Bennyboy
Bennyboy's JournalHow Germany builds more cars than US while paying twice a much to workers!
In 2010, Germany produced more than 5.5 million automobiles; the U.S produced 2.7 million. At the same time, the average auto worker in Germany made $67.14 per hour in salary in benefits; the average one in the U.S. made $33.77 per hour. Yet Germany’s big three car companies—BMW, Daimler (Mercedes-Benz), and Volkswagen—are very profitable.
How can that be? The question is explored in a new article from Remapping Debate, a public policy e-journal. Its author, Kevin C. Brown, writes that “the salient difference is that, in Germany, the automakers operate within an environment that precludes a race to the bottom; in the U.S., they operate within an environment that encourages such a race.”
There are “two overlapping sets of institutions” in Germany that guarantee high wages and good working conditions for autoworkers. The first is IG Metall, the country’s equivalent of the United Automobile Workers. Virtually all Germany’s car workers are members, and though they have the right to strike, they “hardly use it, because there is an elaborate system of conflict resolution that regularly is used to come to some sort of compromise that is acceptable to all parties,” according to Horst Mund, an IG Metall executive. The second institution is the German constitution, which allows for “works councils” in every factory, where management and employees work together on matters like shop floor conditions and work life. Mund says this guarantees cooperation, “where you don’t always wear your management pin or your union pin.”
READ LOTS MORE: http://www.forbes.com/sites/frederickallen/2011/12/21/germany-builds-twice-as-many-cars-as-the-u-s-while-paying-its-auto-workers-twice-as-much/
The "F*CK YOU" Finale of "Weed Wars"...
The Weed Wars season finale made me sad…..and mad…and upset…and disappointed.
When I realized that Steve Deangelo’s final words to America would be “I do not support the legalization of cannabis for recreational uses” I almost threw a bubbler through my flat screen in disgust. This is the message we are leaving with America? This is your big “risk it all for public education” message? That all people without a doctor’s approval are criminals? Go fuck yourself.
I almost feel sorry for Stevie-D. He has backed himself into such a corner that now he is trumpeting the words of drug warriors in some weak attempt to justify his running the world’s largest weed store on the planet. Nothing is more sad than a man who is so broken down by fear and anxiety that he will sell out his principles in an effort to appease his opposition. It is disgusting and the bottom line is NO ONE IS FALLING FOR IT
Read More: http://cannabiswarrior.com/2011/12/23/the-fuck-you-finale-of-weed-wars/
Free Pot! Today Only!
Magnolia Wellness Center in Orangevale may be shutting down for good, but it's going out with its head held high -- and its customers in a similar state of mind.
The medical marijuana dispensary, forced to close amidst pressure from county officials and an increased federal crackdown on the California cannabis industry, will be giving away free pot to its clientele on Friday before shuttering indefinitely.
(SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO)
“Everyone who walks through the door, we’re giving them a chance to win free meds,” Magnolia Wellness' Steven Lee told CBS News. The store boasts an impressive base of 40,000 patients, all of whom will need to find a new provider in the coming weeks.
Magnolia Wellness opened its doors in Sacramento County in early 2010, and has since grown into a thriving operation that offers onsite yoga and compassion-themed holidays. But according to the Sacramento Bee, Orangevale's heavily conservative community bristled at its presence, and officials have been trying to force its closure since day one.
In addition to the merchandise giveaways, Magnolia employees will be marking the store's last day with a party and holiday toy drive. But be sure to bring your card -- only certified medical marijuana patients will be allowed inside.
For more, take a look at the CBS News report below:Magnolia Wellness Center in Orangevale may be shutting down for good, but it's going out with its head held high -- and its customers in a similar state of mind.
The medical marijuana dispensary, forced to close amidst pressure from county officials and an increased federal crackdown on the California cannabis industry, will be giving away free pot to its clientele on Friday before shuttering indefinitely.
(SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO)
“Everyone who walks through the door, we’re giving them a chance to win free meds,” Magnolia Wellness' Steven Lee told CBS News. The store boasts an impressive base of 40,000 patients, all of whom will need to find a new provider in the coming weeks.
Magnolia Wellness opened its doors in Sacramento County in early 2010, and has since grown into a thriving operation that offers onsite yoga and compassion-themed holidays. But according to the Sacramento Bee, Orangevale's heavily conservative community bristled at its presence, and officials have been trying to force its closure since day one.
In addition to the merchandise giveaways, Magnolia employees will be marking the store's last day with a party and holiday toy drive. But be sure to bring your card -- only certified medical marijuana patients will be allowed inside.
For more, take a look at the CBS News report below:
Al Franken blows Republican economic policy all to
Hell!!!
Senator Al Franken, speaking to AFL-CIO on Monday, points out the glaringly contradictory schools of thought that define the Republican economic theory:
SNIPPAGE:
Franken goes on:
“But there is no evidence that that works. In 1993, when we had something called the Deficit Reduction Package, President Clinton said, ‘let’s raise the top two levels’ [a 2% tax increase for the top earning 1% of Americans]. Every Republican voted against it, every single one. It passed by one vote in the House and one vote in the Senate. Every Republican, well not every Republican, but every Republican who said anything said this will cause a recession.”
After taking a jab at Newt Gingrich, who said this would be the “Democrat recession”, Franken continues:
“It worked. We had the longest period of uninterrupted expansion of our economy in our history when we increased the marginal rate on the people at the top. So it worked. And not only that, but it turned a record deficit into a record surplus, which he took from one Bush, a record deficit, and turned it over to the next Bush, a record surplus.”
And then it gets interesting:
“Five days after George W. Bush became president, Alan Greenspan testified to the Senate Budget Committee, and said ‘we are in danger of paying off our national debt too fast. We have a projected $5 trillion surplus going into the next ten years and we very well may pay off the debt too fast, the federal government is in danger of having too much money.’ He said, what would happen as a result of that is, we will have to take our excess money and invest it into private equities and that could disrupt the market.”
SNIPPAGE:
http://progressivetoo.com/2011/07/14/sen-al-franken-shreds-the-republican-economic-theory/
Profile Information
Member since: Sun Jun 10, 2007, 01:07 AMNumber of posts: 10,440
