Report from the field. Michigan is ground zero
Hey brothers and sisters,
Today is Wednesday April 29th in Michigan. Here is the latest from the state with the largest unemployment rate.
With all the automotive issues lately we are seeing more and more layoffs in waves. In addition to this, American Axel just announced they are moving their production to Mexico. I have never seen it so bad in this state.
I am hanging in there but expect a layoff soon. We certainly cannot withstand the plant shutdowns that are being proposed for a 9-12 week period. We have been stocking up for a few months. I am in fear of all the other folks that are not prepared.
Daily Paul Community!!!! KEEP STOCKING UP! Michigan is like the Mexico City center for the swine flu only it is a DEPRESSION VIRUS.
Don't take your eyes off the ball with the flu distraction. Stay the course, worse economic conditions are coming.
Here is an article from todays news.
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090429/METRO/904290370/Food...
Food pantries finding cupboards bare
Agencies stretched amid rising needs
Catherine Jun / The Detroit News
Pontiac -- Hungry area residents who have to turn to food banks for their next meal are finding the shelves increasingly bare.
Pantries throughout Metro Detroit are reporting staggering numbers of families coming through their doors, which means keeping the shelves stocked with essential food items -- juice, bread and canned fruit, meat and veggies -- has become much harder.
At the Salvation Army's food pantry on Oakland Avenue, all that remained on the ceiling-high slats on a recent morning were cans of tomato soup, cereal, soda crackers and spaghetti noodles.
Both freezers were empty.
"It's like I'm Mother Hubbard," said Gail Hardy, a director at the facility.
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090429/METRO/904290370/Food...
BUMP
Bump for preparedness!!!
"Get to the choppa!"
"Get to the choppa!"
LEFT PETOSKEY FOR IOWA AND NOW HAVE WORK
Moeller Aerospace in Harbor Springs made a ball and lock retainer for the auto industry. Because of reduced hours due to the auto slump I took a commission job cleaning carpets. My boss did well but did not choose to afford my family health insurance. My wife developed a brain tumor on the right frontal lobe.She filed for divorce. She left me and the kids to find open arms at the door of the state. Immediately she was put on Medicade, given sub-sidized housing, food stamps(bridge card), MI child for the 3 girls, social security disability for the kids and disability for herself. She went through 2 major brain surgerys in 2 weeks @ Wayne State and is really doing fine now even though they could not get it all.
I tried to get her to come back to me but she would not. I remarried and had to find work in Iowa to avoid being put in jail by the FRIEND OF THE COURT. My child support is 1007.00 per month which I have paid faithfully but have to be 700 miles from my kids. Yes, Michigan is doing fine if you work for the government or are a lawyer or have your own business( at least the way I saw it in Northern Michigan). Everybody else has it tough. Been there and done that. We are planting a big garden here in the tall corn state. We plan to eat high off the hog we hope.
If you have any employees and can afford them health insurance, I beg you to do so. It just might salvage a family.
Michigan is Ground Zero
It's funny, we keep hearing the NWO crowd braying about lowering tariffs so that we can have the free flow of goods back and forth between countries; but just yesterday I read that Mexico slapped tariffs on U.S. imports and the Obama administration, that great friend of the working man, is now going to let Mexican truckers ply U.S. roads, just as the Mexican government wanted. Punitive tariffs apparently work, but the NWO crowd isn't interested in protecting America; only the bankers who have them in their pockets. Once the fascist thugs that are running things have driven the middle class into impecunity, and raised the poverty rate in the U.S. to what it is in Mexico, THEN they'll have accomplished their goal.
Forgive me for ranting, but I too am a victim of the current misdirected policies of the last several administrations, having lost my job a week ago this past Friday; however, I am not taking this lying down. I have started a JBS Chapter here in the Detroit area in addition to my work with the C4L and the Republican Party, and we WILL give those clowns at the top a run for their money during the next several election cycles. The U.S. WILL come back if we all start to stand up and take it back.
I used to sell for a Chevy
I used to sell for a Chevy dealership. We had a General Manager there who used to tell us we had to INTIMIDATE our customers if we expected to sell a lot of cars. I'm not saying that kind of thinking was the prevailing view, but it certainly doesn't surprise me that things are going badly for GM.
Things are only impossible until they are not.
-- Jean Luc Picard
Things are only impossible until they are not.
-- Jean Luc Picard
I went to a GM dealership
I went to a GM dealership sometime last year with my future father in-law. He was there to buy, not to look at but to buy, a Chevy Colorado pick-up that he saw in the paper.
He asked the sales guy "is that the pick-up in the newspaper" - answer was yes. We walked around it, everything looked good - so my future father in-law told the sales to let's go look at the financing options.
He wanted to pay 1/2 in cash and finance the rest for 5 years. He has excellent credit. All he needed to know was what his interest rate would be for the 1/2 that was going to be financed. There was no price negotiation, because he was already happy with the price.
So.... we sat and waited... and waited... and waited for the sales guy to give us the numbers. The sales guy kept walking away and coming back with another attempt to get us to go for a test drive.
He was told with no uncertain terms, no test drive needed. We told him that many times.
The sales guy's last attempt was to pull the car up to the door of the sales room, leave the truck running and to let us know that he has the truck there waiting for us to take it for a test drive.
My future father in-law stood up and said let's go, this place is a JOKE.
We walked right around the open door and the truck while it was running and left. We did not go back again.
Too bad for GM, because we were there to BUY and drive away that day with the pick-up. I just wonder how many sales GM loses by not listening to what their customers want.... and now they are begging for our tax money to bail them out? Forget it. Learn how to run a business first.
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You Deserve It
When U.S. companies started moving overseas to China, and other developing countries to be competitive with all other companies moving to China, we stood by and did nothing, Clothing Manufacturung, Toys, Consumer Electronics, Textiles, Furniture, Home Applaince etc. We were happy to pay less for the moment, It has now come back to haunt us, like the proverbial Indians who sold Manhattan Island for some beads and trinkets, I would not be surprised if a good chunk of the former "big three" will end up in China. and of course all this slave labor has benefited China's military industrial Complex to eventually challenge parity with Western Military Powers.
Maybe that wouldn't have
Maybe that wouldn't have been the case if we weren't so regulation intensive and if we didn't let labor unions run industries like auto manufacturing. Perhaps we would have been competitive at lower prices in many different goods and wouldn't have exported production if we had just let the free market work on all levels. Sad.
i live in st clair shores.
there's no dave bing in the area who's going to save detroit or pontiac from the imperialism that steamrolled this place into the third world. this place is a prime example of what the rest of the country is going to look like soon. i recommend getting into healthcare as soon you can, if you plan on living here for long. go into caregiving or get a cna certificate.
I live in Dexter
It started in 2007 when Pfizer folded up their tent.
For Freedom!
For Freedom!
STUGOTS! To the high and felutent establishment!
Paultian Powerhouse!
What kills me on the auto industry...
Chrysler and GM fell largely because of the credit crunch that occurred due to the current financial crisis.
People say it is because the companies produce a poor quality product or that they did not adapt enough to the customer demand for hybrid cars with better gas mileage.
I believe those comments are untrue. People want SUV’s, Trucks and vehicles with 4 wheel drive. When I’m driving through northern snow all winter long I like my 4 wheel drive Jeep. So that’s what the companies make. What hurt the companies most is the credit crunch. You need credit to buy a new car. Credit is not easily accessible right now. Therefore new vehicles are not being sold. Why is there a credit crunch? Because of the poor policies by the Federal reserve and the legislation that caused the sub-prime mortgage lending. Without the current financial crisis I do not see these two companies going into bankruptcy.
What saddens me further is that the free trade agreements established by this country and legislation passed is destroying American manufacturing. We are encouraging the manufacturing base that made this nation the strongest economy in the world to leave our borders. We used to be a producer nation dependent on exports, now we are a consumer nation addicted to cheaper imports. Sure we benefit from the cheap imports we’re buying at Meijer, but we can’t afford anymore cheap products if there are no jobs/factories to employ us.
I am not saying that we should bail out the companies, I am against that, and would rather see bankruptcy on a moral and economic stance, but as Thomas Woods jr. points out, when many companies fall at once, it is not because of bad economic decisions it is because of government interference with the free market.
Now the executive government controls GM and Chrysler, will force the production of unwanted products and we will see new factories in the cities of the highest donator.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
i do believe the credit crunch was the biggest part
of the current chrysler/gm union nationalization extravaganza. the auto industry asking for a bailout doesn't just magically come right at the moment the housing bubble burst. like you said, nafta and free trade agreements also play a role. at the same time, folks are buying more used cars than ever right now and the price of a used car has gone up quite a bit in the last few years. people are acting smart and they're saving money, but people want a cheap, gas efficient automobile as well. tata, the indian carmaker sells super gas efficient cars for 2,000 dollars brand new. that shows what you can get away with without unions and government's upper hand. there are several factors that play into the crisis, but people also want gas efficient vehicles, so we can't rule that out as a non issue just to prove our point, because our point is actually better proven by looking at the situation in india.
oh yeah, for folks living around detroit. remember the big 4?
As far as I know, people in
As far as I know, people in India can live a very nice middle or upper middle class lifestyle on $250 to $350 per month or so. That is a LOT different than here in the U.S. I don't know about Michigan, but here in NJ an individual needs to make $5000+ monthly to live middle or upper middle class.
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I teach Social Studies in St Clair Shores
I guess it doesn't help in my econ class that I teach my students that buying a brand new car is an absoslutely senseless idea - and have them go to the Kelly Blue Book to do real research on finding the best deal.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
I bought a used car 22 years ago
It's the only car I've ever owned.
Buying a new car is sensless if you love the used car you have and it runs great, or you can't afford a new car. Buying a new car is not senseless when you have the cash, and you LOVE the new car, it suits your super ego, and spend more time wishing you had the car than getting the car.
People buy used cars and "pimp their rides", which may cost more than a new car, eh?
Nader's book, "Unsafe At Any Speed", pointed out that GM was selling autos to egos, as sex machines on wheels, where the safety of the machine was NOT an issue. Some folks egos are so BIG they don't think, is it safe? They don't care if it's safe. They care if it's "hot".
While indeed, "hot" is senseless (causes unwanted pregnancy, too much drinking, risk taking) I think hormones play a role, but what ever it is, left brain development over the right... auto industry profit off senselessness, eh?
WE ARE GOING TO WIN!
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I teach Social Studies in St Clair Shores
I guess it doesn't help in my econ class that I teach my students that buying a brand new car is an absoslutely senseless idea - and have them go to the Kelly Blue Book to do real research on finding the best deal.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
Credit crunch ?
Does it only effect GM & Chrysler, and not its foreign competitors ? I say, it is more so years of consumer be damned. I owned two new Chevrolet Suburbans in the '80's, although I liked them, they costs me more time and money keeping them from falling apart that I'd like to think about. I switched to Toyota, and I never looked back.
(IMO) FORD = F'D - OVER - REBUILT - DODGE
Love Ford
I bought a 6 month old V6 ranger in 00 for 10,500 from a dealer, it was still under warranty. Paid on it 5 years @ 262 a month. No big repairs needed, I've bought a few hoses, sensors, a battery and tires - nothing else. 120K miles, still shiny and runs great! The paint on these holds up great with a little pampering every now and then. That's why I don't need to buy another one anytime if the forseeable future. I'll go back to Ford if I do need to buy again, won't buy from the beggars GM or Chrysler.
Isn't FORD in a much better
Isn't FORD in a much better position financially than GM & Chrysler? FORD might be in a better position than both of then put together. Who knows, FORD might end up owning all of their assets before this mess is over.
...
well
i don't know if i'd go THAT far about ford, having had ford trucks for the past ten years (about seven in all).....but i WILL say that i bought an 08 tundra 4x4 last spring...........and i hear you there...........NEVER LOOKING BACK.
How I see it
The IMF world bank has tightened loans all over the world. If you look you will find it. Everybody is going bankrupt, every country in the whole world. The banks are buying everything up for pennies on the dollar. Their solution as we have already saw is the world bank. In the mean time not only do the same bank shareholders already own 80% of all the fortune 500 companies. One in every five houses in the United States is empty right now too. EPA is a horrible company that has made it way to hard and expensive to build cars for a long time. To support my theory I highly recommend these two movies.
The Money Masters and the Obama Deception
both can be watched on
http://netctr.com/vp/http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid... or
video google
I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for
Government killed the Autos', not the Banks.....
While the credit crunch didn't help, it was the increase in Cafe Standards passed by Congress that is ultimately responsible for their demise. To meet these standards, it was mandatory for the Autos' to retool their factories and product lines. Last fall, the Auto Execs asked Congress for an extension of the Cafe Standard deadlines. They stated if this one request could be met, their needs for Federal Loans to stay a float wouldn't even be an issue. Of course Congress denied their request for these cafe standard extension and forced GM and Chrysler into their even more crippled position. Of course, Ford and Toyota America, have managed to stay a float, so maybe GM and Chrysler just suck at what they do, regardless of how much you like their SUVs'.?
government= banks.
period. a request to congress is a request to the fed. they do suck at what they do, and they should have gone bankrupt the first time they asked for a bailout. let's not pretend there is a difference between banks and government at this point.
what a shame
it's only going to get worse when the North American Union comes. We will then officially be borderless and we won't have to worry about our jobs being shipped to Mexico because we will be one big happy wage slaving family!
it's already here.
don't kid yourself. nafta, cafta, spp, imf, the list goes on. how much more official does it have to be?
When that time comes, will
When that time comes, will we be allowed to buy prime ocean front property in Mexico or will we still be barred from that?
No you will not...
the benefits run in one direction only.
.
You will get to pay for their SS, schooling, infrastructure developement, medical care, etc.
.
.
.
At first splash of Eden we race down to the sea,
standing there on Freedom's Shore....
What can be said of a people who would sell their own children into slavery, using the rational that it is to protect their freedom?
Please don't tell me you voted for GHW Bush now !
I voted for Ross Perot, who predicted this was going to happen to you.
I'm leaving Michigan next month
Yep, Michigan is a bust. I'm leaving for New Hampshire as part of the Free State Project in about 3 weeks. NH has the lowest unemployment in the country so I'm glad to leave the nightmare that we call Mich. Good luck to those who stay, but you're always welcome @ www.freestateproject.org - See ya in the "Gulch".
????
"See you in the Gulch"?
Halo reference?
"Get to the choppa!"
"Get to the choppa!"
godspeed indeed.
i'm leaving too. but not to nh. i'm sure nh will be great though. much happiness to you.