Mid-Wait Report
The refrigerator guy is supposed to be here between 10 and 1pm, so I guess this qualifies as a midterm report.

Status: Not here yet.

Up early tidying the place a bit. A fact: you always clean before a repair person arrives, even if you don't for friends and family. They might gossip to other repair people, you know, and talk about what's in your dead refrigerator and the horror that is your kitchen floor.

Status: Not here yet.

Which means I must point to this announcement by General Motors wherein they announce that they're cutting 25,000 jobs by 2008.

NOT ALL IN 2008! screams the GOP. Let's do a close textual analysis of this announcement (we have time):

WILMINGTON, Del. - General Motors Corp. plans to eliminate 25,000 manufacturing jobs in the United States by 2008 and close plants as part of a strategy to revive North American business at the world's largest automaker, its chairman said on Tuesday.

Speaking to shareholders at GM's 97th annual shareholder meeting in Delaware, Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said the capacity and job cuts should generate annual savings of roughly $2.5 billion [ed. should just about cover Wagoner's compensation package, tho perhaps not his golden parachute should he become one of the fallen]. GM now employs 111,000 hourly workers in the United States.

Interruption: refrigerator guy calls, says he's running late, will be here between 1 pm and 3:00 pm. So we're now about midway thru the second wait period.

Ok. What else do we have to discuss? Article reveals an astonishing fact: "He noted that health-care expenses add $1,500 to the cost of each GM vehicle."

Those damn fleshbots!

Let's say it takes a team of 10 to make a vehicle, so that's $150 each. Let's say they make one a day. (I have no idea how long it takes to make a car). Let's say that's 200 vehicles a year (they have holidays and vacations, after all). So that puts each person's health package at 150 times 200 equals $30,000 per year. Hmmm.... exactly how much do these workers get paid? And what insurance company are they using? Have they ever heard of group rates?

Something strange here....

Will post this now.
- posted by Cynthia @ 11:21 AM | | | Link |