The “Government Motors” Predicament

The government undertook a needed evil in late 2008/early 2009, by bailing out General Motors. Currently in the state of Michigan 6 out of every 10 jobs are connected to General Motors (either directly or indirectly) with 3 out of every 10 being connected to the Ford Motor Company. Without GM Michigan would simply be bankrupt, unemployment would be close to 90%, chaos would erupt, Hoovervilles would become the norm once more. The government decided to intervene for the above listed reasons, and rightly so. GM employees literally hundreds of thousands of people, but should the government have intervened?

Many times in the past Congress has been involved in breaking up massive companies, such as GM, but never had it before been involved in actually SAVING these companies from impending doom. Capitalism exists on the standpoint of Darwinism, that the strong survive and the weak will fail. In this specific situation, the tax payer decided who was strong enough to be saved. The unfortunate situation that manifested just a few months ago should have been easily rectified: there should be NO company to big to fail!

The anti-trust laws busted up companies that were so big they controlled competition and price, but due to the events of this past year I think it’s obvious that congress must reform these laws into something bigger. If a company is large enough to control competition, is that company also to big to fail? The government busted AT&T because of the communications monopoly it held, why didn’t the government bust GM when it held the monopoly on JOBS in Michigan? What about AIG and Citigroup? When a bank holds the monopoly on capital, bust them up! Instead of risking a situation where the individual tax payer had to literally pay for white collar folks to keep wearing their white collars, we should stop those before they start. Currently the Federal Reserve has put strict regulations on the amount of capital individual banks are allowed to control (10% of total capital flow). Why doesn’t the government place similar restrictions on auto manufacturers?

The similarities between Wall-Street and Detroit are to blatantly obvious to ignore. 2 of the big 3 in Detroit gambled that SUVs would never die, that simply expanding business uncontrollably will relate in ultimate profit on the bottom line, that the more brands a company has their fingers on the more likely success occurs. General Motors made stupid capital decisions, expanded to proportions they couldn’t handle (nor could their market share), added to many brands making the same vehicles with a different badge, and sadly destroyed any credibility in American autos for the future. I hope that Congress does not sit and wait for this still pertinent problem to dissipate, as it never will. I plead for action…NOW!

-Ross T. Simon

The Direct Democracy Problem

In California seemingly every mundane issue ends up on the ballot. Starting decades ago with “Amendment 13″ (also known as the rise to Reganism) every political coalition with a mind on changing the California constitution (from cattle prodding to gay marriage) can get their idea up to vote within the California general public.

Now as most everyone is aware, we are a government founded on the basis of democracy. By the people, for the people. We established the supreme law of the land, the United States Constitution, and set up a republic based on the democratic principle and ideals. We elect Representatives to represent us in the House of Representatives. We elect Senators to represent us in the United States Senate. We elect a President to be the representative of the free world. Why in California is the ballot BURSTING with propositions, amendments and laws? Why does California have a bicameral state legislature if they have a unilateral idea to not allow Sacramento to do…anything?

The reason our congress was set up as bicameral, the reason we have an electoral college, the reason we have a system of checks and balances was in case the people got things WRONG. California is currently in near “junk bond” status, and the blame must be pointed in some direction. The problems we are seeing now can be pointed at the direct democracy problem. If California is unwilling to let their governor, state house or state senate accomplish ANYTHING, why spend money on them and simply liquidate Sacramento? What is the purpose of sending people to vote on important issues on YOUR behalf (you did elect them) if you will not let them do their job? Why don’t we simply have the sick diagnose themselves whilst doctors sit in the corner attempting to speak? Currently California is in such an awful predicament because the legislature has their hands tied. The government cannot raise taxes because it would be shot down by an amendment on the next ballot. The government cannot address the housing and education crisis because it would have to be voted on by proposition in November.

Direct democracy is necessary when your representatives do nothing. Direct democracy is disgusting when you do not let your representatives do anything. It’s time for California to wake up.

-Ross T. Simon

Guess Who is Back

After seemingly months of blog “prohibition” Daniel and I have once again teamed up to fight conservative jingoism (I joke) and spew our liberal bias (again, I joke) to the world.

Good news out of Boca Raton is: I am a second semester senior in high school, which relates to approximately negative hours of school study time. Daniel and I will be hopefully be updating you on the news of the world, and our opinions on it, daily. We hope our inaction hasn’t thrown to many of you guys off the wagon, and we should be coming with some good political pieces in the coming days, weeks, and months.

- Ross Simon

Cash 4 Clunkers and an “American” success

The “Cash 4 Clunkers” program, set up by the Federal government as an incentive for Americans to drive more fuel efficient cars, has been nothing short of an incredible success. All of the 3 BILLION dollars set aside for this program has been used up. Dealerships across the country got a true boost in sales and activity within the dealership. As an incentive to get out of their old “clunker” Americans were offered up to a $4500 rebate if they got a car that got more then 18 MPG.

Unfortunately, not everyone in America views this program as a success. Although, you can argue, that this government program truly saved thousands of jobs in dealerships who needed boosts in sales, many Republicans point to the fact that 60% of the cars purchased under Cash 4 Clunkers were foreign made vehicles.

The fact is that almost all of those cars were made using American parts and labor. For instance, Toyota has plants in Alabama, Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, and South Carolina. Honda has many factories across the country from Texas to Virginia. Even BMW has a factory in South Carolina, which produces all of it’s SUV’s (X3, X5, X6) to distribute across the world. Whereas General Motors produces almost exclusively in Mexico, including the new Chevy Malibu Hybrid and the soon to be new Chevy Volt. The Ford Motor Company produces all Ford Focuses and Mercury Milans, its most fuel efficient non Hybrid models, in Canada.

The question that I pose to Republicans is: what jobs do you want to save? Cash 4 Clunkers has proven that with incentives, Americans still do buy cars even in this economy. Many people, across all political mediums, are simply confused by the fact that the “American” companies are only American white collar jobs.

If people were truly more willing to see that by purchasing foreign models you are not only saving MORE jobs, but the true blue collar workers, the base of America. I am all for purchasing American, although I do drive a Toyota Corolla, I test drove a multitude of American cars including the Chevy Cobalt, Malibu, Aveo and the Ford Focus.

I wanted to drive American, but it came to my attention that all the cars in my price range and quality needs (MPG, A/C, power windows) were NOT MADE IN AMERICA. So for the naysayer Republicans, why was Cash 4 Clunkers a failure? Is it because 60% of all cars purchased were foreign, or that you don’t want to admit that anything Obama does can work?

-Ross T. Simon

The Need for National Standards in Schools

As I talked about in an earlier post, there are numerous changes needed to the public school system. Our school systems are not living up to their goal of “promoting educational excellence for all Americans”, providing them with the education needed to prepare todays generations to be the leaders of tomorrow.

This is a troubling issue, and it is one that will be difficult to remedy. The change that is needed is possible, but it will be very difficult to accomplish. One of the most necessary reforms to education in America is the need for national standards with regards to education.

Under the current system, educational standards are set on a state-by-state basis. Because of that, an acceptable standard of reading in Kentucky could be completely different from one in Tennessee which is also different from the standard in Texas. This creates a disparity in the level of education obtained by students, which does nothing to benefit the country as a whole.

To remedy this issue, we must allow the Department of Education to establish national standards for schools. Everyone will take the same standardized schools and will be judged against the nation as a whole when deciding which schools are progressing and which will need to improve. We must take these standards one step farther and look at implementing a national test, similar to the Baccalaureat in France, in order to graduate from high school.

These standards will encourage our schools to constantly improve, so that we can reclaim our spot as one of the brightest and most educated countries in the world. Then, and only then, can America continue to grow in the way that made her so great in the first place.

How the Democrats Will Win Health Care

In Thomas Frank’s most recent column, he brings up numerous points countering the argument that the government shouldn’t be involved in health care:

The righteous individualists among us might also consider that our current health-insurance system, which delivers them the medicine they think they’ve earned, is in fact massively subsidized by government, with Uncle Sam using the tax code to encourage employers to buy health insurance. And were it not for government programs like Medicare and Medicaid taking over the most expensive populations, the political scientist Jacob Hacker pointed out to me recently, the system of private insurance would probably have destroyed itself long ago. That image we cherish of our ruggedly self-reliant selves, in other words, is only possible thanks to Lyndon Johnson and the statist views of our New Dealer ancestors.

What strikes me as most important about this column is not why Democrats are losing, but Frank’s ideas on what to say to win the battle of health reform. Frank makes a completely valid point in stating that without government intervention, health care wouldn’t have survived at all. Through increased government involvement in health care, the necessary reforms will be enacted to save this country from a disastrous fiscal future.

An Extended Vacation

Hey everyone,

Sorry there haven’t been any posts for the last 3 days. I have been moving into college and adjusting to life at the University of Maryland, so I haven’t had much time to work on the blog. Once classes start Monday and I get back on a normal schedule, the blog posting will pick up again.

Until then, everyone have a great weekend!

-Daniel

Unions, saviors or destroyers?

Unions. This classic working class organization to help the little guy out. Formed to help bring about reform in workers rights in an era when the blue collar worker was the guy to beat up on. Monopolies and family dynasties ruled the land. People like Commodore Vanderbilt (railroads), Andrew Carneige (steel), and John Rockefeller (oil) were the top of the top. The few people in the upper class held almost 90% of America’s wealth. These people stimulated the economy. John Everyman however suffered 20 hour days, minimal pay (sometimes less then a dollar a day), unsafe conditions, and quite simply the horrors of being a blue collar worker.

Today, thanks to organizations such as the United Auto Workers, conditions are now safe, pay is good, and the work day is reasonable. Unfortunately in today’s society some people blame the UAW for simply destroying the American auto industry and contributing to the collapse of the American economy.

Due to the UAW’s demands for pension plans, higher starting wages, severance packages, work “perks”, covered health insurance, and many other luxuries, the Big 3 US automakers (GM, Ford, Chrysler) simply collapsed under economic pressure. The UAW insisted on these packages for it’s workers. For instance, a starting salary at a GM plant in 2006 was $36 an hour. On average, to it’s factory workers, GM paid $81.81 per hour.

These enormous demands from the UAW put pressure on automakers to put money into factory workers pockets, rather then putting it into quality vehicles. People simply stopped buying American cars because they simply did not get enough car for the money.

Chrysler is now in the hands of Fiat, an Italian automaker, GM is controlled by the government and filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy along with selling its Saab and Saturn brands, and Ford Motor Company has halted almost all production on its Mercury brand while also looking to sell its Volvo brand.

I support the blue collar worker, they are simply the lifeline of America, but the problem that happened was because of the greed of unions John Everyday turned himself from blue collar into Armani suit. You come to a point where you need to stop and think, what is going on? Are unions really even needed in today’s society?

-Ross T. Simon

A Public School Student’s Thoughts on Education

duPont Manual Magnet High School

Tomorrow, I will embark upon a new journey. I will begin my time as a college student, exploring the halls of knowledge and intellect at the University of Maryland. But how did I get here? What made me decide to college? What brought me to the point?

Since my first day of kindergarten, I have always been a public school student. From Dunn Elementary School to Meyzeek Middle School to duPont Manual Magnet High School, the Jefferson County Public School system has served me well. I have received a quality education in an intellectually stimulating environment without having to spend $12,000+ per year for tuition.

I have always been fortunate to be able to attend quality public schools. Through the magnet programs at Meyzeek and Manual, I was able to move up through an even more challenging school system that allowed me to have opportunities most students didn’t receive.

Fortunately, I was one of the lucky few. Each day, millions of students attend schools that are underfunded and lack the resources necessary to provide its students with the skills necessary to succeed in a modern economy. Teachers aren’t paid enough, there is a shortage of text books, and school facilities aren’t up to par.

Due to a failing school system, our students have shown their struggles in comparison to their counterparts throughout their world. American students rank 25th in the world in math, behind intellectual power houses such as the Slovak Republic, Poland and Latvia.

Now that we know the problem, the difficult part is coming up with a solution. We must be open to change. Our schools must be willing to experiment and try new things. We must attempt innovative new policies, such as the plan by Michelle Rhee to give teachers the option of giving up tenure but receiving massive pay raises. Naturally, the teacher’s union opposed this, but it is a one such policy we must look into. Teacher’s Unions have always opposed reform at the sake of their teachers, but this just doesn’t make sense. Teachers enter their profession because of a desire to make a difference in the lives of their students and teach them the valuable lessons necessary to succeed. Shouldn’t the Unions be willing to make the necessary concessions in order to make this happen?

The process of improving America’s schools will not be easy. All parties will have to give up something in order to achieve a common goal – ensuring America’s continued role as a model for the world.

Pro-Voice: A Guest Post by Saul Brodsky

Editor’s note: this guest commentary originally appears on One Present, One Voting at SaulBrodsky.Tumblr.com, it is written by Saul Brodsky of Norfolk, Virginia.

I’m not a Democrat. And I’m not a Republican. I’m not a Libertarian, or a conservative, or a liberal, or a conservatarian, or another funny word we’ve developed to label ourselves. I’m pro-voice! I’m pro-knowledge- I’m a brainitarian, someone who figures we’re all right, we’re all wrong, and health care is unimportant until you’re lying in the hospital bed.

I recently read an editorial by GOP chairman Michael Steele and, of course, it was about healthcare. He said all this stuff. A lot of it was against Democrats. He kept saying all this stuff about how Democrats want to hurt American families and small businesses. And how the government will set a limit on the number of procedures that can be done per year, and will offer them primarily to younger people to quote-on-quote, get more bang for their buck. To counter, I’ve also read Democratic stuff that said similar things about Republicans. So here’s what I say….

Here’s what I have gathered from reading:

• Democrats hate Republicans.
• Republicans despise Democrats.
• Democrats also hate the American people, healthcare providers, small businesses, big business, the French people, colors that end in -urple, and trans fat.
• Republicans hate the American people, tiny business, huge business, saturated fat, Nature’s Valley bars, and words that start with the letter H.

Both hate a lot of stuff. Both have bad health care plans. Here’s what I propose:

Don’t get sick. Don’t break your arm, don’t fall down the stairs, don’t shoot yourself in the thigh. Because if you do, health care sucks, and everyone’s out to get you. But I do know one thing… Read my blog! -SLB