Finally back!

I’ve been away for a while, but i’ll be continuing my quest for truth and of course using common sense which seems to be lacking in our current environment. I’m not looking to offend anyone, although given the wide variety of opinion and beliefs out there i’m likely to tweak some people. Realize when I look into something, I consult multiple sources figuring that the truth is in between them somewhere. Hope you enjoy the site.

Oh my, what have we done?

I stayed away from the second Trump election. I knew where it was going, and it was clear that the Democrats really underestimated his influence and the complete stupidity of the American people. Let’s talk briefly about a couple of the strategic mistakes that the Dems made. I still think that Biden might have won, he looked a bit weak, but was still viable. Mistake 1 was he should have dropped right from the beginning so someone else could have been selected. Mistake 2 was putting Kamala Harris in that position late. I don’t agree with some of her politics, but even being the stronger candidates, unfortunately she is still a woman, and about every poll showed that there are males out there that aren’t ready for a female president. I’m not a misogynist by any stretch, I’m just pointing out the reality of it.

It boggles the brain how people will still vote for someone who lacks honesty and integrity and frankly is a felon. Those aren’t qualities that should be running your country. It’s apparent that people clearly are interested in someone who will disrupt their lives in ways they haven’t thought of. I think they mistake that change always means better, it doesn’t.

It’s almost if Trump wants to destroy the US from within. Considering how he views Putin, it does make one wonder. Even though it appears i’m anti-republican, i’m not. I just worry about that party and the rest of us under this particular regime.

Take a look at his choices to lead cabinets and agencies. They either lack any real experience, or they have some of the same twisted views of what should be done. Most of those are just silly. My message to those who voted for Trump.. you’ll be sorry I see a long run of strife, inflation, and lawsuits that we’ll all get to enjoy. i’ll talk about some of the bad things in another post.

UAW and common sense

In the last installment I talked about the UAW strike situation, but let’s talk about the nonsense and long term effects of it all. Shawn Fain is determined to keep pounding on the automaker to get an impossible contract. How far is too far? I don’t know how the UAW knows what the companies can afford to pay, but I think it’s conceivable and likely that this demand has exceeded what they can do. The UAW is upset at what CEO’s are making, but we are talking about millions for that, but this contract would add billions to the bottom line. What does common sense tell you about this situation? Let’s ask a few questions….

Who benefits? Certainly the UAW workers will benefit at some point, but what about everyone else? We should be protesting the extortion that is happening right now. You think the already too high car cost is going to get better? The money to overpay the workers has to come from somewhere, and that would come from car buyers. This will just add to the inflationary trends that are already out there.

Covid changed a lot of things. Among them was the increase in car prices. lack of computer chips, car parts, production created higher car prices. In 2020 if you were lucky enough to find a car, you would pay the price. Dealerships found they could add to the cost since supply and demand said they could. It was thought that the prices would come back down after Covid subsided. They did reduce a little, but not to the levels that they were before Covid. Look at that graph below and you’ll see that average retail prices on a car went from approximately 38k to 47k within a year and as you can see in 2022 it dropped maybe 1000, but still maintains most of the cost increase. Ask yourself what will happen if the cost of UAW labor goes up by 20 to 60%. It doesn’t take a genius to figure that a lot of folks will be priced out of a car soon.

I’m sure there will be disagreement here, but the autoworkers were already overpaid. I understand that they didn’t get much in the way of increases in the last 5 years, but they were making a decent wage at that time. These new wage demands will take the UAW worker to a new bracket. Ahead of many college graduates, more that most medical staff, teachers, and many other jobs with higher qualifications. It’s great for them if they get it, but not great for anyone else. What part of that makes sense to you?

So while UAW workers get more money and benefits, what are some possible effects of this?

The simple take is the cost of making a vehicle goes up, if cost goes up, so follows price. Car prices will go up yet again and parts too. UAW workers will be able to afford a car or their car repair, will you?

Other unions have been watching. I think you will see others doing something similar after the success of this extortion. What you saw with this event is the UAW selectively increased their pickets and put increasing pressure on the automakers. Someone had to come up with something to keep cars being built and once an automaker puts out hard to refuse agreement, the other two must follow. ( and they did)

What’s the result of this? More higher salaries, more cost to products, and of course more inflation of prices. You think it’s bad now, watch the results of what the UAW did over the next 4 years, and it won’t be just with cars. Also watch to see if while some get their big raises others may see some layoffs.

What’s up with UAW?

The current UAW strike doesn’t make a lot of sense. Yes, i’ll start with that. It’s a perfect example of extortion by an organization that has a leader on a mission. Mr. Fain has taken what he “believes” and want he thinks makes it fair into negotiations and is holding the big three automakers hostage. This isn’t a simple few percent raise, this is a 46% increase and working 32 hours and getting paid for 40. It has additional benefits, even for contract help. Realize these aren’t minimum wage employees he’s fighting for, These are folks that average over $30/Hr already and jobs that don’t have some of the educational requirements as those that make less. This union demand would have wages hit $85k+ for less productivity.

Mr. Fain doesn’t care about the companies and whether these demands can actually be met without major harm. He has convinced the membership that what is being asked is possible and i’ll call it hope rather than greed that keeps union employees from taking the offers that have been put forward already. Ford made a very good offer that was just dismissed. Take a look at the offer and see what you think. These details aren’t really presented in the news, so the rest of us are not informed at what kind of offers are being turned down. Here is what Ford put out recently.

You should look that over, but a few stand outs are the over 20% wage increase, with at least 10% immediately. The 4 year to six figures wage progression, the $0 health premiums, bigger retirement contributions, and even more time off. The also state that this would make employees among the top 25% of wage earners in America. There is a lot of value in there beyond wage, and turning this down is insane to me. This will have a ford regular employee with better benefits and wages than some managers with college degrees. I know, I know, vocation is a choice, but the common sense here will come out in my next article. It will bring out more of why this whole action hurts the rest of us, and maybe some of their own employees.

Take a Knee – final words, maybe..

I could go on and on about this topic, but I’ll finish my blog on this for now. I’ll leave you with just one more thought about it. I get a lot of feedback from folks who claim that they have a right to protest. As Americans, we do have that right, however that right does come with some rules. The when, and where, and if permits are required are all part of that process. Let’s say for fun, you decide that you don’t like the way people are being treated in Africa, and one day you call 20 friends, and have them meet you in the lobby of your workplace. You quietly raise signs and march around inside for a while.

Your cause may be noble, but unless you work for the peace corp., your work will not like that you are protesting on their property and I promise they will either ask you to stop or fire you. Flip that to the NFL. The NFL is an entertainment enterprise, the players suit up, and fans show up to watch a football game. In most stadiums the players are on private property, in their work uniforms. They are hired to play football, and protesting isn’t part of that equation. In neither case is your protest about your work conditions, the place you work, not something that has happened to you as a result of that work. That doesn’t give you any right to interject your private protest into your work. Owners have the right to ask you to stop since it’s outside your work expectations and you are in their place of business. Honestly there is some controversy about whether the inside of the stadium is public or private domain, but in most cases I do believe it’s private. All should realize we do have rights here in America, but we also have rules and laws where protesting is concerned.  The point is that we can’t always legally choose to protest whatever we want, whenever we want or wherever we want.

Take a knee part three

Since the last post which I drafted a while ago, a lot has happened. Kaepernick has since filed a lawsuit against the NFL for collusion in keeping him out of professional football. I don’t think he fully realizes that the fact that nobody wants the controversy he brings and if owners individually don’t want to hire him, it’s not collusion.  It will be interesting to see if he can produce evidence that this coach called that coach and said, let’s teach a lesson here and not hire Kaepernick.   Good luck
But he did find some lucrative work, Nike centered an ad around “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.”

Of course this just stirred the pot all over again.  This is working great for Nike, because it targets their primary shoe buying demographic, which is good for them.  However, it sort of bypasses the issues surrounding him and all the hoopla over the last year.  It certainly appeals to the younger more rebellious crowd, and I’m pretty sure the target market for Nike isn’t the same as for NFL Football, which will just further complicate what we think is right or wrong with it.  Nike will make money, the problem will still remain.
I don’t think that his protest is having the effect that he was really shooting for. It’s already brought attention to the problem, but the continued use of it just makes people upset on both sides of issue. I view the anthem as the one time that regardless of your nationality, we can all stand together as Americans and show a little pride in our country. To create continued controversy in the middle of that doesn’t bring us together, but rather further divides us, making the very situation that he is trying to call attention to worse. Take a minute and think about the end result of all this and I think you’ll see what I mean.

If there is one thing I’ve learned so far, it’s that people are very divided on this topic, and there is little middle ground to stand on. I like what some colleges are doing. At their events they clearly state to join them in honoring our military during the playing of the National Anthem. They often have veterans there and a national guard contingency. To protest there would really be a dishonor, and I don’t see people sitting or kneeling during it. It’s as it should be.

Take a knee Part deux

In part one I discussed the issue of taking a knee during the national anthem.   It’s still an issue, but getting less attention. As of this writing, Colin Kapernick is still unemployed.  His views that he chooses to advertise and the possibility that he would continue to take a knee or put himself in the spotlight like that again is keeping owners from hiring him.   He’s had a shot at an opening at Miami,  but he decided it was a good idea to wear a shirt with Fidel Castro to a media interview.   Miami has a large Latino population most of whom are strongly anti-Castro so that pretty much eliminated him from consideration.   He’s done some other politically charged things as well.  Other owners are looking at him as a person that will not contribute positively to their bottom line.  Even with his talent,  you have to get people in the door, but the taking a knee isn’t something that will help that draw.

What he and some others fail to realize is that football is a business and is considered entertainment.   Owners want to put butts in the seats and attract sponsors and TV deals.   With the majority of sports watchers not liking the act of kneeling, or others sitting during the anthem, it starts affecting viewership and attendance.  You can see evidence of this with many TV stations now omitting the anthem from the coverage so not to affect viewership.   Owners however  are afraid to clamp down on players because of that tie to possible racism.   They actually succeeded in tying the Anthem to racism, and that’s where this whole thing took a turn.    Players claim it’s not about the National Anthem, but I disagree.    How about doing it right before or right after the anthem.   You still get a national audience seeing what you’re doing, but it’s not controversial.   You could still show your support, but not offend people in the process.   Colin won’t say it, but he actually is protesting against a country that would condone discrimination against blacks.  In this case, the shooting of unarmed black’s by white officers.  It’s a laudable cause, but it’s also the country that pays his salary, and provides a lot of other freedoms that he enjoys daily.  So the protest should just be about that and leave the Anthem out of it,  however the Anthem represents America in this scenario, and is necessary part of the equation.   See part three for more.

Take a knee? part 1

I

So this mess started when Colin Kaepernick was unhappy with Unarmed Black people being shot by white police officers.  So he launches a silent protest during the National Anthem before a 49er’s game.   This has created a storm of controversy and opinions galore.  It’s here where any semblance of common sense has gone out the window, and has set us on a contentious path.

Unfortunately this topic consumed me for a while.   I talked to friends both black and white about it in order to understand it and I did get some enlightenment from it.  Here are some highlights:

We have a problem with the current connection with the action and reason for the knee taking and the National Anthem.  I hope that this wasn’t a kick by Colin against America, but really just an extremely visible show of a man’s protest for police shooting unarmed black men.   That was his stated intent, but to some this is was an intentional disrespect to the flag and to the armed forces who bleed and give lives to be sure we can have the freedoms we enjoy.   For this reason, I honestly don’t think it mattered if they were black or white, if anyone were to take a knee, they would have taken a lot of heat for the same reason. Some others saw it as  here is a man who makes more money than i’ll ever see in my lifetime, and he is unhappy and protesting a against a country who made him rich.  Again I don’t believe that it would have mattered who took a knee or what color they are, it would have been taken negatively by the majority of people.

In Kaepernick’s case his reason behind why he did it may have been valid, but it’s not really related to the Anthem, and that’s where the problem begins.  His protest had nothing to do with the game, his treatment in the NFL, or the Anthem. His purpose was to bring his perception of an outside social issue to the forefront in a very public way and he did so.  However the act is now a marriage of racial isues and the anthem.  if you criticize the act or the people who do it, you now run the risk of being labelled a racist.  They aren’t related in that way, but some can’t separate it, and that’s why people will never agree about it or come together until they understand that.

The issue is further exacerbated by the fact that his protest was done in front of the people at the game and a large television audience.  Regardless of the validity of his protest, he’s a representative of his team and is at work where the expectation is that he like all athletes, stand for the Anthem.   That act to some was admirable, but not without a price. The result is that he was not re-signed by San Francisco and was out there in free agency.   There were teams in need of a quarterback, but all of them have passed on him, because frankly they are in the entertainment business and this wasn’t appealing to the majority of fans.  Don’t make the mistake to think that I don’t think that the cause was important, but at work, you and I can’t just express our thoughts or feelings any way we feel.

Trump made things much worse with his unedited tweets and AD-HOC speeches.  He basically called for the Owners to fire anybody who doesn’t stand and respect the flag.  This created a new focus where folks not only are kneeling for the original reasons, but now I believe they do it to show defiance to Trump.  The instances increased and it found it’s way all the way down to even elementary sports where the kids don’t really have a full grasp of the implications.   more later…

 

Fake news

I like my ability to be able to write about things and have it available to others to read.  I believe that privilege comes with a responsibility to write truthfully and sometimes carefully to be sure you properly represent facts and not just conjecture.   I read something today that dealt with gossip about Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani breaking up.   It’s common these days to start out with something shocking and usually false and follow it up with the truth in the article.  What’s the purpose?   Sell magazines or subscriptions of course.   In this case it seems that while other rumors had Blake proposing to her on “The Voice”  he was merely trying to quell that rumor and say that they were going slower.   It makes me crazy that anyone with a computer can just throw lies out there for whatever reason.   I see it all the time and it creates a lot of confusion.   There seems to be a lot of competition out there for stories to report and it creates a lot more sloppy journalism and sometimes just blatant misreporting.  This is another example of the negative effects of such a media connected world.  News outlets are now in competition with essentially everyone who can report, and it just gets out of control.   I have seen a lot more of stories changing over time as facts become known.  They have to get something out there or get left behind, so they report what they know or think they know and fix it later.   Very Sloppy and irresponsible.