What’s Wrong With GM?

If you own a GM product or you have seen the 2009 new models, you might scratch your head and ask what anyone could see wrong with GM cars and trucks.  Some may be quick to say, “oh, they do not have any fuel efficient cars or trucks, no hybrids, and all they make are [...]

Should Ron Gettelfinger Be Next?

If the world was fair and full on honest and noble people, Ron Gettelfinger, President of the UAW, would step forward and resign.  Like Rick Wagoner, Gettelfinger’s resignation would not symbolize “his” failure but rather the long history of distructive “win-lose” UAW-Big Three negotiations.  In the end, all parties (union, management, bond holders, and dealers) [...]

Rick Wagoner Has Gone

Rick Wagoner, CEO of General Motors, has done the honorable act and resigned as chairman of General Motors.  He has withstood pressure and negotiated tirelessly until he could present his best plan to the Obama Administration in pursuit of bail out bridge loans.  It appears he has been successful and in good Japanese style, he [...]

Neo-G-20

President Barack Obama heads off this week to the G-20 meeting in London.  Following 8 years of George W Bush empty rhetoric and open disdain for the other partners, President Obama should come as a promising relief.  First, Obama will listen before speaking and will stop short of insulting when firm words are needed.  Second, [...]

Are We There Yet

The Obama Presidency is about 60 days old and the question this post asks, “are we there yet?  Where you might ask?  Well of course, have we regained the center, or are we on a fast bus to the left? Sixty days is a relatively short time for measuring accomplishments.  Never the less, the right [...]

Healthcare Reform

President Obama has promised that a center piece of his Administration will be the reform of our health care system and the inclusion of millions of people currently uninsured.  The President speaks of this quest as more a moral or ethical responsibility and see the exclusion of 40 million citizens as a stain on America’s [...]

Reads Fast, Talks Slow

President Obama gave another “made for TV” news conference last evening.  He stuck  to his proven formula of reading from a teleprompter in dynamically making his main points.  Obama is so good at that that he looks like he is speaking to anyone listening.  Following the prepared remarks, he took questions and then we witnessed [...]

Budget Debate

It is amazing when the Dow jumps a lot, like yesterday, how discussion of the Obama stimulus plan dies down to un-audible levels.  The sages of Wall Street claim the market was responding to the President’s announcement of how the Administration would deal with toxic assets.  Yea right. It certainly would be good news if [...]

Incentive Pay

Any competent public relations firm would be counseling senior executives of  large financial services firms (and especially those that received TARP funds) that they are in a no win game. ”Keep quiet, speak of the American Way, and don’t do interviews”.  The game they speak of is the rhetoric around the size of the executives’ remuneration [...]

One Dollar A Year

The AIG notoriety is spurring a lot of pure nonsense talk that it would be laughable if it were not so serious.  The underlying issues, that is what went wrong to get AIG to its failed state, are not the subject.  Rather it is the piling on over the bonus payments made.  This has degenerated [...]