Our election process has become a boxing match — punch
and counterpunch. There is no substance during debates, no
concern for issues the electorate is facing, other than “special
interest groups.”
I have three simple questions:
1.
Why did our Supreme Court in a 2010 vote allow “superPACS” (definition: “independent
expenditure-only committee”) unlimited spending power
and so much cash to be spent on attack political advertising?
2.
Why won’t candidates answer questions asked during
debates?
3. Why do moderators of debates allow candidates to continue
talking when they are not responding to questions asked?
That said, I have already spent too much time and ink on politics
and have accomplished nothing. Researching has allowed me to
state the obvious before it is actually announced. I will try
to drop the topic until I observe what I believe to be an honest,
sincere, trustworthy candidate emerge with a plan to help our
country move ahead.
As
I see it, enough is enough — let’s
consider what is more important to families around
the country.
Leading the list is jobs and those struggling without
one often feel
as though they have been short-changed. Workers
of the past may have created many of the problems job
seekers
are faced
with now.
Remember when thousands of workers in the Midwest reported
to work on assembly lines in the auto plants? Plants often
ran three shifts of eight hours each keeping the lines rolling
around the clock five or more days a week.
My grandparents worked in the auto plants and were very comfortable
financially. They owned homes, a car, took vacations, ate well
and as I recall, were quite healthy. My Dad followed a family
tradition, worked in auto plants his entire adult life and
raised four children. He enjoyed the benefits of health and
life insurance, and received bonuses for designing tools and
machines to improve operations on the line. When increased
production was required to supply demand, he and fellow workers
received overtime to add to their earnings.
Many employees working in the plants, my Dad included, also
had second, part-time jobs that allowed them to earn extra
money to spend for hunting and fishing trips and family vacations.
Eventually workers were able to purchase retirement property;
my Dad bought lots on Pte. Aux Barques Road in Grindstone and
moved the trailer we had vacationed in onto one of them.
Each summer our family vacationed in Port Austin, we enjoyed
fishing, swimming and roller skating while Dad worked in the
plant all week. He would drive up weekends and spend holidays
and his vacation days with us.
I’m sure my description of life growing up is not much
different from many families that vacationed in the Thumb.
Most of us enjoyed a great life in the city. We lived in what
was, at the time, a modern home with a finished basement, and
garage filled with all the toys. We drove late model cars — we
even had two family dogs. Most average
families during those times had few if
any needs.
If we wanted extra items such as a camping trailer or boat,
we all worked together to save up the funds to make the purchases.
My sisters babysat, my Mom had a part-time job and I cut grass,
shoveled snow and delivered papers. I believe lifestyles like
my families evolved when it became a competition to see who
could have the most (keep up with the Joneses).
When families began owning RVs, boats and vacation homes, they
wanted to use them. They no longer were satisfied with a two-week
vacation and they turned down overtime work to increase their
play time, thus restricting the family income.
When
we examine the employer’s
side, we see an industry that could
not meet
production demands
of
the good times.
They built more and more factories
but had difficulty
finding enough
new workers to employ and current
employees were not eager for the
overtime. The
answer to resolve
the problem
was
automation. As more and more jobs
were replaced by automation, many
employees
were comfortable to sit back and
watch as production lines became
totally
automated.
Because of the high cost of turning lines into an automated
state, employers could not afford the high paid employees of
the past. Very lucrative, attractive buy-out packages were
offered to long-term employees who eagerly accepted them because
they wanted to spend time with the fruits of their labor. A
very limited workforce was required to oversee the automated
production lines and pay rates were drastically cut back for
new hires.
So
to some extent, those who worked in the auto industry caused
and
created some of
the problems
that led
to current lack of
jobs. Initially, many workers
not bought out were happy to
accept
a lay-off
and
draw unemployment.
This occurred
in
a cycle — laid off, collect
unemployment, back to work
until unemployment ran
out and there were
no calls
to return
to work.
During the years of these developments, foreign manufacturers
began pushing to introduce their products in our country. Prices
for imports were lower than those built in the U.S., so sales
were brisk. Oddly, the imports were sold to some of the same
people who needed to make their living by working for U.S.
automakers.
Soon
with all the ripple effect, layoffs and workers’ savings
depleted. There was no
money for mortgages, and certainly
none for
vacations and
extras. Having
enough just
for necessities became
difficult.
We
are a country looking for work and many must
admit the
action
or actions
of their
parents were part
of the current
statistics.
We must back up, accept
lower paying jobs and
spend less
for other than
living expenses.
No
more electronics
the
moment a new one is introduced,
no bigger and
bigger TV screens
in
every room, no car the
minute a kid rolls over
the 16 mark.
The “new age” folks need to study history and learn
to live as we did in the “old age.” We
worked together to raise
the money to buy what
the whole
family could enjoy.
Everyone
should do their part and take any job
offered to
help get
our country
back
on its feet.
Teach your
kids “how
to work” if they want that new electronic “toy.” Work
will always be the
American way!