How the heck are you?!

hello, friends,

i really should not be blogging because i simply have too much work to do. but i had a really compelling conversation on saturday night with some friends that has been nagging at me and so i felt like i needed to share.

the discussion (full disclosure: there was wine involved) began as an investigation of the pros and cons of bailing out the big three -- GM, Ford and Chrysler. should we or shouldn't we? we drifted around that for a while, recalling the problems (and, at my insistence, the lack of congressional oversight) of the financial bailout. why bail out companies like AIG and not the automotive industry. there was general disdain about the UAW, and the suggestion that some industries needed to fail so as to correct the market.

let me say that i don't pretend to understand the market. i simply was asking about what was going to happen if the US lost 2.1 million job , according to this website.

here's what it says:

The EPI paper, titled When Giants Fall, estimates that a total collapse of all three U.S. auto makers would result in the loss of up to 2.1 million American jobs within the next year. Tax revenue losses and additional governmental costs would top $150 billion within three years if the three companies enter bankruptcy.

Without cars to export, the U.S. trade deficit would rise by $109.3 billion, the study also found.

The job numbers encompass direct job losses from the automakers' potential shutdown, as well as indirect job losses in technical and service industries and vehicle production-supported industries, such as auto parts, electronics, steel, tires, aluminum and plastics. The study also estimates the loss of "re-spending" jobs as a result of the wages lost by workers in motor vehicle industries and other sectors supported by car production.

The study's author, EPI economist Robert E. Scott, said that Congress should act quickly to provide a bridge loan to the auto industry, noting that it is an investment that the U.S. government will likely recover with interest.

"It is in the national interest to invest in a bridge loan now, rather than pay the consequences of bankruptcy for one or more domestic auto-makers," Scott said.

"The domestic auto-makers don't have the same bankruptcy and restructuring options as the airline industry does," Scott explained. "Customers are unwilling to purchase a vehicle from a company that might not be able to offer a warranty or repairs."

The study estimates the loss of jobs by industry, with manufacturing leading the pack. Motor vehicles and parts and transportation equipment also stand to lose tens of thousands of jobs.

The EPI study can be viewed at http://www.epi.org/briefingpapers/227/bp227.pdf.

For more information about the Economic Policy Institute, go to http://www.epi.org, and for more about the Keystone Research Center, go to http://www.keystoneresearch.org.

SOURCE: Keystone Research Center

consider the fact that 12.5% of all americans live in poverty, according to the US census

consider the fact that while it is admirable that 72.5% of americans have internet access, there are still 27.5% who do not.

are we living exclusively in a world of darwinistic survival of the fittest? my friend suggested that there were some people who would not or could not take advantage of the opportunities offered to them and that some in our country would always "just fail." is this okay? am i just a pollyanna, or do i have my sense of social justice out of whack?

can you sleep at night?

think about what jimmy carter said (thanks sister sue): "a peaceful world cannot exist when one third is rich and two thirds are hungry."

my friend is a just and admirable person, concerned about family and survival. there is compassion and responsibility. so if THIS friend thinks this way...

think about it.

gotohellifyouhatefreedom,
volansky