The LuLac Edition #640, Nov. 15th, 2008
PHOTO INDEX: STATE REPRESENTATIVE PHYLLIS MUNDY AND THE "K" CAR.
AUTO BAILOUT?
I'm really getting somewhat tired about private industry asking for a cash bailout from the government. I mean where are we getting this money from? Are we just printing it? Will some foreign country call in our loans one of these days and we'll have nothing to pay it back? The auto industry execs are saying that America needs the Big Three to survive economically. They want oney from the government but have been reluctant to say how they are going to use the money. No prototypes for energy efficient vehicles and no plan. They complain that union wages and benefits make up for a major cost of a car and that's why they can't be competitive. Couldn't they use that same union labor to make different types of cars? Blaming high labor costs is the oldest business trick in the book. Give the union boys a job and they'll do it. Bt for heaven's sake, be creative. When Lee Iaccoca got his government bailout for Chyrsler in the eighties, he had a plan. Make "K" cars and mini vans. It was an alternative to what everyone else was doing. He got his money because he had a blueprint and was committed to selling that to the American consumer. Until the overpaid and under thinking auto executives come up with something the same, we should say no to an auto bailout.
MUNDY HELPS
State Representaive Phyllis Mundy sent this along regarding auto efficiency and state government. I'm writing to inform you that if you purchased within the past six months or plan to purchase a fuel-efficient electric hybrid vehicle, you could be eligible for a $500 rebate through the state's Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant Program. One by one, the consumers who buy hybrid vehicles help to reduce pollution and limit our dependence on foreign oil. I believe this effort deserves to be rewarded. To find out what vehicles are eligible for a rebate under the program, visit www.depweb.state.pa.us, keyword: Hybrid Vehicle Rebates. Rebate forms, guidance and instructions are also available by calling (866) 294-3854 or (717) 214-3492.
AUDIT SAYS.....
A state audit gave more bad news to Luzerne County taxpayers this week. It appears Luzerne County will have to pay more than $313,738, likely hundreds of thousands of dollars more, concerning psychological evaluations performed by a judge’s brother-in-law. The audit, performed by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, says $836,636 in state funding paid for the evaluations is in jeopardy because the county probation department’s one-page purchase of service agreement with Frank Vita was not approved by county commissioners as required by state regulations.“The purchase-of-service agreements were not competitively procured and were awarded to the brother-in-law of the president judge. At a minimum, this presents the appearance of a conflict of interest,” the audit says. Vita is the brother-in-law of county Court of Common Pleas Senior Judge Mike Conahan, who was formerly president judge. The audit also says because the county “inappropriately” sought reimbursement for 80 percent of its cost, rather than the state’s allowable 50 percent. And according to a report in the Times Leader, Vita also copied and pasted several of the reports which called into question the validity of the examinations and compromised at least 40% of them.
posted by David Yonki @ 2:38 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I did not believe it was governments place to bail out Chrysler all those years ago, but as you say Lee Iaccoca showed a plan, an idea to do something different and people bought those vehicles. For a time it worked. For many years, going back to the seventies, American Auto makers have refused to make practical cars instead of gas guzzling ego machines. I wouldnt want a Hummer if I could afford one. The Japanese taught us how to make better cars at better prices. They too now make vehicles with astronomical price tags and too many gadgets. How did our economy get so dependent on buying a new car every year? Load em up with options, make surface efforts at fuel effiency and this is where it all winds up. I got almost two hundred thousand miles out of my last car and am well over 100,000 on this one and I defy you to tell by appearance or ride that its 7 years old! Both were American made by the way. People should have what they want if they can afford it, there have always been Rolls Royces for the aristocrats, but what of a fuel efficient auto that has a model change every two or three years? Time to work out the problems and make succeeding models better. We bail them out and next thing we know they go back to tail fins and fender skirts! Next will we bail out bowling alleys and miniature golf courses? How about the neighborhood bakery or corner drugstore? Most of the creativity came from the little guy who took a chance. Have we completely run him off? If Walmart gets into trouble, will we bail them out too?Come on. I'm with you on this one.
Taylor Jack
Perhaps those most likely to be hurt by the auto industry going under should be a part of the solution.
Management, labor, and pensioner /retirees should each step up and give what they need to keep the company afloat.
Perhaps they can adopt/adapt the WalMart model. Say what you will they hammer their vendors for lower pricing and I know that any start up would kill to be a WalMart vendor.
In the case of the auto-makers' bailout, it's a relief to have a national issue that is so straightforward: American cars tend to break down and fall apart therefore people have stopped buying them. If GM and Ford don't want to go out of business, they should start making decent cars. To bail them out would be to reward their terrible manufacturing standards.
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