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1. Scott M. | December 28, 2012 at 7:54 am

   Reading the newspaper carefully and from a particular perspective can be instructive for how our society works.

   Today, in the business section is a story about a looming strike by dockworkers on the East and Gulf costs and it’s possible consequences.

   We learn the contract expired in September but the unions agreed to extended it for 90 days (presumably to get us through the Christmas shopping season). We learn only container ships would be affected while other vital interests would not be. They’re still going to handle military cargo, mail, passenger ships, non-containerized items like automobiles and perishable commodities like fresh food. In other words, the unions have been both flexible and responsible.

   Deborah Hadden, acting port director of Massport, the public agency that oversees shipping terminals in Boston and NOT part of the contract dispute nevertheless has an opinion. She says, “The global economy moves by water, and shutting down container ports along the East and Gulf coasts while the national economy remain fragile benefits no one.”

   Well, that simply not true. It benefits BOTH the members of the union AND the those that run/own the ports. If a possible strike actually worked against their position, this would have been settled by one side or the other. So we see, in an attempt to blame the union members for hurting the economy we also have to recognize those who oversee the ports are just as responsible! An important point to keep in mind.

   Florida Gov. Rick Scott (the guy who costs Hospital Corporation of America billions of dollars in fines for false bills to Medicare and was thrown out with a golden parachute with which he bought the governorship) says “the livelihood of thousands of Florida families lies in the balances.” With 14,000 longshoremen I’d say he’s right. I strongly suspect it’s not those families he means though.

   We also learn the Obama administration is monitoring the situation closely. Why? What is Obama going to do? Order the dock workers back to work? Send in the military to protect the interests of the owners? If Obama really cared about the working class in this country he’d go walk the picket lines with the strikers but let’s be honest; he’s no socialist so he won’t. Instead, once the business pressure and media pressure becomes too much, he’ll vilify the dock workers just like everyone else.

   The argument against the dock workers is that they’re just manual laborers and they’re already paid enough at an average wage/benefits package of $124,138. I know that sounds like a lot and it is! We should all be clamoring for that type of wage package but of course, they’ll be castigated for it.

   But before we come down too hard on the dockworker, I also not on the same Apple’s CEO Tim Cook is paid $4.2 billion for the last fiscal year. He’s paid $1.4 million in salary, a bonus of $2.8 million, $17,000 in company contributions to his 401(k) [why does he need a company contribution to his 401(k) when he's paid that much to begin with??]. This is in addition to the 1 million shares of Apple stock he’s received worth $510 million dollars. This makes him the highest paid CEO in 2011.

   So you see, if the dock workers don’t handle container ships, Apple can’t bring in their iPads, etc. then Mr. Cook, Gov. Scott, and Pres. Obama will cry.

   I don’t know who you think is the villain in this dispute is but personally, I’m on the side of the families making a living wage brought home by the dock workers.
2. Michael | December 28, 2012 at 10:53 am

   I saw a photo of a t-shirt that read, “The NRA is killing our children”.

   Funny how Planned Parenthood is overlooked…
3. 89Hoo | December 28, 2012 at 11:27 am

   2 – yes, I’m waiting for the political cartoon showing the callous disregard of Planned Parenthood supporters over the millions and millions of babies killed. It would be at least as honest as a cartoon showing the callous disregard of NRA supporters over the killings in Connecticut.
4. Sandi Saunders | December 28, 2012 at 11:41 am

   Sure, print them up and sell away. That is your free market choice to make, and your first amendment right to say. My guess is that it has been done.
5. Sandi Saunders | December 28, 2012 at 12:02 pm

   I feel it is only fair to warn you advertising entrepreneurs that if your campaign is successful (granted, I only assume the goal is to end abortion rights), will your gun rights be far behind? I just don’t think so…
6. 89Hoo | December 28, 2012 at 12:26 pm

   5 – since guns are already restricted much, much more than abortion (in spite of specific constitutional protection), I’m assuming the total loss of gun rights is a foregone conclusion anyway. I also am certain that the right to kill babies will be expanded, not lessened. I rail only against hypocrisy.
7. Michael | December 28, 2012 at 12:28 pm

   #5 – Sandi, if you think the point of my post was to end abortion rights, then you have totally missed the point.

   Totally.
8. Scott M. | December 28, 2012 at 12:53 pm

   89Hoo and others, another article about money from Larry Hamlin. Again, I can’t read it all here at work but it looks interesting.

   Best wishes.

   http://barefootbum.blogspot.com/2012/12/what-is-money.html
9. Scott M. | December 28, 2012 at 12:59 pm

   Occasionally people ask me to give an example of a working communist enterprise. Here’s one with video!

   http://barefootbum.blogspot.com/2012/12/all-power-to-soviets.html
10. 89Hoo | December 28, 2012 at 1:04 pm

    Thank you, Scott. I will read it, but probably won’t be able to give a good response until this weekend.
11. Sandi Saunders | December 28, 2012 at 1:20 pm

    Oh you dreamers you!
12. Scott M. | December 28, 2012 at 2:12 pm

    @10 89Hoo, there’s no need to give a response if you don’t want to. It’s not a challenge. We were talking about it and I just wanted to bring it to your attention if it interested you.

    Best wishes.
13. 89Hoo | December 28, 2012 at 3:08 pm

    12 – I appreciate and understand that, Scott, but I enjoy the dialog, and am ever confident that my powers of verbal persuasion are such that I can convince even the most hardened socialist of the errors of his ways, as long as he is intelligent and open-minded. At the least, I can offer an alternate viewpoint, or try to.
14. Sandi Saunders | December 28, 2012 at 4:57 pm

    At the risk of damaging my “brand” as an “Obama lover”, I wonder if any of you have an opinion on the whole “LIBOR” scandal?

    I tend to agree with Matt Taibbi and William Black that this is probably the biggest story of 2012 that virtually no one is talking about, some for obvious reasons. I am appalled that the Obama Justice Department has virtually conceded that these folks are not ONLY “too big to fail”, they are “too big to jail” as well. Why you folks believe that Obama is a leftist, or that the left even has a freaking voice in this nation is really hard to fathom sometimes. Certainly the silence on this issue is deafening.

    http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/12/27/matt-taibbi-libor-scandal-biggest-wall-street-related-story-of-this-year/

    I guess since it involves banksters committing “fraud”, “Cheating” and getting something off of unsuspecting “producers” it does not have the bang for the buck that whining about “welfare” the poor get does.
15. 89Hoo | December 28, 2012 at 5:12 pm

    Sandi, I agree that the LIBOR scandal should have gotten much, much more attention than it did, as well as the currency manipulation scandal in China.

    I believe the “too big to fail” mantra started under the previous administration, and it appalled me as much then as now. Yes, they should be in jail.

    I should also point out, though, that manipulation of interest rates and currency is not new, and only possible with a fiat currency, since with a sound currency basis, the market determines the cost of money.
16. 89Hoo | December 28, 2012 at 5:28 pm

    Should also point out the LIBOR scandal was a British scandal, no one in the US had jurisdiction (if I am not mistaken). But to reiterate, yes, someone should be in jail.
17. Michael | December 28, 2012 at 5:45 pm

    Hmmm…a bit of dishonesty on the part of the gun-grabbers.

    I’m shocked, I tell ya…

    http://twitchy.com/2012/12/27/brady-campaign-co-founder-falls-for-fake-billboards-tweet-pic-as-anti-gun-propaganda/
18. Sandi Saunders | December 28, 2012 at 6:37 pm

    And yet you know that there is no nation that is on “the gold standard”. Is there even one who has close to our gold reserves? If it all went to hell tomorrow and gold was all that mattered, who has more gold reserves than the US?
19. Sandi Saunders | December 28, 2012 at 6:45 pm

    “In Washington, attorney general Eric Holder said two former UBS employees – Tom Hayes and Roger Darin – had been charged with conspiracy and that Hayes was also charged with wire fraud and an antitrust violation.

    “By causing UBS and other financial institutions to spread false and misleading information about Libor, these alleged conspirators – and others at UBS – manipulated the benchmark interest rate upon which many consumer financial products – including credit cards, student loans, and mortgages – are frequently based,” Holder said.”

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/dec/19/ubs-1bn-libor-payments-to-brokers

    http://www.capitalismwithoutfailure.com/2012/07/bill-black-libor-scandal-is-largest.html
20. Sandi Saunders | December 28, 2012 at 6:51 pm

    More from Bill Black, who explains it very well:

    http://stopforeclosurefraud.com/2012/07/17/bill-black-the-libor-fraud-stole-millions-upon-millions-from-american-cities-and-people-around-the-world/
21. Scott M. | December 28, 2012 at 8:19 pm

    Friends, I’m re-reading the first post I did today and realize I made some errors. That one paragraph should read:

    But before we come down too hard on the dockworker, I also note on the same page Apple’s CEO Tim Cook is paid $4.2 billion million for the last fiscal year. He’s paid $1.4 million in salary, a bonus of $2.8 million, $17,000 in company contributions to his 401(k) [why does he need a company contribution to his 401(k) when he's paid that much to begin with??]. This is in addition to the 1 million shares of Apple stock he’s received worth $510 million dollars. This makes him the highest paid CEO in 2011.

    My apologies for the errors.
22. 89Hoo | December 28, 2012 at 9:14 pm

    18 – not a very good argument against sound money, Sandi, that no one is else doing it.

    In fact, as we lead the rest of the world’s economic lemmings over the fiscal cliff, butting – again – against a debt ceiling, currency manipulation, bank scandals and foreclosures, and following over forty years of anemic economic performance since Nixon replaced the gold standard with pure fiat currency (which followed decades of economic prosperity and stability WITH the gold standard)…

    …it’s a better argument FOR sound money.
23. gdad | December 29, 2012 at 8:57 am

    “Sandi, if you think the point of my post was to end abortion rights, then you have totally missed the point.”

    Lacking further detail from you, Michael, it was perfectly rational to assume that this COULD be exactly what you meant.