Working Life

I’ve loved baseball since I was a kid. But, at the same time, I don’t believe we, the people, the taxpayers, should spend a single dime to help build baseball stadiums, or any sports arena, for the rich people or corporations who own teams. Don’t believe the hype—these projects never pay back the subsidies doled […]

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   They are always looking for a new way to nickle-and-dime people: General Motors Co. wants pay for union-represented workers be tied to employees’ work performance and the company’s financial health—much like the way its salaried workers are paid—in what would be a major shift in how generations of auto workers have been compensated. GM […]

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   Some day, one would hope, journalists would stop accepting the usual erroneous assumptions. One of the biggest has to do with the unionized auto industry. Today, The Wall Street Journal has a piece that bemoans the lack of increase in workers hired at General Motors at a much lower wage, per recent concessions agreed […]

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    I applaud the president for trying to impose some new and renewed standards to try to make sure that what happened on Wall Street doesn’t happen again. But, we are about to miss an opportunity–perhaps a missed opportunity that will haunt us for years to come–to change the debate about our economy and the […]

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   A few days ago, I wrote about the coming crisis of retirement that could last for decades. Here’s another example: And even as its pension fund faces this giant bulge in payouts, G.M. is not putting any new money in — the company is not required to make any contributions to the fund until […]

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   As I noted yesterday in connection with the bankruptcy of General Motors, I am in favor of spending money on trying to save peoples’ jobs–we are talking about the survival of communities and the lives of thousands of people. But, having now spent the morning reading various media reports about the GM bankruptcy, it’s […]

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   I suppose some of us may be on the wrong side of this or perhaps weird…or maybe un-American…because we think that, hey, it isn’t a bad thing to spend taxpayer money on saving jobs and communities. If you gave me the choice, I’d be pretty damn proud to know that my money is going […]

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   It is curious, if not maddening, to observe the unwillingness of our economic and political leaders to admit that the bankruptcy of General Motors is a verdict on a much broader failure of the economic vision of the country. Sure, the incompetence of GM management, over a long period of time, is stunning. But, […]

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   My obvious failure to post in the morning was not due to laziness or sleeping late (oh, that would be nice). Rather, it was a hectic morning but, here I am, back at my post and…I will be on Larry Kudlow’s show tonight (7 Eastern time) to talk about the bankruptcy deal reached between […]

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   It is endlessly fascinating and grotesque at the same time (I have these combined feelings a lot these days–maybe I need professional help) to read media reports about the cuts that the UAW is agreeing to. Here’s another example in The New York Times from today: Ford Motor said Wednesday that its new agreement […]

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