Well folks it’s time to get this party started! I will be bringing you my best and worst opinions every week here in the Me Zone. I hope that you will jump in on the conversations by commenting on the posts. The people of Northwest Indiana need to voice their opinions as to what is going on in their communities as well as the world and I for one would love to hear your thoughts!

I may put in a quickie post from time to time but you can expect to see the main posts come out soon.

If you would like to see something posted in the Me Zone, please contact me, Ricky Z and I will look in to it. Contact HERE

Bye for now!

Ricky

Last Friday, the US Government offered up to $17.4 billion in loans to the big three. Ford surprisingly said that they were not interested and that their liquidity would hold them for awhile. The stock market rose as a result of this which is a good thing, and several families appreciated the fact that George Bush did something good for a change in my opinion to help the American people because he sure did have many people in Congress against this bailout but was that the right decision?

What is the score now?

The UAW’s Maurice Davison in a meeting in Indianapolis refuted claims made by the Republicans in Congress that say that the US automakers should fall to the same employee pay structure such as their foreign rivals. Davidson also alleges that Southern lawmakers are representing the interests of the foreign automakers and says that it is an attempt to lower the wages on the automakers that are in production in the USA but what lowering the wages be the right answer?

The overall fact is that the USA automakers are behind the eight ball so to speak, being that they’re told labor cost was calculated at $71 per hour opposed to the Japanese automakers at $49 per hour which is a very big difference which is reflected in the total price of the cars that we pay for as well as the future of the USA automakers employees. It is also a fact that as a result of these figures, USA automakers are being forced to try different types of employment options such as non-unionized pay for certain types of jobs and plants. New jobs available at some of the plans include a starting wage of approximately $15 an hour which is in the area of what the Japanese automakers are offering our people such as the new Honda plant in Greensburg Indiana which has a starting wage of $14.85 per hour. All of these facts are well and fine but what should we the people think or do with all of this going on?

What did they think was going to happen?

I say that all of this is just a bunch of crap! We should’ve never been in this predicament in the first place! This all could then avoided if the people that were in Congress in 1985 cared about the people rather than their pockets when it came to allowing Japanese automakers to set up shop using labor rates and conditions for their employees to be under the standards that our big three along with the UAW have built for their employees for years. The USA automakers are a major contributor to not only the US economy, but to the future of our well-being in my opinion as far as the jobs that are created surrounding the industry and the future of America itself. With all of the mind power in the Government, you mean they did not know that this would happen? Who is running this store anyway? I do agree that there needs to be some changes in the UAW but this is not the way it should have happened! Who is our Government rooting for anyway?

The trouble with politicians being elected into office so frequently is that many things slip through the cracks, and many things certainly did here that led us to this point. It is directly the blame of the US government that all this came about says me! I guess when they allowed the foreign automakers to come to our land, they never considered the fact that 20 years later the foreign automakers would have better statistics overall as far as fewer retirees and the nonunion set up for their employees which would directly kill the big 3 pound for pound, or did they?

What can We The People do?

Well we don’t have too many options here the way I see it. It kind it gets confusing when you look at the rate of inflation vs. the price of an automobile in the USA these days, as well as many other goods made by American manufactures as well. I have always backed foreign trade in moderation to keep the world economy falling as well as good relations with other countries but enough is enough. In my eyes the American Government has built a monster with foreign trade acts and now it is taking its toll.

People always buy automobiles but who will they buy them from? It is a fact that if every US citizen and decided to quit buying foreign automobiles, the Japanese manufacturers would close up shop and go back to their land to make their money. I think that would be pretty course but would it be any different than what our government has done to our automakers? But wait a minute, tax base that has been instilled upon our USA businesses overall is forcing many to seek foreign refuge as far as cheaper labor to compete with the market which again was a result of foreign trade actions.

The Bottom Line!

I believe that greed has taken its toll and it’s not to be an easy task to get everything back on track but there is only one way to do it in my opinion. If people want to stop hearing about our USA automakers being in trouble, or American manufactures going out of business, then we need to take it upon ourselves to pick the leaders in our retail sectors. Despite what our US government has done to our US businesses in the last 20 or 30 years, we need to decide who will be the leaders. If people would like foreign manufactures to be on top, then keep buying their products including their automobiles. It is no secret, and there is no sense in hiding from the fact that we are in a recession and from the signs that we are seeing is a possibility of a nationwide depression being upon us and I do not believe that we will be a vote to avoid that sadly but what will pull our economy back in gear. The purchase of foreign products?

I will not put a Halo on my head and say that I never bought something made in a foreign country to save a buck but in times like this, Ricky says that I am not going to buy anything else made from foreign manufacture if I can help it because in the end I am an American and I will stand behind our American people and businesses. It would be a bold move by the American people to do this as well but it wouldn’t be that hard if you really think about it. We cannot act for today, but rather for tomorrow to better this Country as well as taking some of the decisions out of the hands of Congress. If we all stand together we can curb the outcome of what will happen to our American businesses including our US automakers!

I would love to hear what you have to say about this! Comments?

That’s all for now! Ricky Z.

Ricky Z.!

I would like to introduce myself, I am Ricky Z. and I am very excited to launch the free speech section known as The Me Zone. We will be posting our first post tomorrow, 12-13-2008 and I hope that you will enjoy it  I do apologize if I come off as being a little sarcastic or brassy at times but I speak my mind and that’s all there is to it so fasten your seat belts!

I do occasionally find a few good things to talk about too… We’ll See!

You can expect to hear about topics such as politics, sports, and what is going on in the World today, plus a few added extras from time to time.

We will also be adding a few features in the months to come to add a little excitement to our section. We will post these features as they progress.

Please stay tuned to The Me Zone as I will feature a new column each week and I do very much welcome member comments no matter if they are good or bad so post those comments, I can take the good with the bad!

If you have any questions or concerns about The Me Zone, you can e-mail me here at the site at rickyz@nwime.com or contact the site by visiting their Contact Us tab located at the top of the homepage.

Cya Soon!

Ricky Z.