Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Everyone Here Was Fired

Uh-oh. Looks like another American car maker is looking to do a huge round of layoffs. Couple this with GM's mass firing that ruined about 30,000 families' holidays, and it's not looking good for blue-collar American workers. It's a scary time. Because when those jobs leave, many other industries are affected, and at some point, it's going to hit all of us. Right now, it's easy to think that your job is safe because you're college-educated, or because you work in an industry that's booming. But a job with GM or Ford used to mean stability and a good income. Now, it doesn't mean much of anything.
All I can think of is that quote about the Nazis:

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me--
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

At some point, the lackluster economy is going to come for all of us. I wish I could come up with a solution, but there are a lot of forces at work here. The cost of health care and retirement benefits for a company is huge. When a company's product stops selling well, something has to give. First they try cutting benefits, then they start firing people. It's a sad thing.

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