Today sure marked a milestone. General Motors declared bankruptcy. Many are saying that the government should not help them. While listening to NPR today I learned that GM has about 400,000 contracts from outside sources. It covers everything from the printed letterhead they use to the thousands of parts for their vehicles. This bankruptcy, I fear, will have far reaching changes in our economy. Some 1100 dealerships will close. People who own GM vehicles will have to drive farther to find service. Companies that provide nuts, bolts, fabric, and everything you need to run an office or a dealership will lose a customer. For many small companies, GM may have been their major source of income. Turns out, for some small towns where GM plants are, their entire economy is based on selling things to the plant workers. Without paying customers, many other small businesses will fail. As if the economy is not bad enough already.
As I was growing up, we were a Chevy family. My father finally bought a Subaru. It was a big deal. He had fought in WWII, and buying Japanese was hard for him. However, GM/Chevy was no longer offering a car that he felt was worth the money. He was very happy with his last two vehicles being Subaru.
GM never understood what was happening. Yeah, they made big pick-um-up trucks. Great for farmers and ranchers. They never made a really reliable mid-size that got good gas mileage and had enough bells and whistles. Besides they dropped Dinah Shore and never found another good advertising campaign.
I’m not sure who should have been watching over GM. Stockholders were happy when the stock was $75/share. They weren’t happy when it closed at 75 cents a share. Workers were happy with the union contracts that paid line workers more than a teacher. Management was happy with the big bonuses, even if the company was in trouble.
Another group who are really being hurt is the retirees, who have had benefits and checks cut. That is a sad accounting. There is supposed to be money to pay retirees, no matter what happens. A few years back, the saying was “As goes GM, so goes the country.” Sure hope that isn’t still true.
June brought clouds but no rain to Flagstaff. It was very strange to see all those grey clouds not followed by at least a little moisture. The 70° made the day very pleasant.
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Random Fact
All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill.
June is…
Adopt a Shelter Cat Month…Effective Communications Month…Gay & Lesbian Pride Month[National GLBT Month]…Great Outdoors Month…National Accordion Awareness Month…Rebuild Your Life Month…National Candy Month
Week beginning June 2---
June 2—153rd day of the year…212 days remain in 2009
National Bubba Day—for anyone named Bubba [made famous in Forest Gump, and is Yiddish for Grandmother.
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1491
Henry VIII King of England
1740
Marquis de Sade 1st known sadist, writer
1840
Thomas Hardy England, poet/novelist
1857
Edward Elgar Broadheath, England, composer (Pomp & Circumstance)
1890
Hedda Hopper gossip columnist
1904
John Peter Weissmuller actor (Tarzan)/100m swimmer (Olympic-gold-1924, 28)
1936
Sally Kellerman Long Beach Cal, actress
1941
Stacy Keach Savannah Ga, actor
1944
Marvin Hamlisch US, composer/pianist
1948
Jerry Mathers Sioux City Iowa, actor
1955
Dana Carvey comedian
IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY…
1835
P.T. Barnum & his circus begin 1st tour of US
1858
Donati Comet 1st seen named after it's discoverer
1886
Grover Cleveland is 1st to wed during presidency
1924
US citizenship granted to all American Indians
1933
President Franklin D. Roosevelt accepted the first swimming pool to be built inside the White House
1953
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey
1998
Proposition 227, requiring that all schoolchildren be taught in English is passed by the voters of California.
Word Puzzle from NPR Sunday Puzzler…1987
Each answer is a two word phrase or name with the letters S-E-P
Specifically the first word will END with S-E and the second word will start with P.
EX. Sherwin-Williams product that’s applied to the outside of a home.
HOUSE PAINT
1. Identification on the front or back of a car
2. What seeing a ghost might give you
3. What friends might throw for you on your birthday
4. Flower part that’s a common ingredient in perfume
5. Car honking, air horns, and other unwanted sounds
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Answers:
1. License Plate
2. Goose Pimples
3. Surprise Party
4. Rose Petal
5. Noise Pollution
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