Cont: The Biden Presidency (4)

Fast Eddie B said:
I just watched coverage of President Biden supporting the UAW union strikers.

In general, I’m in favor of unions. But it’s not a simple as unions=good; corporations=bad. In this case, the union demands seem large enough to hurt the Big 3 car manufacturers. As such, I don’t think it’s wise for the president to take what can be painted as an anti-business position. Maybe there’s a good reason prior presidents have tried to not take sides in so obvious a way.
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As has been said above the automotive companies have more than enough profits to give those that actually make their cars a proper wage. Also if the boardrooms were really worried about profitability they could cut their own pay forst, seeing as it's far in excess of work done, and also stop engaging in a bonus culture which prioritises short-termist shareprice pumping over long term company health.
 
ZiprHead said:
Ford has accepted the terms.

Mary Barra of GM said she only makes two million a year. The rest is performance bonuses. Whose performance???
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C-Suite bonuses come in two forms a) guaranteed, where it would take exceptional mismanagement/criminality to lose, i.e. they're actually pay and not really bonuses or b) based on share prices or reported profits at a set (fairly close) date or over a near reporting quarter. These latter bonuses are bad for businesses as they reward risky short-termist plans which don't build company value in the medium or long term.

Frankly, at that level, there should be no such thing as bonuses as a) the execs are paid more than enough in base salary and b) it's well documented that bonuses don't affect performance for the better at that level.
 
I have to wonder how much Biden's more open support for the UAW is in part a response to how much flack he took (rightly so) for screwing the railway unions earlier in his administration.

Just speculation, but it's certainly a refreshing change of tone from this administration and the party generally to be more willing to show more than tepid enthusiasm for organized labor actions.
 
Mike! said:
My best friends brother-in-law works for GM (Higher end line worker) and he's told him GM won't make a car or truck they can't make at least a 300% profit on.
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I have no idea what metric he might be referring to, but a quick Google search shows far smaller profit margins.

“The current operating profit margin for General Motors as of June 30, 2023 is 7.16%”.
 
This is exactly what Biden (and most Democrats in office tbh) should be doing more of. Go out and show people that they give more of a **** about their problems than about not upsetting business interests.
 
Beelzebuddy said:
This is exactly what Biden (and most Democrats in office tbh) should be doing more of. Go out and show people that they give more of a **** about their problems than about not upsetting business interests.
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It's a real testament to how far the Democratic party has strayed from the path that this kind of thing is a noteworthy and radical departure from the norm.
 
Beelzebuddy said:
This is exactly what Biden (and most Democrats in office tbh) should be doing more of. Go out and show people that they give more of a **** about their problems than about not upsetting business interests.
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None of that matters. It's Biden's shoes that matter...


It's so crazy how desperate Republicans are to distract from Biden's successes and message.
 
Fast Eddie B said:
I have no idea what metric he might be referring to, but a quick Google search shows far smaller profit margins.

“The current operating profit margin for General Motors as of June 30, 2023 is 7.16%”.
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I would venture that sticker at the dealership is probably 3x more than the DL and DM cost to build a truck for GM. Its almost certainly 2x or more. The 7% is profit after capital expenditures, R&D, advertisement, executive pay, overheads etc.
 
The Great Zaganza said:
talking about how great a Democrat is makes for bad TV both in right-wing and real media.
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I lead the Michigan AFL-CIO. Trump has never shown up for union workers. | Opinion

When Donald Trump’s private jet touches down in Michigan tonight, working people know what to expect from the former president. Underneath his multimillionaire-class status and luxurious private estates, his $100,000 plated Bedminster dinners and Mar-a-Lago golden galas, he’ll claim to lend a hand to working people. It’s the same lie he told us in 2016, when he first ran for president.

But there’s a critical difference now: Trump has a record. And that record was nothing short of catastrophic for workers, highlighting an open hostility especially to union families. He never cared about our jobs. Or our wages. Or our pensions and health care. Or even our safety. Trump just cared about making his rich buddies even richer at our expense.

Let’s be very clear: He doesn’t deserve the labor movement's support — or the support of any working-class person across this country — in 2024.
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Biden has driven historic investments in auto industry
Compare that to what we have seen over the past few years under President Joe Biden. The Biden Administration has driven historic investments in our auto industry, including a $7 billion investment in four new manufacturing sites across the state. President Biden has brought more than $5 billion in federal funding to rebuild our roads, bridges, and roadways, along with restoring our Great Lakes and securing clean water for millions across the state.

He’s made the crucial investment in upgrading the Soo locks — a critical entry point for commerce, agriculture, and military, where 7,000 vessels and 90 percent of our country’s iron ore moves through every single year.
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More details in the link.
 
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ZiprHead said:
I lead the Michigan AFL-CIO. Trump has never shown up for union workers. | Opinion





More details in the link.
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Trump was invited by a boss of a non-union shop to use the factory as a backdrop for a campaign rally. GlassDoor reviews are pretty negative, describing it as a dead-end job with bad management

The event will not, despite original reports to the contrary, have Trump speaking to striking union members. Instead, he will speak to nonunion workers at a nonunion parts manufacturer called Drake Enterprises, at the invitation of the company’s management.
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https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/09/trump-autoworkers-michigan-rally-uaw-strike.html

Biden showed up to support an active union picket line.

A stark difference.
 
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A small cheer for action to restore Net Neutrality!

Landmark net neutrality rules rescinded under former President Donald Trump could return under a new push by U.S. Federal Communications Commission chair Jessica Rosenworcel. The rules would reclassify broadband access as an essential service on par with other utilities like water or power.

“For everyone, everywhere, to enjoy the full benefits of the internet age, internet access should be more than just accessible and affordable,” Rosenworcel said at an event at the National Press Club. “The internet needs to be open.”

The proposed rules would return fixed and mobile broadband service to its status as an essential telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act. It would also prohibit internet service providers from blocking or throttling lawful Internet traffic and from selling “fast lanes” that prioritize some traffic over others in exchange for payment.

The move comes after Democrats took majority control of the five-member FCC on Monday for the first time since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021 when new FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez was sworn in.
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carlosy said:
Biden 2020: There Will Not Be Another Foot Of Wall Constructed In My Administration
Biden 2023: We need more wall



Biden's border U-turn
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Immigrants in foul border camps disappeared from the liberal public's imagination the moment Trump was not president anymore. Like Marty McFly, they simply faded out of existence.

I'm pretty jaded, but I had assumed some of the Trump era outrage about the horrendously inhumane border situation was genuine. Seeing this issue dropped like a lead balloon once Dems were back in charge has been a real bummer.
 
TurkeysGhost said:
Immigrants in foul border camps disappeared from the liberal public's imagination the moment Trump was not president anymore. Like Marty McFly, they simply faded out of existence.

I'm pretty jaded, but I had assumed some of the Trump era outrage about the horrendously inhumane border situation was genuine. Seeing this issue dropped like a lead balloon once Dems were back in charge has been a real bummer.
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I've described the conditions before like "Rain type 17" in Douglas Adams:

"Rain type 17 was a dirty blatter battering against his windscreen so hard that it didn’t make much odds whether he had his wipers on or off.

He tested this theory by turning them off briefly, but as it turned out the visibility did get quite a lot worse. It just failed to get better again when he turned them back on."

This is not a compliment to Democrats really. They might stop some of the worst policies, but they get stuck actually trying to improve the issue. It's a difficult one that throws practicality and principle into conflict. Much easier to argue for or against oversimplified proposals than to come up with a better one.
 
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