As I write today, the deliberate impoverishment of the American people at the hands of the Republican zealots appears to be nearing a peak.The NYT quotes a Professor of Business today that more and more workers are getting whipsawed by job cuts, salary reductions, benefit cuts and other devices engineered by consultants to keep companies like Airlines and Automobiles afloat.Scam artists feeding on the carcasses of these bloated corporations are having a field day.The losers, of course, are the workers.
One of the opportunities opened up for the vultures is finding a way to eliminate what are euphemistically called legacy costs ( Pensions plus health care benefits) that were promised to retired workers at places like GM, Ford, Chrysler etc. Those have come under assault by a couple of vulture capitalists.One of these, a man called W.L.Ross ,has already earned a name for himself by accumulating stock in several sick steel companies and after removing their legacy costs, turned around and sold the entire package to a corporation from India for a cool 4.5 billion making more than a 1000% profit within three years.He now promises to do the same for the automotive parts business.He has his eyes set on Delphi Corporation, a sick division of GM.He plans to declare bankruptcy for Delphi and that will enable him to jettison all legacy costs shafting thousands of retirees.
In Bush’s Brave New World,it is not enough to meet your obligations.You need to be ruthless lest people like W.L.Ross miss their meals.I am sure Ross’s example is going to be copycatted by many imitators.
Katrina may have been only a warning.The deluge is yet to come for millions.
One other thing I want to add is that from the very moment he usurped power in 2000, he has made it clear that he does not expect to either win elections legally or to govern by seeking input from the people. This is why he stacked the deck on the SC,sought outright dominance over Congress and emasculated the Press by threats of economic sanctions.
I will have to say one thing in his favor though.He has read the American system’s vulnerabilities better than all the stargazers whose eyes mist over thinking about the majestic words in our Constitution.For someone who had no intention of obeying anything in that document,he has had a laugh at our expense because he knows how easily he had us fooled.His reign continues even after the debacle of Katrina.Once again, I am afraid, he will come up with the right photo-ops and right platitudes to mollify the people.
Like John Le Carre has said, “America is going through its periodic bout of madness”.This time the costs have been staggering in blood, money and fear.
Detroit Free Press Article
Now see the CBO’s The Risk Exposure of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Top 3 PBGC payouts are to Bethlehem, LTV and National Steel.
Then he got the prez to pass some steel import tariffs which bankrupt a bunch of auto suppliers and forced them to outsource more work overseas etc..
This guy is an ass.
He has learned to pass off the obligations of the corporations to the tax payers through the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.In that process he has enriched himself by screwing the people at the bottom who believed that a solemn promise is something that they could count on in their retirement.
He is now going to do that over again with Delphi where he has got his own stooge, Robert miller, working as the CEO, waiting for thright opportunity to shaft the workers.
When guys like Ross get rid of the pension and healthcare costs of retirees, the value of the corporations goes way up.These grave dancers then look like champions. The tax payers pick up the tab and the workers get screwed. Nice work, if you can get it.