Current Frustrations

Good evening,

I know it has been a while, I apologize for letting so much time pass between blogs. I promise, though, I have been keeping up with everything! The first thing that really frustrates me is the public outcry to curb foreclosures, secondly, I wanted to make a note about the auto contracts.

Starting with number one, I skimmed a cover story on the Wall St Journal earlier this week about a gentleman who had become one of public leaders calling to stop foreclosures and asking that banks lower some monthly payments. I feel like I shouldn't even have to dignify this with an argument. The man I am talking about organized protests to the extent that he littered furniture across bank CEO's property so that they would understand what an eviction felt like. I would like to point out that if there is anyone to blame, it is not the bank CEO. An arguement can be made for the politicians that enacted legislation that promoted banks giving loans. They passed bills that were supposed to allow more people to get loans because it would be better for the general economy. That is one arguement to use. Realistically, the sole blame lies on each individual that couldn't afford the house they wanted untill this legislation was passed. What happened was people got greedy, they took bought the biggest houses they could afford assuming they would continue making their current wages and neglecting any problems that might arise. The blame lies solely with these individuals. Stop trying to blame the banks for giving you the money you couldn't afford, with all the bad media about the banks, they seem to be a scapegoat between the people that promoted lending and the people that accepted the money.

Secondly, I have a problem with the up-playing of the union contracts in regards to the auto bailout. I will never deny that the contracts have been strapping the Big Three for rebounding from their current financial woes. This is a fact. However, people don't realize how smart the union officials were in negotiating these wages and pension plans. Bear in mind that unions were the first to fight for almost all of the things that we take for granted today: weekends, minimum wage, child labor laws, the 8 hour work day. All of these things are due to the power of the employed. While acknoledging these things, remember that, in general, production lines are the most mind numbing monotonous work known to man. Finally, thank the union officials for negotiating the contracts that are in place. When someone finally recognized the absurd amounts of money that were being paid out to the officers or managing core, they wanted a cut. The majority of the labor was being done by the people paid least, thus they got together and said, I'm done with this we would all rather be broke than be exploited. That is how we ended up with the contracts we have today.

I applaud everyone that was a part of that negotiation. These are the little skirmish wins that the American nation can stand strong on knowing that although very small, it was a battle won. However, these contracts were negotiated during the most profitable of times, so if big business is not making money, small America cannot be either. I think that many people are starting to understand this, but like the exploitation that happened in every industry (including professional sports), it takes time to recognize. I just hope that people don't hold a grudge on the organizations that brought us so much over the past years.

Peace,

Matthew James