Appearances are deceiving. It may look like Republican senators are unwilling to help fellow Americans keep their jobs and save an ailing industry. That’s how the mainstream media outlets play the story. Inconvenient facts like Ted Kennedy abstaining or that a nearly equal number of Republicans and Democrats voted against the measure are ignored. Americans don’t need to know that. They only need to know that rich and elitist Republicans voted against it. George W. Bush, a virtual recluse soon to be evicted from the White House, is scrambling around for a few spare billion. In the end, the automakers will get their money. Democrats will declare victory. Union members will continue to hate George W. Bush, dutifully following their leaders. The media will continue to bash Republicans even though most of them wanted to see a successful bailout bill.

But then, what about the money? $14 billion or $36 billion, the number really doesn’t matter, is basically a transfer payment to the UAW and skilled trade unions. GM and Chrysler execs will take a small cut for distributing the money in the form of paychecks. Union employees of GM and Chrysler will accept those paychecks, pay 35% in federal, state and local taxes, and then cough up another 4% to their respective unions. Who exactly benefited from this? Why government at all levels, of course. Taxpayer money given to the automakers comes back in the form of income, excise and sales tax paid by auto workers. Secondly, the union is guaranteed its income in the form of dues and management fees for retirement contributions and benefits taken from auto workers’ paychecks. And then, of course, auto execs can expect a little something under the Christmas tree this year for their heart-wrenching performance at the hearings.

The bailout money won’t be used to make the automakers more competitive, more stylish, more valuable or more environmentally friendly. The bailout will allow automakers and the labor unions to continue on as before, except that the government is now covering part of the horrendous operating losses. In order to be ‘responsible’ with taxpayer money, government bureaucrats will demand operating efficiencies from the car companies. And in response, the bureaucrats running those car companies will announce major cost-cutting programs designed to squeeze money out of everything and everyone.

Who gets hurt? Those who can least afford it. Stockholders have already been hammered, including GM retirees who held onto GM shares as part of their retirement programs. Banks and finance companies that have extended credit to GM and Chrysler are in a constant turmoil, re-stacking the loans and turning over paper so they don’t have to officially call in loans or notify the government that both firms are falling down on their obligations. GM and Chrysler employees who don’t belong to a union will take an awful drubbing. Many have already lost their jobs. The ones who remain are having an equally tough time. Just because GM and Chrysler have shed 20% of their white collar workforce over the last two years doesn’t mean that the work goes away. Designers, engineers, technicians, middle management and various specialists are working 50-60 hour work weeks, shouldering the load of their departed colleagues. Some are routinely working 80 hour weeks, frantically trying to keep ahead of a growing workload.

But those who suffer most and will suffer even more are the automotive suppliers - their shareholders, bondholders, managers and employees. And it’s the employees that hurt most. Unlike the major automakers, employees of auto suppliers are in a constant state of retrenching and readjusting their standard of living - downward. When auto executives demand better pricing for a tire, a piece of plastic or a radiator, the money comes right out of the pockets of supplier employees in the form of pay or benefit cuts, and/or working longer hours for the same net pay. If the supplier employees are themselves union members, the blow isn’t as severe, but the hurt is then pushed disproportionately onto unskilled, non-union employees. This is happening not because auto supplier managers are exploiting their workers. It’s that after a decade or more of cost-cutting demands from automakers, there’s no place else to go. Every ounce of fat has been squeezed out of these supplier companies.  Ironically, these supplier jobs are the ones that Washington claims to be protecting, along with automaker jobs. What will in fact happen is another round of pay and benefit cuts for supplier employees, or the plants close and the jobs move overseas.

The managers running the auto supplier firms aren’t doing much better than their employees. Fifteen years of aggressive cost-cutting and brutal global competition has left many auto suppliers in a fragile state - razor thin margins, shaky balance sheets and little, if any, working capital. The Detroit 3 have foisted the costs of their poor decision-making and inefficient business practices onto their supplier base, which is groaning under the load. The net result is that a single bankruptcy of a major automotive supplier can stop the flow of critical parts and supplies to an auto assembly line, shutting down production. If there are no vehicles to sell, there is no cash flow. No cash flow means nobody gets paid. Everything starts to unravel.

But there is a bright spot in this dark and dreary situation - only, it’s not in Detroit.  Ask any automotive supplier to name their most profitable, stable and problem-free account, and they’ll whisper the name of a Japanese, German or Korean manufacturer with plants in the US. Yes, the transplants are staying afloat and they’re fostering the kind of business relationships that allow their suppliers to do so, as well. Even in the midst of an economic free-fall, they’re doing better than their American competitors. Hhhmm. How could that be?

The bell tolls for the Baby Boomer generation. They’ve arrived at the point in life when there’s more behind them than in front of them. Time to face your legacy, both personal and generational. It’s not a pretty picture. The generation of free love, free dope and free thinking has pretty much made a hash of everything. Somehow, they managed to transform 60s counterculture into monstrous governmental intrusion, replete with all the hallmarks of socialist dictatorships America had managed to vanquish over the last century. That’s the dismal legacy of the Boomers — through their own stupidity, lack of ethics and personal ambition, the intellectual ‘elite’ of that generation have brought this country a bitter harvest. They managed to turn America into a land of whiners, professional victims, thieves, vultures and con artists. And Bill Clinton is their poster child, whether they like it or not. When Hillary Clinton failed to win the Democratic nomination, it signaled the beginning of a decline in Boomer influence over politics. Barack Obama belongs to a younger generation of fools.

The triumph of situational ethics over morality, the worship of vice over virtue and the degradation of society took place once Boomers stepped in to take over the reins of government, business, academia and the media. The Boomers made drug addiction, promiscuity and criminality almost saintly virtues. They made excuses for antisocial behavior and promoted identity politics, race-baiting and victimology.  They tolerated, even promoted, a deep and abiding hatred for middle America. The Baby Boomers are responsible for the culture of entitlement and the manifestation of parasites in every form, from boardroom to the barrio.

The Baby Boomer ethos - ‘me-first-and-always’ - has permeated every corner of American society, turning this nation away from its founding ideals and the rugged, self-reliant individualism that personified Americans of days passed. We are stuck with this mess. And no amount of liberal hand-wringing and self-hate will undo the damage. Only the passage of time and generations can offer a possible cure. Hopefully, our childrens’ grandchildren won’t repeat the same mistakes.

As we gather to celebrate this national holiday, parents in New England squabble about the personal degradation and humiliation to which their children are subjected at this time of year. Apparently, these helpless waifs are forced to dress up as Native Americans and re-enact the Thanksgiving feast with other children dressed as Pilgrims. As shoppers fill the aisles of grocery stores, a debate rages over the Thanskgiving day release of an 8 year-old accused of shooting is father and another man. And, as linens are unfolded and silver is polished, animal rights activists are suing Butterball for the inhumane treatment of turkeys.

We have much to be thankful for. As of this week, the Bill of Rights still stands. The Constitution hasn’t been entirely tossed out yet. Al Franken won’t be the incoming senator from Minnesota.  And, unless some Republican senator loses his or her mind, the Democrats won’t be able to ram a socialist manifesto through Congress. It’s not much, but it’s something. Okay, the Obama thing didn’t work out, but we can all pray that he’s totally incompetent and won’t be able to execute his marxist agenda.

As you sit down with your significant others in your soon-to-be-foreclosed home, try to enjoy the Thanksgiving feast that pushed your last working credit card over the limit. Ignore the sounds of a repo man hoisting your SUV onto his flatbed as the pink slip that arrived yesterday rustles gently in your shirt pocket. This is America, after all…

We’ll be taking Thursday off.

President-Elect Obama held his first press conference on November 6th. To no one’s surprise, there was nothing new from the Anointed One. The same, vague statements that characterized his campaign speeches were now repurposed to parry questions from reports. But then, there was little he could realistically accomplish in 24 hours. To his credit, Obama put together a somewhat credible board of economic ‘advisors’ just a day after the election and set up a press conference the following day. At the very least, he’s being proactive.

An absolute hoot was the presence of Michigan’s governor Jennifer Granholm. This woman, along with the unions that put her into power, effectively destroyed Michigan’s economy while growing the size of government at nearly twice the rate of inflation. While Michigan’s GDP was cratering and tax receipts were falling, she went on a hiring binge. The, she gave government workers not one, but two, big pay increases while the state’s budget deficit ballooned. And, governor Granholm managed to push through an ‘emergency’ income tax increase at the same time. That’s no small feat. And here she was, sitting next to Joe Biden, just one seat away from the right hand of the Anointed One. Perhaps, the President-Elect will take some lessons from governor Granholm in how to quickly drive the economy into a ditch with no hope of recovery.

Granhom, a comitted socialist and big-government proponent, has been toxic to Michigan’s middle class and small businesses, who’ve borne the brunt of tax increases. In fact, Michigan’s infamous Single Business Tax was repealed after a general revolt by small business owners. Granhom deflty introduced a plethora of ‘micro-taxes’ that increased the state’s taxation on certain small businesses by an eye-popping 1,300%. Many saw business tax increases in the 10-20% range, well above the original Single Business Tax. In other words, you don’t mess with Michigan’s tax revenue stream, most of which ends up paying unionized government employees. If you fight it, the Democrats will institute a new tax that’s even more punishing. Perhaps the Anointed One is looking to Michigan for inspiration.

Today’s blog is necessarily brief. Today is when the news/entertainment cabal makes its final effort to deliver a substantial victory for Barack Obama and the Democratic Party. The major networks and cable clones assemble ‘impartial’ panels of ‘experts’ who jump to conclusions and trumpet victory for Democrats well before the outcome is truly known. They hope to influence voters who’ve yet to cast their ballots. And, they’ve succeeded. But, the work began weeks ago, when the media stampeded left-leaning citizens to early voting, itself a constitutional question in need of an answer. With ballots counted in advance, Democratic operatives would have advance notice in terms of wringing out the necessary votes on election day to create the illusion of a hotly contested but convincingly Democratic victory.

No one should be surprised that voter intimidation will take place, but it won’t be Democratic or minority voters who’ll be intimidated or harassed. It will be Republican or Libertarian voters who are the victims. But, the media cabal won’t report that. No one should be surprised that voter fraud in the form of ballot stuffing, multiple votes, illegal alien votes and of course, the Chicago favorite — dead person votes, will help boost Democratic totals. No one should be surprised that the news networks counsel West Coast conservatives to just stay home because the race is already won.

However the election ends, the victory goes to the Democrats. It appears that Americans will have to learn the hard way that socialism and big government are a fraud.

About 200 years ago, the founding fathers limited voting to men with property. And, for about the first 10 or so years, it was a fairly small group. At the same time, however, new landowners by the tens of thousands were being created as the new country essentially gave away land it had wrested from indigenous natives to newly landed settlers. Rightly or wrongly, that confiscated land provided voting rights to a huge number of men who could not have purchased that land in Europe even if they possessed the means to do so. In short order, even a subsistence farmer working a few acres of land cleared by hand could step up to the polling booth. Being a man of property didn’t necessarily mean the man was wealthy. It did mean he was a man of commitment and responsibility, because to work the land was a backbreaking, all-consuming task. Over the years, our government gave land away or sold it cheaply under the condition that it be worked for a minimum of 5 years before title passed to the new owner. Not a year, not a few months, but 5 years. That’s a serious commitment. From 1803 to 1891, a signficant number of men and their families tried and failed, returning to the cities in the East.

The underlying reason for a property ownership prerequisite was simple: the founding fathers were concerned that extending voting rights to everyone would quickly tip the balance in favor of those benefiting from the collection of taxes. In other words, those who fed at the public trough would outnumber and out-vote those who worked to fill that trough. It’s a sad reality that there are more poor people than there are affluent people. The facts and circumstances have been debated for centuries, but that doesn’t change anything.

Over the years, all pre-requisites for voting have been removed. Now, the only pre-requisite is to show up at the polling booth or return an absentee ballot. Some states don’t even require a photo ID or proof of citizenship. Others allow same-day registration and voting. This is absurd. It encourage ballot stuffing and other forms of voting fraud, something that Democrats have turned into an art form. If someone responsible is ever voted into the White House, one of the first measures to push through Congress would be a uniform voting standard. That means proof of citizenship and photo ID must be shown to poll workers. But another, even more critical requirement should be introduced. Anyone allowed to cast a vote in the US cannot be a dependent of the state. Otherwise, the dependents will keep voting themselves more benefits, to the detriment of all who work and pay taxes. Americans are stupendously generous. No dependents of the state will suffer or go hungry. Instead, they’ll find yet another tremendous incentive to become productive citizens and carry their own weight. Who are these dependents? You’d be surprised. It’s not the usual stereotypes, but a slice of the spectrum that includes the richest and poorest among us. Dependency isn’t necessarily an economic state. It’s a state of mind.

As H. L. Mencken put it, a demagogue says what he know to be lies to people he knows to be idiots. And those idiots happen to be a product of our public education system. How conveniently circular. In fact, it’s likely that those voting for demagogues like Barack Obama can’t even spell the word. They’re also indiscriminate consumers of the stuff TV networks and newspapers cram down their throats. These Americans are going to vote with their emotions, not their brains. They are so immature that they’re willing and eager to place their lives in the hands of someone they don’t even know, whose past is shrouded and whose true intent is unknown.

Barack Obama is an enigma. On one hand, he represents everything positive this country can offer a person of color — opportunity, education, social mobility and extraordinary economic rewards. He has achieved much. On the other hand, he represents how race politics can be used as a weapon against opponents and how class warfare becomes a means to grab power. And, this will likely sweep him into the White House. Senator Obama has made a lot of extraordinary promises during his campaign. Many of them are possible only if the upper middle class and the wealthy of this country are severely penalized for their hard work and risk-taking. He’s played to people’s greed and avarice as well as their envy of productive Americans. In fact, his entire campaign is based solely on promising something for nothing.

America is steeped in a pervasive culture of entitlement. Obama has taken advantage of that. The question that remains is how quickly Obama and a Democrat-controlled Congress will push this country into the abyss of state socialism. That’s not an ‘if’ question, but rather a ‘when’. The plunge into socialism is a foregone conclusion. Apparently, Americans will have to learn that socialism is a fraud on their own.

Obama has made no secret of his wealth distribution jihad. And, the paralells to Karl Marx just keep piling up. He has promised to right all wrongs, take from the rich and give to the poor. This, of course, has the effect of a feeding frenzy. The parasites, sensing a payday, are already rejoicing. But that celebration may be premature and probably short-lived. That’s because the masses voting for Obama’s redistribution plan aren’t the ones to benefit from it. The payoff will be enormous for trial lawyers, lobbyists, Hollywood types, and other moneyed members of the liberal elite. The average working stiff will instead get stuck with the bill, or at the very least, won’t get much in return for his/her vote.

Obama and Biden will institute a statist form of socialism that effectively closes off opportunity and upward mobility for those who haven’t already clawed their way to an elite status. They’ll do this with crippling taxes, mountains of red tape and invasive social engineering. Outside of American Idol, the doors to personal achievement and true wealth-building will be closed. In other words, America will now resemble the rest of the world. For all their class warfare demagoguery, it’s the Democrats who want to formalize and freeze class distinctions. It keeps them in power for as long as they can fool the working and middle classes into believing they are the party of the common man. That was a lie way back in FDR’s day, as much as it is today. And once Democrats control the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court, they will pass laws and regulations to make sure they’ll never be voted out. Our most fundamental right will have been taken away.

This is not idle speculation. The Mackinaw Center discovered such a plot in Michigan, where Democratic legislators, lobbyists and various ‘grass roots’ groups were attempting to create legislation and policy that would have guaranteed Democrats total control of state government with no accountability and no public recourse. They could not be voted out of office. By the way, this went unreported in the state’s largest newspapers and TV stations. A few radio talk show hosts were the only ones to mention this overt abridgement of voting rights and representative government. Michigan Republicans were able to muster a creaky, tepid response that put the measure on hold. To Democrats, this was only a temporary setback. They lie in wait. One wonders how many other states have similar measures in play.

Americans, on average, make for really lousy serfs and servants. A couple hundred years enjoying unequalled freedoms, a largely classless society and social mobility make Americans a very independent sort of people. They chafe and complain under too much authority and too many rules. Better get used to it. A life of servitude awaits at the end of the Obama song and dance routine. Even the parasites who voted in the Anointed One and the creatures inhabiting Congress will find that life won’t be so rosy once the Gang of Three takes over. Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid will begin where Lenin began. Hopefully, they won’t end up where Stalin did.

They’ll shake down the rich. When the rich are no more, they’ll shake down the merely affluent. When the affluent are gone, they’ll start on the ‘middle class’. One detail Obama omitted in his oratory: There aren’t enough wealthy people to give the masses what they’ve been promised. The top 2% of wage earners can’t begin to pay for the other 98%, even if the government took away everything they have. It does not compute. But, most Americans have been so poorly served by the public education system they can’t figure it out. Hhmm.

The Democrats will be swept into office by pandering to the parasites, promising them the riches earned by the producers. And, those parasites aren’t necessarily the stereotypes that first come to mind. In fact, the most pernicious, coldly effective parasites are members of the liberal elite. They are affluent, educated, politically connected insiders. They firmly believe in class distinctions provided, of course, that the prevailing social structure puts them at the very top. Everyone else is here to carry their bags and wash their cars. In cascading order will come the others — bureaucrats, moneylenders, unions, and at the very tail end, the people who truly need to be helped.

It is stunning that so few Americans are uninvolved in something so important. A recent study suggests that fewer than 15% of Americans know who Nancy Pelosi is, even as she endeavors to take food off their tables, money out of their wallets and boost energy costs into the stratosphere. But what Americans don’t know and don’t care about will condemn them to a life of servitude. The promised change is coming.