Our Country's Financial Woes

Even though the election is over, there is so much going on right now with this country from a financial standpoint. I had to comment on the latest development--this Big 3 Bailout.

Okay, first of all, what GM, Ford, and Chrysler are asking for is not a "bailout." They are asking for a loan from the federal government. A loan implies repayment, unlike the financial system bailout. There are actual terms of repayment being discussed and the auto companies are very open to speaking about.

Next, I have to get this off my chest. On principle, I am totally against this sort of government assistance for any business. In general, I think if businesses are badly run, they should fail. And I'll be the first to say, the Big 3 have been some of the worst run businesses in this country for a very long time. And they have themselves to blame for that--for a long time, they put out crappy product that didn't appeal to buyers, yet still had the arrogance to think that they deserved to continue to have total market domination. Sorry, that's not how it works. Also, the UAW bears a HUGE portion of the blame for this. For many years as well, they've refused to give wage and benefits concessions, even as market conditions demanded it. They've continued to think that people who put bolts in holes all day deserve to make $30 an hour. Well, I'm sorry, I have a law degree, and I don't make $30 an hour. The auto industry created a false standard of living for a great many people in this country who have no education (i.e. line workers) for a long time. Now, the shit is hitting the fan. And I say this as the step-daughter, granddaughter, and daughter-in-law of UAW member GM workers. But something has to give.

Okay, in light of what I just said, it pains me to say that the government MUST give these bridge loans to the Big 3. Some are advocating that they go into bankruptcy. That would be an absolute disaster. Who the hell would buy a vehicle from a company in bankruptcy? I predict that if the Big 3 went into bankruptcy, any one of them, their sales would fall to at least half of what it is now, which are already in the toilet due to the economy.

Many Republican Senators are refusing to give the Big 3 the money. What they don't understand are the steps the Big 3 have actually taken recently to return to profitability. I know from speaking with my step father and others all the changes that have made in these plants. These new plants are efficient. What 3,000 people used to do, 300 now do. And I have personal experience with the fact that GM (I can't personally speak to Ford or Chrysler) is putting out some damn good product now. I LOVE my Saturn Aura. It's a fantastic car. Also, the Chevy Malibu is THE BEST mid-size sedan right now, beating all that Japanese crap that people think is so great.

Another thing these Senators, and people in other parts of the country, don't understand is that if the Big 3 go away, 3 MILLION jobs would be immediately lost, many right here in Michigan. Our unemployment rate is already 9.3%, 3 points higher than national average. If those 3 million jobs are lost, that unemployment rate could be double that. Those are depression level numbers. Also, 1 in 10 jobs in the entire nation are linked to the auto industry. Bye bye millions more jobs. Plus all the small businesses that would die in the area of these plants because the auto workers are gone, and all the tax revenue gone from cities that have plants in them. Holy crap, the idea is frightening.

As I said, saying these things go against my strongly held beliefs that the government should stay the hell out of these matters. But I do not want literally two-thirds of the people I know to lose their jobs, and I want my family members pensions to be secure. So these bridge loans MUST happen for the good of the Mid-West and the country as a whole.

Not Looking Forward to Winter

So, Monday morning was an absolute traffic debacle. And no one saw it coming. This leaves me absolutely dreading the winter driving months.

I had to work on Monday morning, so I got up at my usual time of 7 and I leave the house at 8:45 to get to my 10 o'clock dep in plenty of time (I like to have plenty of time in the morning, plus feel guilty about sleeping much later than that during the week). I get up, look out the window, and say, "Oh crap." There was about an inch or two of snow on the ground. This did not bode well. Brian hears me (having for once gotten up and going before me, as he was getting ready to be a big bad hunter) and says, "Oh the roads are fine." The subdivision roads looked okay, so I was hoping he was right. I turn on the news and immediately am hit with the news that the road crews were NOT out with salt, because the snow fall was unexpected, so the roads were NOT fine, in fact, they were absolutely terrible. The Channel 4 traffic girl tells me to leave 2 to 3 times my normal travel time to make it to my destination. So, I eat breakfast as fast as I can, barely shower and leave at 8 am.

As I'm driving down Hacker Road, things seems fine, so, I again am hoping the weather people are totally overreacting. I get on the highway and within 2 miles am at a dead stop. Not because the roads are bad, mind you. The road conditions were FINE. I turned on my XM Detroit traffic and listen to the reports. Apparently, the problem was that the bridges, overpasses and highway ramps were totally frozen, causing all sorts of accidents and closures and back ups. So, I proceed to drive all the way to Southfield at an average speed of about 25 miles an hour. It totally sucked, but at least I didn't feel like my life was in danger. It was just sloooooow. I finally made it to my destination after an hour and 40 minutes. That is an hour longer than usual.

That nightmare has made me very fearful of this winter driving season, especially in light of the fact that the road crews are cutting way back this year on manpower and salt usage for budgetary reasons. It was all over the news tonight. So, this winter, I will be prepared to make my hour and 40 minute trek to Southfield on a regular basis. Thanks Old Man Winter.

Socialism...Beginning in January

So, I need not post very long, but suffice it to say that I am extremely disappointed, but not surprised, over last night's election. Basically, my feelings are that President Obama will take this country in the WRONG direction--higher taxes, more government dependence, and sitting down and appeasing terrorists and crazies. Here is a short rundown of my basic fears.

1) Obama wants to sit down with the president of Iran and talk with him. That crazy bastard wants to blow us up. He is so nuts, he denies the Holocaust and thinks we are Zionist sympathizers. Sitting down with him is like the Allies appeasing Hitler before World War II. That turned out well.

2) Raising taxes. People think, oh a social safety net is great--it's like Europe, nobody is poor. Well, I've been to Europe, and it's a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. EVERYONE is mildly poor, because everyone pays 50% taxes to subsidize people who choose jobs that make next to nothing. There is no spirit that if you work hard you can get ahead, so people don't bother. Well, no thanks. Brian and I worked hard to get where we are, had $80,000 of student loans between the two of us. We chose to do that. To hell with everybody else who didn't make that choice, and then whines about it. I am ready to start stuffing our mattresses with money to keep it out of the government's hands.

3) Obama wants to make it nearly impossible for law abiding people to buy a weapon, and wants to put a 500% tax on ammunition. Goodbye 2nd Amendment. What those crazy anti-gun people don't realize that if you outlaw guns, the only people who will have guns are outlaws. Screw that. Brian is going to stockpile some weapons, and ammo. Watch out coming to our house.

So, there is the short version of my thoughts. I am scared. Very scared that my way of life is going to get flushed down the toilet.

Fall is Here

I haven't had a chance to blog in 2 weeks, I've been so busy. We went out of town twice (to Notre Dame for a football game, and then to Mt. Pleasant for a football game), I've been working like mad, and so has Brian, and on days we were actually home, we've had many parties and gatherings to attend. The past month or so has been busier than this summer, which is unusual. All of a sudden, it's nearly Halloween, and I find I've done no decorating or anything. At least I managed to get some candy for Friday.

Suddenly, overnight, it's become fall. I was on the couch a few days ago, and looked out to picture window behind me, and suddenly realized that enough leaves had fallen that I could see the house behind us (which is normally camouflaged by woods and leaves). There is some color left, but not much. Brian put away the patio set for the year, and the birds are leaving in droves. Pretty soon, there will be enough bare woods behind us that Brian will be able to see his deer friends any time he wants (every time he is gone now, one of his first questions to me is, "Did you see our friends today?"). Also, now its bow season, and probably half the things out of his mouth involve hunting or wanting to go hunting.

Seriously, the man is obsessed. He reminds me of that "Friends" episode where Monica walked in on Chandler watching porn and he quickly turned the channel to Shark Week, but she could tell what he had been doing, so she thought he was turned on by sharks. But for Brian, it's deer porn. He will lay in bed for hours on Saturday and Sunday and watch the Man Channel (Maximum Adventure--its on our DirecTV). They play nothing but shows that show people going after the big bucks or various other critters. He actually sent me a picture today via email of a big buck from Iowa, a 28 pointer, which admittedly is huge, but, honestly, like I care. Hunting makes him happy, so its all good with me, but seriously, I do not want to know how to gut a deer. I understand it must be done, and I appreciate that, but quit telling me how long it takes, what to do with certain body parts, etc. Enough already!

So, that's been my fall so far. Missing the leaves change and hearing about nothing but bows, guns, and guts. And now to me, it feels so cold. Brian is currently in Bismarck, North Dakota, and could not be any happier that it was 11 degrees there this morning. And I was complaining about 30. Yikes. I hope that is not on the way here any time soon.

Things That Make Me Happy

In light of the fact that I've been frustrated lately with things that are out of my control (i.e. family stuff, elections, the stupidity of other people), I've decided to focus on the positive. Brian and I have a really great life in many ways, so here is a list of things that make me happy.

1) Miss A, frequent reader extraordinaire, having her baby late Saturday afternoon. The Hunt family welcomed Olivia May at 5:30 Saturday afternoon. She was 8 pounds 13 oz, 22 inches long, and, from what I hear, is doing great. I spoke to A Saturday night and she sounded great (for having just had an almost 9 pound baby come out of her body). I can't wait to meet her, and she is very lucky, having been born to wonderful people who will be fantastic parents.

2) Nice massages. I had one yesterday and the lady beat the hell out of me. I am sore today, but in a good way. She worked on my neck, shoulders, and upper back a lot, as that is where I carry my stress and worries (see above statement about being frustrated). I have decided to have a massage every couple months to help deal with stress. More evidence is mounting that regular massages promote health and well being. I'm all for that.

3) My cat. I know that may sound silly to those of you who aren't pet people, or cat people, but Jack (Jackylls, as Brian and I have dubbed him) is such a sweet boy (except when he's biting Brian's ankles). Sunday morning when I was managing to sleep in a bit, he clearly wanted me to get up. He climbed all over me and stuck his cold, wet nose all over my face and nudged me like, "Get up, get up! You're supposed to be up!" I love it when he does that, and he breathes on me and almost purrs and is so happy. He's a good boy.

4) Going to Central/Western weekend up in Mount Pleasant this weekend. My aunt and uncle invited Brian and I awhile back. They are Central alums, I am a Western Alum, and Brian is along for the ride. Also, we're seeing Ron White at Soaring Eagle casino Friday, so Brian and I can finally make up for that awful night in February where we went to East Lansing to see Ron White and realized we went on the wrong day. The show had been the night before and we wasted 90 bucks. So Friday we will be vindicated! He better be funny and the game better be good. It would purely be a bonus if we won money at the casino!

Soooo Busy Lately

So, I've not had a chance to blog in depth lately, and I still don't but thought I'd say I haven't dropped off the face of the planet. I have been so busy with work, my part time has moved to full time and then some. Which is nice, because I like money (I get paid by the hour), but I've barely had a chance to sleep, breathe, or exercise in a week and half. I'm just doing deposition after deposition, and working on writing projects too! I'm pretty tired. I'm hoping that this weekend, when Brian is gone hunting, I can just relax on my own, watch a movie, and hopefully go see J&C and little baby O. I haven't seen them since we visited in the hospital and I desperately want to!

The other cool thing that happened was that last weekend we went to a football game in Notre Dame. It was tremendous fun. We went down late on Friday, and made it to my friend K-Lo's (great law school buddy, was in our wedding) at about 10 pm. Got up the next morning and went to the game with K-Lo's great friends KMu and PMu, whom I met last summer working in South Bend. They are awesome. We had a great time, and the 5 of us went out to dinner Saturday, and Brian, K-Lo and PMu ate more sushi than I could imagine 3 people eating. KMu and I skipped that, neither of us cares to eat raw fish. We ate at K-Lo's favorite place, which is this Korean hole in the wall that also does sushi. By the time we left, we all smelled of fish and Kimchee (Korean sauerkraut). But the food was good. On Sunday, we all had breakfast at K-Lo's and laughs were had by all. Then we came home and I worked more. Busy!

So that's why I haven't posted in over a week! Now, I'm waiting for next weekend, which is the Central Western game up in Mt. Pleasant with my aunt and uncle and also we are still waiting for my friend and reader A to have her baby! Come on baby H! It's time to come out!

Babies Babies Everywhere!

So, we are in the middle of a baby boom! Several of our friends are pregnant or are having babies shortly. And one has already arrived!

Our very good friends Jeff and Candace had baby Oliver very early on Thursday morning. He was 9 lbs 9 oz and was 22 inches long (yes, you read that correctly). Brian and I went to visit the hospital Friday and everyone was doing well (well, Candace was doing about as well as she could be doing, considering she gave birth the normal way to a baby that large!). Jeff and Candace are both clearly in love with their baby boy. Oliver is the first boy born on Candace's side of the family in 45 years, so the Larson side of the family is extra thrilled!

Next, my friend and frequent reader April is due to pop in a week with her baby girl. She and her hubby are keeping the name secret, but on her own blog she has given clues as to the name. I vote for Samantha or Wendy, but the name that seems to have the most votes is Olivia, which is a beautiful name and sounds great with their last name, Hunt (and if that is the name, I have to admit I'm relieved because it's not one Brian and I had picked for our future kids!). The person who wins the name game gets one of the first phone calls when the baby comes. I'd love a phone call Miss A!

Finally, my good friend Ruth who lives in San Jose has told me that she is pregnant with her second baby. She is due in March and she and her hubby have wanted to get pregnant again for awhile, so I'm so happy for Ruth and Jon! Their little boy Nathan will be 4 in January and I'm sure he'll be a great big brother!

Congrats to all!