Wages & Prices
Former Airlines CEO: What Makes the Automakers 'Exempt from Reality
December 19th, 2008 2:22 PM
It's special treatment for automakers, according to a former airline executive. Gordon Bethune, the former CEO of Continental Airlines (NYSE:CAL), now a CNBC contributor, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Dec. 19 the political process is being substituted for what otherwise should be a bankruptcy judge in determining the fate of the big three automakers. "Wow, what makes them exempt from reality?…
ABC’s Ultimate Financial Hardship Story: Selling Your Body for Medic
December 19th, 2008 10:56 AM
Just how bad is the economy? ABC's "World News with Charles Gibson" went all the way to Edwardsburg, Mich. to find out. The Dec. 18 broadcast of "World News" highlighted a new economic indicator - the increase in the number of people willing to lend their body to science for money. "We're going to turn next to some of the extreme measures that some Americans are taking because of the…
AP Photogs and Journos Withholding Bylines; World Somehow Survives
December 16th, 2008 11:31 PM
No, it's a not a story from the Onion. It's AFP reporting on the actions of Associated Press photographers and journalists:US news agency staff stage 'byline strike' Journalists and photographers at the US news agency the Associated Press (AP) are withholding their bylines to protest management's stance in contract talks, their union said. "Staffers recognize the tough times, but they also…
UAW Gave $1 Million+ to Pro-Bailout Congressmen; Media Focus on Anti-B
December 15th, 2008 4:11 PM
The proposed automaker bailout has a big stamp on it that says "union-built," but the news media hasn't noticed. Over the past month, accusations have been flying against several Southern senators who oppose a $14 billion bailout for the beleaguered big three automakers and support the the alternative of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. These senators, critics say, are representing the interests of…
Pinkerton On UAW: Not Just Wages—Work Rules
December 13th, 2008 8:10 PM
To the extent the MSM has been willing to report on the disadvantage under which the Big Three automakers operate compared to their non-union competitors, the focus has been on the huge wage differential. On this evening's Fox News Watch, conservative columnist Jim Pinkerton highlighted another issue which has gone largely unreported in the liberal media: the onerous union work rules that add…
Maddow: Republicans Crusading 'Against Very Idea of Americans Making G
December 12th, 2008 9:53 PM
Though there's not a ruble's worth of difference between their politics, I normally find Rachel Maddow a kinder, gentler, smarter version of Keith Olbermann. Not tonight. Granted, the Countdown host was on hiatus. But even if Olby had been around, he would have been hard-pressed to outdo Maddow for sheer silliness.The preposterous proposition Rachel propounded? Republicans just don't want…
Surprise: Early Show Economist Blames 'Selfish' UAW
December 12th, 2008 9:11 AM
Let's hope we haven't seen the last of economist Peter Morici on CBS. The University of Maryland business professor, appearing on the Early Show this morning, put the blame for the failure of Big Three bailout squarely on the shoulders of the UAW for its refusal to accept pay cuts putting its members on par with non-union workers at US plants owned by foreign car manufacturers. The Early Show…
Obamanomics: 'What's In It For Me' Thinking 'Not Good For Anybody
December 7th, 2008 1:28 PM
The failure of American media to properly vet the political beliefs of Barack Obama during the just concluded presidential campaign was on full display Sunday when the president-elect made clear just how much of a socialist he really is, and did so with nary a challenge from "Meet the Press" moderator Tom Brokaw.Makes you wonder what the results might have been on November 4 if the press had done…
Sociology Prof's Solution To Detroit Meltdown: Unionize Toyota
December 6th, 2008 7:41 PM
Only a professor, preferably a sociology professor, one with way too much time on his hands, could have come up with this one. His solution to the Detroit crisis that has the Big Three automakers on the brink of bye-bye? Unionize their foreign competitors manufacturing in the USA!Now why didn't we think of that? Because we're not Jonathan Cutler, associate professor of sociology at Wesleyan…
Bernanke Speaks, Dow Sheds Triple-Digit Points Again
December 4th, 2008 4:43 PM
When Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks, Wall Street listens - and investors should beware. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has lost over 2,500 points on days he has spoken, including three of the worst point losses ever. Today's drop in the Dow of 215 points is the 14th time out of the last 20 times the Dow has lost ground on a Bernanke has spoken over the past six months.…
Michigan Mayor: No Auto Bailout Will Mean Depression
December 2nd, 2008 3:01 PM
Just give us the money and nobody gets hurt. That was the warning from the mayor of Lansing, Mich., on CBS's "The Early Show" Dec. 2. "You know this is a sure prescription to go from recession to depression if you allow this auto industry, our manufacturing prowess, to fall by the wayside," Virg Bernero warned: This industry is too important, not just to Lansing, Mich., but to the whole…
Detroit: Barney Worries Bankruptcy Would Bust Unions
November 19th, 2008 9:57 AM
Barney Frank favors bailing out the Detroit automakers over letting them go into bankruptcy. Chief among his concerns is that bankruptcy might "bust" the unions. You know, those organizations whose contract demands have put Detroit on the brink of extinction.The Massachusetts Dem, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, was interviewed by Maggie Rodriguez on today's Early Show. He…
DC Auto Bailout Ideas Involve US Equity Stakes, Turn into an Early Chr
November 13th, 2008 12:35 PM
Can I have permission to utter the S-word ("socialism")? Ken Thomas's Associated Press report today (link is dynamic, subject to change, and will probably be gone in a week) on auto industry bailout ideas emanating from Washington includes these items, all of which expand soc- ... soc- ... socialism: Legislation proposed by Barney Frank involves the government taking ownership stakes in the…
AP's Auto Bailout Coverage Nearly Ignores Excessive Labor Costs, Omits
November 13th, 2008 10:25 AM
Wednesday evening's dour Associated Press report by Tom Krisher and Ken Thomas on the proposed bailouts of General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler acted as if their fates will determine the viability of the entire US auto industry, and waited until the 15th paragraph to name the primary reason why the companies are where they are financially. Beyond that, the AP report did not mention that United Auto…