I know this article is about the Big 3 – excellent article tw. The one comment that I did not see in the 70+ that I read, was the big picture in all this. It is great for people to make as much money as they can, but the reason that the free-trade agreements and places like Wal-Mart are so popular is that most people can’t afford to buy anything that is union made. And, let’s not kid ourselves, the auto industry is not the only one that deals with unions. Unfortunately, the federal, state, and city governments (along with a whole host of companies) have unionized workers. I have worked for municipalities for most of my career, and it is not unusual to have people work at the slowest pace they can get away with. I am not saying that everyone is like that, as I have butted heads with people for years, but the one comment earlier about not wanting employees overworked, hits the nail on the head for a lot of companies dealing with unions.
The bigger problem though, is politicians who always promise to “change Washington,” and before you know it, they start receiving campaign donations and get swallowed up by the system. IMHO, politicians do little more than campaign the whole time they’re in office, as Obama did when he was elected to the state legislature, and then to Congress. The Presidential campaign lasted two years, so for that time, Obama, Hillary, McCain, and Biden were thinking about something other than doing their jobs – jobs that pay very well. My solution would be that any candidate who decides to run for office should resign their current office first. That way, they’re not getting paid to run for office. For those who are running for re-election, they should do it on their own time, like the rest of us have to do when job hunting.
As far as contributions, they should go to a central clearinghouse and divided evenly among people running for office, that way no one can “buy” influence.
I know none of this will happen, but it’s good to dream. Sorry for the long rant.
