension of $60,972.
A total of 123 Members had retired with service under both CSRS and FERS or with
service under FERS only. Their average annual pension was $35,952 in 2006.”
http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30631.pdf
Government is the only one that can "afford" health care and retirement for its employees.
The public sector will have to work harder then ever before to pay for public servants to have great health, live long and prosper, and retire at 50.
That should read the “private” sector will have to work harder.
How much does anyone want to bet that Senator Zero’s relatives who are here illegally get free health care and rent and food stamps?
Not because they know the senator or have influence. Its just the way the sytem is set up and too many people know how to abuse it.
Agree.
Do NOT bail them out.
Let them figure their way out of their own mess.
In a free state, the fedgov should not be in the bailout business at all.
This drama we keep hearing about the jobs that will be lost is getting stale. Of course jobs will be lost. Jobs will be lost no matter what.
These bailouts will only serve to delay the inevitable collapse, further weaken the economy overall, bait other industries to come with their hat in hand, and lead us to a state where gov’t owns or controls private businesses.
Nobody wants our economy to collapse, but it appears that all this dancing around to try and cover it up (like the 2T secretly handed out by the Fed) is only delaying the outcome and possibly making it worse.
What do we call a state where industry is privately owned but heavily controlled by the state?
What do we call a state where all industry is owned and controlled by the state?
...if we’re not careful, one of those two will be where we end up in a year or three.
Detroit Michigan. Highest crime rate in U.S. Highest unemployment rate in U.S. Highest High School Dropout rate in U.S. Sitting Mayor sent to jail )And they keep electing the same kind of people). Now with their biggest employers about to go belly up, do we put a wall around the city and just transport all of our criminals there and let them fend for themselves?
I know, I also worked on the line for several months.
GM management made contractual benefit agreements that they KNEW THEN would eventually bankrupt the company, but they were all making a fortune and they didn't care. Now they whine.
1. GM should just leave the North American market (for now). It is one of the market leaders in Europe; it IS the market leader in China (Buick and Chevy top 2 selling brands) and it is investing as heavily for the future in China as it once did here; it is building up to be a major player in India.
2. Ford and Chrysler should merge.
3. Toyota should re-incorporate as a U.S. company - it’s largest market.
4. And, after the Obamabots further degrade Ford and Toyota, in about ten years, GM can enter the U.S. market again with it’s China imports.
half the population is dependent on the government for its livelihood, illegal drugs, pornography, abortion & out of wedlock sex are prevalent everywhere, we have Leftists/Marxists from the POTUS & Congressional crooks on down to city halls running the country into the toilet and the majority of folks are only interested in themselves while turning away from God...and we wonder why we're in the mess we're in?
“Health benefits for retirees are a big part of this equation. How many employers could afford to pay for full health care benefits for retired workers? After all, the retired workers aren’t contributing anything towards the bottom line of these companies except in a negative way. Several American steel companies ended up going out of business because they had to pay for similar benefit packages for their retirees. Foreign companies aren’t saddled with the same sort of obligations, which is why they are more competitive”
It’s also worth noting that NONE of the foreign automakers currently operating plants here in the U.S.A. have a large cohort of retirees yet. That means that they are operating without the “legacy costs” that the Detroit automakers must carry.
Also worth noting is that the foreign automakers’ work forces are probably younger [on average] than the Big Threes’ - meaning that health care costs for _active_ employees is low, as well.
I wonder how the Japanese makers will eventually deal with the problems of “legacy costs”. Might they reach a point where it becomes cheaper for them to close their plants in the United States, move them lock, stock and barrell to China, and produce their vehicles there?
Having said all that, it’s obvious that the overstuffed benefits for retired UAW workers can’t be continued as-is for much longer - and still harbor the expectation that their [former] employers will survive.
- John
How would you classify Dearborn Heights?/Just Asking - seoul62.......
Rough landscape./Just Asking - seoul62......
That is not a bad area, at least a couple of years ago when I was there a lot. Dearborn itself is all arab now, but still safe to drive and do business in. Dearborn Heights is safer than Detroit by order of magnitude 10x.
no snitching
Thank you for your insight. This New Yorker, takes notes. What is the Jewel In The Crown for Michigan? What is the most exclusive place to live? From your description, Detroit sounds like the wild, wild west and the safest vehicle of transport would be an armored tank!!!!!/Just Asking - seoul62........
Brighton is a really nice area. Safe, clean, mostly Republican and it sits at the crossroads of I-96 and US-23.
Ann Arbor just to the south, Flint to the north, Detroit to the east and Lansing to the west. Decent people and surrounded by things to do, but not so close that you get the problems that come with it, or the prices.
okay, newbie...I give up...is any of your post supposed to mean something to me?
what’s the “good idea?” LOL
shhhh.... no snitching. Just keep it quiet.
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