Buddhists call it Karma.
The Bible says "as you sow, so shall you reap"
The rest of us call it Justice. At least those of us who still understand Cause and Effect. Yes, I am talking about the end game of the Slow-Motion Suicide called the American Auto Industry, and their personal "Dr. Death" - the United Auto Workers union.
I think that the workers, who blindly believed that their union bosses would take care of their needs, are in for a big disappointment. For some of them, the death of these companies will mean the end of life-long careers. Working at the auto plants is a family tradition for an awful lot of very good people. And, many families are devastated by this tragic failure. But, these workers trusted a group of players who sold them out for personal power and political gain. And the car makers played along.
Let them fail.
The Big Three say they cannot make it in today's economic environment. That their legacy costs, which they failed to streamline, are too high. That their pension obligations, which they agreed to, are crippling them. That their labor costs, which they agreed to, are unreasonable. That too many workers, which they agreed to carry even if plants close, will be displaced if their companies go under. That foreign competition, which they lobby for protection from, places an unfair burden on them. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Enough!
Let them fail.
The Unions, with considerable help from sympathetic lawmakers (supported by campaign contributions funded by union dues) throughout the years, played bully-boy with the companies when times were fat. The companies, with short-sighted Boards of Directors, waged a retreat of incrementalism in conceding corporate power to their workforce and the unions. Both of them went to Congress and whined about the rest of the world throughout the years, to try and keep their scheme protected from outside influence and competition. Now, they are reaping what they have sown.
Let them fail.
In the news today, federal lawmakers are pleading with the President to slow down on his "reform" of General Motors. Fiat, mostly state-owned by Italy I might add, is having issues with Chrysler's financial structure.
Other than Bankruptcy Court, why is this even a Federal matter? Answer: Because "Oh-Barry" can't control the means of production in the US without this trial balloon succeeding. Once the auto makers are under control (and "Card Check" is passed), then the next large industries in line will become the targets of centralization.
He already has the banks.
Remember the 10 pillars of Communism? Here is a link for those who have forgotten. I posted about this right after the inauguration, predicting that we would see a return to the Statist policies that feeds the virulent Left in America today. I also posted a comparison to the Democrat Party platform here (along with a contrast to the Objectivist or Capitalist position as described by Ayn Rand). The D-Party platform is populist in approach, but their underlying means to achieve them bear a striking resemblance to the 10 Pillars. (No, I am not saying that the Democrat Party is really the Communist Party. They have different voter rolls. Same agenda at the top though. And "Brand R" is darned near as bad...)
We are not even six months into this administration and have seen proposals for nationalizing the Press, the auto makers, the banks, the Internet, and Health Care. That is nearly half of the economy, including supporting industries and businesses, and including the Defense Contractors who are at the mercy of the Fed already.
For review:
1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes. (See Kelo v. New London, and any regulation by other means which amounts to a taking without just compensation)
2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax. (Ah..Yup)
3. Abolition of all right of inheritance. (Let's start with the Inheritance, or "Death", Tax, and go from there, shall we?)
4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
(Special note on this one: Obama has proposed a policy to the legislators for figuring out a way to punish banks who allow US depositors to shelter their foreign capital from US taxation. The goal here is to confiscate through taxation that capital which has emigrated, even if the owner of the capital is still under US jurisdiction. Expect to see Seizure laws expanded to include people accused of "Domestic Terrorism"...).
5. Centralisation of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly. (Anybody who still believes that the Banks are independent is naive).
6. Centralisation of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State. (Communication is more important than transport, but both are heavily regulated by the Fed currently. Obama has also proposed to have legislation drafted allowing him to shut off the Internet in the US "in the event of Emergency").
7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan. (Nationalizing General Motors looks like it is Step One).
8. Equal liability of all to labour. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture. (See Obama Youth Corps and the text of H.R.1388. See also Card Check...the Unions LOVE this one).
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equal distribution of the population over the country. (I am not sure that this one even matters in our decentralized economy...)
10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production. (We have State-run schools and Child Labor laws, and our schools do not teach our history but do produce marginally-effective sales clerks for a consumerist economy to utilise).
Whenever a "solution" is proposed to any "problem", always ask yourself: "Who Wins?"
As a Patriot, I see the above and shake my head in disbelief that we have strayed so far from the Liberty ideal. The yoke of slavery is indeed willingly donned if placed lightly enough initially. The takeover of the United States by the forces of Statism - Communism or Fascism (depending on the amount of private property is left)- is nearly complete. The creation of "zero-liability voters" by Government has assured a constant power base of recipients who will feed on whatever life blood is still left to consume, as long as the Elites stay in power to supply them. Woe betide those welfare-voters when they discover how fragile that system truly is. And, that they are just lower on the food chain, but not off of it altogether.
For those of you who can see, keep them oiled...
Pax,
Newbius
|||
No comments:
Post a Comment