Comments Posted By Surabaya Stew
Displaying 101 To 110 Of 255 Comments
It has been my understanding that Chrysler and GM have been itching to free themselves from many of their dealers for many years now, and the major reason they have not done so until now has been the incredibly high cost of closing a dealership. If we take this Dodge dealer as a typical example, the $3 million in inventory is only a small fraction of the total cost in paying back all the expenses associated with a franchise of this nature. All the loans, business improvement expenses, real estate, lost income, retraining, taxes, etc., would probably bring up the average cost of fairly compensating all parties for closing down a typical dealership to over double the inventory value!
When you add in the 1,100+ GM franchises (plus an unknown amount of Ford dealers to be closed in the future), we could be talking well over 10 billion dollars here. This is in part due to the restrictive state laws that dealers have pushed to protect these dealers, but probably the larger issue is the self-defeating nature of the franchise business business model in a declining market for American cars.Of course it is impossible not to feel bad for the employees and owners of the nearly 2000 american auto dealerships to be shut down, but isn't that part of the risk associated with running and working in any business? It certainly does seem unfair that some people are getting bailed out while others suffer, but is some sort of extraordinary government compensation really justified in this case? Haven't we suffered enough government intervention yet? Don't we want capitalism to do its job again?
Comment Posted By Surabaya Stew On 22.05.2009 @ 00:25
THE ABSOLUTE WORST NIGERIAN EMAIL SCAM IN HISTORY
Odd that you should get one this convoluted; usually they're pretty to the point. The last one I got...odd...now that I think about it, it been a long while since the last Nigerian scam email. Used to be that my inbox coughed up several of these things every week. Now I can't remember the last time the boys in Lagos tried impressing me with their offers of wealth. They must be saving their attention all for you, Rick!
Naturally, the offers for erectile dysfunction drugs continue to arrive unabated...
Comment Posted By Surabaya Stew On 20.05.2009 @ 20:30
GOP UNVEILS HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN
This plan might go a long way in solving one of the problems with health care in America today; the cost problem. To give a personal example, I was recently laid off by my firm and was offered the option of COBRA coverage. The cost of my plan is normally $375, but a provision in the Obama stimulus offers a 65% price reduction for the first 9 months of COBRA coverage, bringing my bill down to $131 and change. With only $405 dollars per week being offered by New York State, and with the chances of finding work in my field of Architecture being slim to none while the recession lasts, this is truly a godsend! If the this proposed plan could offer a similar savings to the average american family and employer, it could really change the fortunes of the GOP.
Unfortunately, it does nothing to fix the other big problems in American health care, one of which is the sanity sapping act of dealing with the health insurance companies to actually pay for ones medical treatment. Frankly, if the members of congress had to deal with Oxford and Blue Cross et al. rather than their "no questions asked" government issued insurance, there would have been a successful bi-partisan creation of a single-payer system years ago!
Comment Posted By Surabaya Stew On 21.05.2009 @ 03:27
Oops...forgot to say great post! Looking forward to your next one.
This plan might go a long way in solving one of the problems with health care in America today; the cost problem. To give a personal example, I was recently laid off by my firm and was offered the option of COBRA coverage. The cost of my plan is normally $375, but a provision in the Obama stimulus offers a 65% price reduction for the first 9 months of COBRA coverage, bringing my bill down to $131 and change. With only $405 dollars per week being offered by New York State, and with the chances of finding work in my field of Architecture being slim to none while the recession lasts, this is truly a godsend! If the this proposed plan could offer a similar savings to the average american family and employer, it could really change the fortunes of the GOP.
Unfortunately, it does nothing to fix the other big problems in American health care, one of which is the sanity sapping act of dealing with the health insurance companies to actually pay for ones medical treatment. Frankly, if the members of congress had to deal with Oxford and Blue Cross et al. rather than their "no questions asked" government issued insurance, there would have been a successful bi-partisan creation of a single-payer system years ago!
Comment Posted By Surabaya Stew On 20.05.2009 @ 22:46
THE GREATEST DEFICIT REDUCTION IDEA IN HISTORY
A nap in the middle of the day? It's called a SIESTA. A well known practice in Mediterranean countries not known for efficient government. The British twist on this idea is to have sessions of the house of commons start at 4pm or so. Not very effective there either.
What used to work is having congress actually meet less often. Some states still have their legislative bodies meet only every other year, but this is becoming less common as becoming a lawmaker is now a full-time paid position rather than a part time volunteer effort.
So, why not try incentive payments for budget cutting as an answer? Congressmen could make extra G's for cutting fat from the budget. As a bonus, it would even reduce the incentives to take bribes from lobbyists!
Comment Posted By Surabaya Stew On 13.05.2009 @ 09:37
In essence, Posner makes the same point made by most pundits - conservatism is a victim of its own success:
Electoral success yes, but this usually did not translate into legislative success. For example, the "Contract with America" had 10 major components, yet much of it was never passed, and what did pass was often watered down or ineffective in reducing the size of government. Nor did 8 years of a republican president achieve freedom from government. (On the contrary, we're all more dependent on the feds than ever before!) Such ineffectiveness of leadership has been quite dispiriting to independents such as myself. I'm convinced that electing GOP politicians would mean that a true conservative agenda would be NEVER implemented at all, such is my doubt.
Comment Posted By Surabaya Stew On 12.05.2009 @ 18:37
IS THE GOP ANTI-SCIENCE? OR JUST ANTI-RATIONALIST?
It would be very surprising if a significant number of the conservatives who are anti-science are NOT social conservatives. As several commentators have said, it is the perception that the social conservatives are a significant force in the GOP that gives ALL republicans a bad name when it comes to science.
Comment Posted By Surabaya Stew On 11.05.2009 @ 23:04
THE ENDURING POPULARITY OF STAR TREK
A welcome break from politics, Rick! It's always fascinating how each star trek series reflects the generation that produced it, and how members of each generation responds to "their" version of star trek. One can make out the moral qualms and interests of each decade that produced the respective adventures of each series. Because it was televised during my high school years, TNG will always be the particular series that excites me the most and the one that I can most likely share memories of, but knowing all the series helps to understand what my like-minded elders and juniors went through growing up.
Comment Posted By Surabaya Stew On 8.05.2009 @ 20:47
DEBUNKING MYTHS ABOUT MODERATES: 1) MODERATES HAVE NO PRINCIPLES
I often think we should steal an idea from the UK and have a “shadow cabinet” where we talk about alternatives and policy ideas that are temporal. The discussion needs to be somewhat detailed, but not excessively think-tankey. Talking about policy isn’t quite as fun as ranting about the latest leftie outrage, but someone’s got to do it, and putting ideas on the table is the only way to show that the left-liberal approach isn’t the only approach to national concerns.
An interesting idea, Foobarista. I for one would support opposition parties having a Shadow Cabinet because it would force them to carefully think out and articulate party platforms and new ideas rather than hand policy debates over kooks and schemers. (Of course, this could just as easily apply to the Democrats when they are the party out of power.) An advantage of this is that the media would be greatly inclined to cover "Shadow Press Conferences" and other such events, thus bringing another point of view and proposals to the national table. Another good thing is that the said kooks and schemers would be forced to moderate or get out of the GOP, thus saving the Republicans from themselves. Finally, this would make politics ever so more interesting and may well end up igniting participation and activism amongst the non-involved citizens of our country, thus prolonging the great experiment known as the USA.
Wishful thinking perhaps, but seeing where the Republicans are now, it seems more likely to work than anything else proposed by them. (That is, unless Michael Steele lets Rush pick the Shadow Government!)
Comment Posted By Surabaya Stew On 5.05.2009 @ 15:02
IF REAGAN TOLERATED MODERATES, WHY CAN'T TODAY'S CONSERVATIVES?
I am reminded of MSNBC trying to turn a genuine grassroots movement into a gay sex double-entendre.
Heh heh heh... One does not have to be liberal to know what "Tea-bagging" means. (Nor does one have to be gay to engage in such an activity.) Frankly, this "grassroots movement" is hard to take seriously if such a poorly chosen name was all that conservative activists could come up with.
With millions of people who listen to them and buy their books, and also with politicians who go on their shows to be heard by millions. I mean, like it or not, they have a huge audience.
All totally correct. Being in conservative media can be profitable, as even truthful (re: unpopular) writers like Rick can make a living from it. But if the big names really believed in the cause, they would give away some of the many millions they have earned to further its growth. Have Rush, Coulter or Beck donated recently to the Heritage Foundation, or the Club for Growth, or even the RNC? Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong...
Comment Posted By Surabaya Stew On 5.05.2009 @ 20:40
