The Senate in it’s wisdon (and in it’s normal partisian gridlock) voted against the 19 Billion dollar bailout plan for the American auto industry. Apparently the deal breaker as reported in the N.Y. Times was “Republican demands for steep cuts in pay and benefits by the United Automobile Workers union in 2009. “

Apparently they feel that the financial problems the auto makers have has nothing to do with the fact the whole economy is failing and no one is willing to buy a new car right now. Apparently giving paychecks to auto workers is what crippled the industry.

I find it interesting that there was no request for executives to take pay cuts just as there was no such request when the Congress approved SEVEN HUNDRED BILLION dollars for the Wall Street bailout. (I wonder if it is the basic wage earners fault that all the banks are failing? Maybe we should all take pay cuts to solve this problem ya’ think?) Oh the CEO’s of the “Big Three” auto makers offered to work for $1 a year. But my guess is there are hundreds of other executives (who’s job it is to make their companies viable and competative by the way) that are still getting paid in the high 6 figures.

The Senate seems to be under the mistaken impression that we addressed here and has been written about widely, that the UAW members are grossly overpaid. There is a 70+ dollar per hour number that keeps coming up in conservative blogs and in the accurate news as well. The fact is the average auto worker makes around $28-$30 an hour, or about $60,000 a year, but the medical benefits they have negotiated for over the years do bring the hourly cost up to 70+ dollars.

Here is a picture (for the senators who don’t seem to understand words or numbers). It pretty much tells the story of why our auto industry can’t compete with the foreign automobile companies. It is due in large part to the amazingly high cost of health care in this country.

This is money the insurance companies make by the way, not money that is actually received by the medical professional for the most part.

It used to be that doctors were one of the highest paid professional groups in this country. Now that insurance companies decide what they will pay for services fewer and fewer people are entering the field.

I don’t remember the Senate asking any insurance company execs to take pay cuts before they started giving away our 700 billion. In fact the one story I remember best (translate as “Sticks in my CRAW”) is the AIG insurance company executives who used their first bailout check a to have a $400,000.00  party.

 

1 Comment »

1. Great Blog post. I am going to bookmark and read more often. I love the Blog template

   Comment by Stacey Derbinshire — December 12, 2008 @ 6:46 am

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