for the record all teams busted were yoters

 

"For the record", do you know what jet fuel is?

I assure you there is no way that diesel or kerosene could possibly increase the performance of a NASCAR motor..........(that was a hint on what "jet fuel" is)

 

Weren't there a couple GM cars busted recently???

 

Dude, thanks for the history lesson............I never knew Tundras did anything to Pearl Harbor!!!.........

 

Just so NASCAR could rig the race.

 

Recently... who knows? I wouldn't be surprised by much with them fellers anymore. But I still think it was awfully classy of Toyota to give themselves the wonderful entrance to the Nextel Cup circuit.

Once the "car of tomorrow" was introduced I decided to watch Dukes of Hazzard and Smokey and the Bandit in place of Nascar. Gone in 60 seconds seems to keep me happy too.

 

And that is the primary reason why US Auto makers are getting killed in the marketplace. Because they are being forced to pay somebody $23/hr to sweep floors ($47,800/yr), whereas a non-union worker at Toyota might get the salary they deserve (ie: minimum wage or just above) to sweep the floors.

And if the floor sweepers of America don't like their salary, they have the opportunity to apply to the local or state college/university, improve their education and skill set, and obtain new employment with a high salary. If cost is an issue, they can get a student loan that doesn't have to be repaid until they get that new job and fat salary.

But to huff and puff that a company (ie: Ford/GM) isn't paying enough money for healthcare, salary, etc for sweeping the floors and thus that worker's Union demands they be paid $47,800/yr is just crazy. Cause in the end, that cost is worked into the product being sold, thus creating a cost-of-production that ends up being higher than the competition's cost-of-production.

Unions serve a useful purpose in resolving working conditions and making sure employees have a safe working enviroment. And being paid a "reasonable" wage. But as one person mentioned, $23/hr to sweep the floors is an unreasonable wage. We have teachers in our county that start at $35,000-$40,000/yr and they have to have a College Degree. You tell me who's being unfairly compensated for their work?

And in an era with a national unemployment rate of 4.5%, anybody who is unhappy and would like a better job can find one. Now it might not be down the street, you might have to relocate towns, cities, states. But you can find a new job if you want. Choosing to remain at a company who isn't providing the level of employment you might seek, is a choice the employee is making.

 

Exactly>>> I know guys who were laid off locally who have not found NEW JOBS.. Despite being laid off a long time ago.. WHY... because working for ford gave them UNREALISTIC Expectations... They are under the delusion that cleaning toilets is a 75K per year job... And were shocked to find that most places only pay $7 per hour... And require you to be productive.. For every employee that left my compnay to go to ford all tell me about how EASY it is.. Most of their stories revolve around reading the paper cover to cover each day etc, etc.. And when they speak of the money they make, it makes me want to quit my job and lean up against a broom..

If ford broke the union tomorrow.. Id buy a brand new 2008 truck/car or whatever just to show my support..

However the pension issue has nothing to do with unions.. MANY companies union and non union have that problem... Most of them were/are very large companies.. That was a management blindsidedness.. GM Ford many other BIG companies looked at a graph constantly growing...year by year.. they projected they would always be growing.. And never gave much though to decline in sales or rising competition.. since they did not plan for it and bank/invest enough money.. they screwed themselves when business started on the downturn..

 

I think American Business has learned their lesson regarding pension plans. They've decided to axe them in favor of 401k's. Which in my opinion also suck. Obviously as a business, it would be foolish to be saddled with the cost of paying for workers who've retired. Its just bad business sense.

But the 401k plan kind of has my dander up. The problem with 401ks are that you cannot withdraw (your money) without penalty before age 59 1/2. So if you've sacked away a pretty penny by age 50, Uncle Sam says tough luck. He'll milk you if you retire early. And the reason for that is, Uncle Sam wants you to keep working so you keep paying Federal Taxes. Which is much more than what Uncle Sam will make by taxing your 401k retirement.

I'm sure some might disagree, but I think its a better idea to just let your money be taxed, and either invest it yourself into a fund and retire whenever you feel like with no worries of penalties. Or pump it into real estate or investments that will yield a monthly income that adjusts for inflation. With real estate, you can always raise the rent as the economy and your retired lifestyle dictates. So you end up retired and somebody else ends up paying for your retirement with inflation adjusted dollars.

But yeah, pensions are only good for members of congress. Because they have an endless supply of money.

 

Hey:

I think this thread has been beaten to death. In the 4 years since i have been on this site I have found that most people on here tend to never agree, and end up arguing like a bunch of little teenage girls. If you are not going to say something productive save your breath, because more than likely you going to look like an idiot.

 

Discussion, debate and sharing of opinions is what forums are all about. With 62 posts, in 4 years, I guess you don't subscribe to that theory much though.

 

Hey:

Discussion and debate are fine, but its the rest that is uncalled for.

 

I can say one thing we own many 6.0's 8 to be exact our service guys beat the hell out of these trucks all day every day. They idle for hours on end. They are ran ***** to the wall all the time. 3 of them carry around 3,000LB service bodys. We never have problems. But we use a great ford service department by the name of Northland Ford. Thats you problem the service and not the truck

 

We have that right now with our 401K as an option.. Its called a Roth 401K.. Basically your taxed today versus when you cash out... Pro's and cons to both systems.. I cant recall what all the advantages were to a Roth versus traditional 401K.. But I do remember the option..

 

True true.. Roth IRAs are invested income that has already been taxed. But the downside is that you can only invest $5000/yr max, with $500 increments in the maximun per year. The 2nd, is the 59 1/2 age still applies. If you withdrawl early, you'll pay a 10% penalty.

And to make matter's worst, there is nothing that prevents Congress from passing a law to tax your Roth IRA money that was earned over your initial investment. And with a looming crisis of retiring baby boomers and a strapped Medicare/Social Security system, guess what Congress might do to find new sources of revenue? A big fat Roth IRA with a big red light saying "Tax Me"..