Friday, December 12, 2008
Got money?
Something that I have been thinking about. Who should be laid off?
If you were in charge, who would be the person that you pick to lose their job? Is it the person who has a family and has to take a lot of days off? Is is the person who uses more sick days? Should it be the younger person who should have no problem finding a job and has no kids be laid off? What about the company man that might have savings or is just about to make it to the pension? Are there some that deserve to keep their jobs more than others?
I don't even know if all bosses think about that. I guess on some level they might but then again I think most bosses are just covering their own asses.
This kind of thing was coming to mind when I was reading about the buyout that the car makers want from the government. The main argument for the "donation" is that it will save jobs. Yeah. I believe that. Maybe save a CEO or two.
What they should do is use that money for retraining. Give out low or no interest loans to people who want to go back to school to learn a new job skill. Help pay for college. Maybe they should help some people open some small businesses? Give a loan for that.
But they won't. Because average people don't have lobbyists. Average people foot the bill. Average people end up taking it up the ass while the rich get richer.
The idea of giving money to car companies that got buttfucked by the economy because they didn't plan ahead just pisses me off. Why the hell didn't they make more fuel efficient cars? Why didn't they make better cars? Why did they spend assloads of money fighting fuel, emission, and safety standards instead of making a better cars? They spent money advertising about the bigger engines, the faster speeds, the power of the vehicles but very little a cheap, safe, dependable, and just plain good car. Well, fuck them. I don't want the autoworkers to lose jobs but for the last 30-40 years the car companies have ignored or fought the signs of change. If they are that stupid then they should go. Change or die. That is an axiom of business.
But what do I know? I am not the President of a company. I am not a boss. I am not an economist. I am just a person who knows what it is like to have an empty pocket. I am just someone who knows what it's like when you have to save your money and pinch pennies. Shit. What do I know right? Laterzzz...
Labels: government, jobs, loan, money
