Daily Podcast: Pain Threshold

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

Owning a Ferrari is like having a mistress. When you're with it/her, you understand exactly why you were willing to risk life, limb, your children's happiness and a huge pile of cash to indulge in inherently selfish, fleeting pleasures. And then the Ferrari breaks/crashes and the mistress goes hinky, as is their wont. And you wonder WTF you were thinking when you bought the Ferrari or indulged your libido [presumably] outside the marital bed. You swear on a stack of fifties that you will never, ever be so stupid as to think you could get away with that kind of shit again as long as you live. You will live within your means, within your sensible, proscribed comfort zone. And then the Ferrari's fixed and the mistress gives you "that" look. If the process becomes an endless loop, there's only one thing for it: buy a Porsche and marry your mistress. My gift to you Justin– and our two fine listeners.

Robert Farago
Robert Farago

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  • Bubba Gump Bubba Gump on Sep 29, 2007

    On another note Lets get real here. while there are many workers that are overpaid given their job assignments there are a great many UAW workers that have jobs greater than bolting on a part or cleaning the head. Youve got electricians,CNC operators,robotic programmers,tool and die makers,transfer line specialists,foundry specialists,plant engineers etc all under the union umbrella. A great many of these folks even have engineering degrees or specialty degrees. While I'm not pro union I feel the public does these people a great disservice by lumping them into (the stereotypical overpaid guy that bolts parts on all day under a UAW umbrella) because its just that, a stereotype and it just ain't true.

  • Bubba Gump Bubba Gump on Sep 29, 2007

    lastly GM generates some 900 billion dollars a year and if their lucky they may net several million as of late. For those wishing them into BK think about these facts. Since GM is grounded in the USA some 750 billion comes back here. the other 250 paying salaries,parts etc elsewhere. that 750 bill is dispersed amoung the 50 states as GM has some kind of plant in 39 of them and some 330 thou retirees spread throughout. (some 6600 retirees per state if it was an even dispersion) Thats 15 billion of revenue a state. If you don't think a GM BK would effect your state just go ask the governor of your state and local businesses you just took 15 billion of revenue off their books. What would that do to your state And thats just a GM direct impact. since GM supports 1 in 7 jobs in the USA either directly or indirectly the impact would be unfathomable. It would make 15 bill per state look like chump change. A single simple example. Did you know GM's US electric bill is a 2 million a month. If that 2 million vaporized from the power companies revenue do you thing the public would suck it up in increased electric bills. Guranteed.

  • Chanman Chanman on Oct 01, 2007

    Crushing cars is such a waste. The podcast notes that police and governments love money. You'd think they'd rather sell all of them rather than crush them. They could always offload the old beaters on a random third-world country if they don't want the cars to stay in the UK. As to Bubba Gump: "Did you know GM’s US electric bill is a 2 million a month. If that 2 million vaporized from the power companies revenue do you thing the public would suck it up in increased electric bills. Guranteed." It depends where, when, and from what. A coal or gas plant can simply run the plants at a lower capacity. Areas that don't have enough power, like California can cut their imports of outside power (including a fair bit from BC Hydro in Canada). Or they can delay their next local expansion project for a few months or sell the power in the energy market, among other things.

  • Landcrusher Landcrusher on Oct 01, 2007

    Bubba, It would be unfair to begrudge someone a wage they earned on the market. When they get that wage using union tactics backed by government guns, they deserve all the abuse that can be loaded on them. Second, your whole bankruptcy for GM thing is a seriously good example of how not to look at a business failure. I suppose we should have saved the buggy whip factories? Their model doesn't work - adapt or die. THe people will go on to other, likely more productive, things. Lastly, I don't quite get your healthcare thing and how the VEBA is good for our country. If it gets reduced government regulation and interference in the healthcare market, then yes, it will be a good thing. Otherwise, not so much.

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