Ferrari Mailing List: Re: More

[Jim Conforti (lndshrk]

At 08:36 PM 5/26/2009, you wrote:
> I am just a simple engineer...  I am still busy stacking whatever
> singles I can find and trying to extrapolate how high they would stand
> if I had a billion of them...

 Well, according to my micrometer - and concurrence of the US BEP
 fresh US currency is 0.11mm thick.  A lot of people (even on this
 list) have never seen $100k in cash - never mind a million - so
 the concept of a BILLION is generally "just a number" to (too) many.

 0.11mm * 1E9/(1.61 * 1E6) = 68+ miles

 Technically, if you CLIMBED that 68+ mile high stack of money you
 would in fact qualify as an ASTRONAUT since the boundary is around
 62 miles.

 As to Chrysler - there was only ONE viable solution that would
 result in it's continued existance.

 Allow Chrysler to cast off it's union contracts and cut it's labor
 costs drastically.

 It was never going to happen.

 The UAW is simply too greedy.

 While we can argue as to the minutiae of what the "average" UAW worker
 makes - they make about DOUBLE what they should.  When you have forklift
 operators making over $100k/annum - something is WRONG.

 A "smart bail out" would have done the following.

 1) Get the UAW to accede to MAJOR wage/benefit concessions at all
    of the big 3 - this includes some of the retiree pensions as well.

 2) Use federal dollars to buy down any debts (mortgages/etc) of
    the workers/retirees so affected - to leave them in a relatively similar
    place post wage-decrease.  I would also go so far as to say that we
    (the taxpayer) should pick of the tab for the college education of the
    children of any worker so affected.

 3) Bridge loans to get at least 2 of the big 3 thru this.

 4) There is no 4 - we don't need Government Motors.