Monday, May 11, 2009
Stamp Increase Today
Keep in mind, dear readers, that all First Class Mail sent through the United States Postal Service today and beyond requires a $0.44 stamp, as the USPS has once again raised rates.
The Postmaster General would have us believe that the increase is small potatoes and doesn't even begin to cover the increased costs associated with delivering the mail. In fact, he's been whining to Congress for some time now that the USPS needs to eliminate mail on one day, backing down to a five-day delivery schedule. ("Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds - except on Tuesdays...")
Perhaps Congress should step in and help the poor Postal Service with its real problem - out-of-control salaries. This from Yahoo! News:
$54,550? As an average for a job that requires no formal schooling or education? You've got to be kidding me.
If that's the baseline, what are we going to have to pay doctors - you know, the people who go to school for decades so they don't accidentally kill one of us when our health is poor - under Obama's socialized medical plan? A few million a year?
The Postmaster General would have us believe that the increase is small potatoes and doesn't even begin to cover the increased costs associated with delivering the mail. In fact, he's been whining to Congress for some time now that the USPS needs to eliminate mail on one day, backing down to a five-day delivery schedule. ("Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds - except on Tuesdays...")
Perhaps Congress should step in and help the poor Postal Service with its real problem - out-of-control salaries. This from Yahoo! News:
Postal workers and models will be happy to know that their average annual pay increased more than anyone else's. Postal workers make 23.2% more than a year ago, bringing them up to an annual salary of $54,550. Models didn't make nearly as much to begin with, but they're up 20.4% to $30,160 a year.
$54,550? As an average for a job that requires no formal schooling or education? You've got to be kidding me.
If that's the baseline, what are we going to have to pay doctors - you know, the people who go to school for decades so they don't accidentally kill one of us when our health is poor - under Obama's socialized medical plan? A few million a year?
Labels: Labor and Employment, Medicine, President Obama, Socialism
Friday, December 12, 2008
The Bizarro Bail-out
Obviously, the best thing that the U.S. government can do is to let GM, Ford, and Chrysler continue down the path they have chosen to take, which most likely results in bankruptcy. That is the only way for the "Big 3" to emerge stronger and more slimmed down in their fight to remain even remotely competitive with foreign automakers.
The reason for the demise of American car companies is the unionization of their workforce. Plain and simple.
So it is ironic in some ways that a deal was reached to federally bail out the "Big 3" - much to my chagrin - but that the deal was scuttled last night because the unions stepped in. Apparently, the unions are more interested in going down with the ship than negotiating for a better position in a post-bail-out world.
But all is not lost, for the Bush Administration - keeping with form as one of the worst presidencies in American history - is coming to the rescue. Apparently, the strings that Congress thought it had attached to the bail-out of the financial industry weren't actually there, because Bush is going to use that money for the automakers.
We have entered bizarro world as it relates to the federal government. It is amazing to look throughout the world and see admitted socialized governments with less evidence of actual socialization than our own federal government here in a declared "democracy" with free-market principles.
It's come to the point where I hate blogging about the federal government, because it is just so daggone depressing.
The reason for the demise of American car companies is the unionization of their workforce. Plain and simple.
So it is ironic in some ways that a deal was reached to federally bail out the "Big 3" - much to my chagrin - but that the deal was scuttled last night because the unions stepped in. Apparently, the unions are more interested in going down with the ship than negotiating for a better position in a post-bail-out world.
But all is not lost, for the Bush Administration - keeping with form as one of the worst presidencies in American history - is coming to the rescue. Apparently, the strings that Congress thought it had attached to the bail-out of the financial industry weren't actually there, because Bush is going to use that money for the automakers.
We have entered bizarro world as it relates to the federal government. It is amazing to look throughout the world and see admitted socialized governments with less evidence of actual socialization than our own federal government here in a declared "democracy" with free-market principles.
It's come to the point where I hate blogging about the federal government, because it is just so daggone depressing.
Labels: Economy, President Bush, Socialism
