As always, I obediently watch the last of the Presidential debates. If you fell off a turnip truck and watched the debate, you would have thought Mitt Romney was the President and Barack Obama was the challenger. Obama came out insulting, condescending, and very aggressive. Romney came out firm, focused and Presidential. As we view the most current polls, Romney is up and holding on to the momentum that manifested after the first Presidential debate. Obama seemed desperate and Romney did not fall into the traps Obama tried to set for him. In my opinion, that was incredibly smart, most candidates might not have been able to keep out of a good argument. Libya is a national disaster, perpetuated by a Obama administration cover-up that Darrell Issa and Mike Rodgers of the Congressional oversight committee, will persue this tragedy until they get satisfaction. So, in essence, Romney did not have to spotlight Libya. I realize many conservative Americans wanted Romney to stomp on Obama pertaining to Benghazi, Libya. However, Romney is smarter than that, he knows his dedicated base will vote for him. He was speaking to the undecideds, independents and female base. Obama wanted to paint Romney as a war monger, Romney isn't a war monger, nor does he want to send Americans into harms' way. Ironically, the President who received a Nobel Peace Prize, ramped up the two wars he inherited, bombed Libya and lobbed drones into Pakistan and Yemen. I believe Obama personally doesn't like Romney. Romney is everything Obama is not. Romney is successful, self made, professional and is the ideal spiritual man. Obama is a product of socialistic mentoring and victimization. He has a chip on his shoulder with America. His Father and Grandfather were strong opponents of Colonialism. Obama blames the USA for the troubles of the world. If you looked at Obama when Romney was speaking last night, Obama was executing the Darth Vader death stare. Obama interrupted Romney many, many times. Obama said Romney would have let Detroit auto makers die and we would be purchasing Chinese cars. Please read the re posted Op-Ed by Mitt Romney in the New York Times on November 18,2008 to re-butt what Obama said last night. Did Obama know the bankruptcy laws available to Detroit? That would have the US taxpayers billions of dollars that we will never be paid back.
On the Sequestration issue, Obama said it was Congress that implemented this bill. However, President Obama signed the bill into law! Wouldn't we consider that a bold faced lie? He didn't have to sign it. The comments made by President Obama about the Navy were insulting and condescending. This will definitely hurt Obama with the remaining undecided voters, independents and Women. My Wife said she was offended the way Obama acted. Today, Gallup reported Romney was up by 5 points. Last night, Romney reassured the citizens of America that he is a viable and capable alternative to Obama. The economy is and will be the paramount topic and talking points for the next two weeks leading up to election day. Obama will be hard pressed to defend his economic record:
23 million unemployed
47 million of food stamps
Over 8% unemployment for 43 months
U6 unemployment at 14.7% (BLS)
3 Credit downgrades
GDP at 1.3%
Middle East in turmoil
Trade deficit with China: January 2012-August 2012 - $203,121.5 billion
(Last night, Obama said that he had equalized the trade with China)
http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html
The Republicans and Conservatives are invigorated and enthusiastic this election, because many of us believe this is the most important election of our lifetime. On November 6th, get out there and vote. If possible, help your neighbor and friends get to the polling station to vote. It is one of our most important civic duties. Romney/Ryan 2012!!!!
Let Detroit Go Bankrupt
By MITT ROMNEY
Published: November 18, 2008
Boston
Related
Times Topics: Automotive Industry Crisis | Mitt Romney
IF General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won’t go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed.
Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself. With it, the automakers will stay the course — the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check.
I love cars, American cars. I was born in Detroit, the son of an auto chief executive. In 1954, my dad, George Romney, was tapped to run American Motors when its president suddenly died. The company itself was on life support — banks were threatening to deal it a death blow. The stock collapsed. I watched Dad work to turn the company around — and years later at business school, they were still talking about it. From the lessons of that turnaround, and from my own experiences, I have several prescriptions for Detroit’s automakers.
First, their huge disadvantage in costs relative to foreign brands must be eliminated. That means new labor agreements to align pay and benefits to match those of workers at competitors like BMW, Honda, Nissan and Toyota. Furthermore, retiree benefits must be reduced so that the total burden per auto for domestic makers is not higher than that of foreign producers.
That extra burden is estimated to be more than $2,000 per car. Think what that means: Ford, for example, needs to cut $2,000 worth of features and quality out of its Taurus to compete with Toyota’s Avalon. Of course the Avalon feels like a better product — it has $2,000 more put into it. Considering this disadvantage, Detroit has done a remarkable job of designing and engineering its cars. But if this cost penalty persists, any bailout will only delay the inevitable.
Second, management as is must go. New faces should be recruited from unrelated industries — from companies widely respected for excellence in marketing, innovation, creativity and labor relations.
The new management must work with labor leaders to see that the enmity between labor and management comes to an end. This division is a holdover from the early years of the last century, when unions brought workers job security and better wages and benefits. But as Walter Reuther, the former head of the United Automobile Workers, said to my father, “Getting more and more pay for less and less work is a dead-end street.”
You don’t have to look far for industries with unions that went down that road. Companies in the 21st century cannot perpetuate the destructive labor relations of the 20th. This will mean a new direction for the U.A.W., profit sharing or stock grants to all employees and a change in Big Three management culture.
The need for collaboration will mean accepting sanity in salaries and perks. At American Motors, my dad cut his pay and that of his executive team, he bought stock in the company, and he went out to factories to talk to workers directly. Get rid of the planes, the executive dining rooms — all the symbols that breed resentment among the hundreds of thousands who will also be sacrificing to keep the companies afloat.
Investments must be made for the future. No more focus on quarterly earnings or the kind of short-term stock appreciation that means quick riches for executives with options. Manage with an eye on cash flow, balance sheets and long-term appreciation. Invest in truly competitive products and innovative technologies — especially fuel-saving designs — that may not arrive for years. Starving research and development is like eating the seed corn.
Just as important to the future of American carmakers is the sales force. When sales are down, you don’t want to lose the only people who can get them to grow. So don’t fire the best dealers, and don’t crush them with new financial or performance demands they can’t meet.
It is not wrong to ask for government help, but the automakers should come up with a win-win proposition. I believe the federal government should invest substantially more in basic research — on new energy sources, fuel-economy technology, materials science and the like — that will ultimately benefit the automotive industry, along with many others. I believe Washington should raise energy research spending to $20 billion a year, from the $4 billion that is spent today. The research could be done at universities, at research labs and even through public-private collaboration. The federal government should also rectify the imbedded tax penalties that favor foreign carmakers.
But don’t ask Washington to give shareholders and bondholders a free pass — they bet on management and they lost.
The American auto industry is vital to our national interest as an employer and as a hub for manufacturing. A managed bankruptcy may be the only path to the fundamental restructuring the industry needs. It would permit the companies to shed excess labor, pension and real estate costs. The federal government should provide guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing and assure car buyers that their warranties are not at risk.
In a managed bankruptcy, the federal government would propel newly competitive and viable automakers, rather than seal their fate with a bailout check.
A version of this op-ed appeared in print on November 19, 2008, on page A35 of the New York edition with the headline: Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.
3rd Presidential Debate Highlights:
The Second Amendment and Barack Hussein Obama:
- Obama appointed 2 anti gun Supreme Court justices
- Obama wants to re-impose the failed and discredited Clinton gun ban on millions of common rifles, pistols and shotguns.
- Obama's State Department reversed US policy and participated in negotiations on a UN anti-gun treaty.
- Obama voted to allow reckless lawsuits designed to bankrupt the firearms industry.
- Obama voted to ban almost all rifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sport shooting.
- Obama voted for a ban on standard-capacity magazines.
- Obama voted to uphold criminal prosecutions of people who use firearms in self-defense.
- Obama endorsed a complete ban on handgun ownership.
- Obama opposed all Right-to-Carry laws.
- Obama was a member of the Board of Directors of the Joyce Foundation, the leading source of funds for anti-gun organizations and "research."
If you are a law abiding citizen who owns firearms, this should be a determining factor in your choice for President. Do not allow the government
to take away your Constitutional rights.
"An armed man is a citizen, a disarmed man is a subject."
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