"Keep your so-called workers," U.S. boss tells France

‘The Grizz’ for President!

Keep it up LIBERALS this is what we are headed for here in the US. It’s not the long hrs or workers rights the gov libs are worried about, its that the gov wants more power and money. Power and money is what runs the liberal’s lives.

Sounds like the French are still working harder than American Municipal, State and Federal workers.

“I told this to the French union workers to their faces. They told me that’s the French way!”

The conundrum for the developed world is related to the desire/need to manufacture within the various regions or countries and the challenge of the outsized cost of union labor, which in the situation outlined in this article, and in this particular country, France, a day-to-day lack of real work shows a destroying of plant feasibility.
GM is/was an excellent example of this in the USA. Total pay package is/was around $72 per hour (a few years ago).
Anytime realistic corporate concerns are voiced publicly the dominant politicians and news outlets shout them down.

Live and learn. Businesses cannot compete in this world if they are being strangled by workers who are not only less productive when they are working but, especially when they get 50% of the day off for breaks, lunches and trivial things. Go to work, put in a good day’s work effort, earn a good wage and quit the unions. Dump the unions and allow workers to be paid more for merit pay. Simple. Suck off the teets of employers who are being driven into the ground and reap the rewards. Your job will die with the employer. Unions have ruined this worls. They had a purpose once but, their only purpose today is their own self preservation at the expense of world economies and the laborer.

I’ll tell you how stupid we are, we voted (twice) for an amateur who is intentionally flushing this country down the toilet. Exactly like the left in France.

There are two very good arguments for eliminating unions, and especially ALL public sector unions:

► Unions & Democrat Party Ponzi Scheme – The unions, and ESPECIALLY public sector unions, have morphed into nothing more than the money laundering arm of the Democrat Party. Do the public sector unions negotiate their contracts with YOU, the taxpayer?

No they do NOT ……

The public sector unions negotiate their contracts with the local liberal Democrat politicians (wink, wink), and then…LO AND BEHOLD !!…at election time, those same unions who just got big fat raises and cushy retirement packages from the liberal Democrats (at YOUR expense), turn around and donate all of their union dues to the liberal Democrat politicians who gave them the raises.

This is a CLEAR conflict of interest !!!

► Sustainability – You can NOT have public sector unions with employment packages (income + benefits + retirement) making 2x what the local citizens, who pay for the public sector unions, are making.

You cannot have public sector unions with employment packages worth $100,000/year when the average employment packages of the local citizens is $45,000/year.

That is NOT sustainable!

Or, put another way, Socialism works fine until the money runs out.

LOL. Economic Reality Chickens coming home to Roost.

LOL. Economic Reality Chickens coming home to Roost.

France does not understand why it’s people are starving, and why the Euro means nothing now. The “French” way is the “Liberal progressive” way, and it is a failure from the start. WAKE UP AMERICA. This cannot become our reality.

Vote.

Follow me on twitter @TheMissesHelp

Oh please, with every American’s face plastered in their Iphones, how much work do you think U are getting out of these fat a$$ US workers.

Of course the Communards have the upper hand here so there’s no need for any discourse. In a few years, on the other hand, Sharia law may preclude foreigners any opportunity whatsoever to capitalize on the mighty French market for necklacing essentials. Motorized transport is over rated in any event. From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs…good luck with that comrade. I hope your children have fun strolling along the canals while looking for scraps to eat.

Unbelieveable, but, clearly understandable. The unions have gotten not only out of control but have no perception of reality; they think money grows on trees. The solutions are so simple yet so hard to implement because people have been taught to expect something for nothing, and the big bad businessman is the enemy. One thing is clear, socialism doesn’t work and the more it is implemented, the more it fails because the simple premise of something for nothing never works.

France has some of the crappiest work ethic in westernized culture.

Lazy schmucks — I work 5-7 days per week and hardly take breaks (I often skip breakfast, too.) They just want to play around all day and drink wine…sounds like fun, but we don’t live in Fantasyland.

Well, we’re well on the road to “socialism” here in the US. And socialism ends up the dictatorship of the elite. The rest of us can go scratch.

The sad thing is, this man just said exactly what’s happening in the US to our govt and state workers. They are heavily unionized and don’t really work or fail to work at the level the public demands and without real reform to this the country and these unions are strangling us.

Why is it such a surprise then in our govt we have so much waste and no accountability. It’s NOT for me, what’s absurd is giving these politicians blank checks to continue to fund these massive bureaucracies. Like the bankrupt USPS now having a $2 million San Fran conference with golf and all the trimmings. Why, what do they do that they need this or even a conference? You’ve given them so many tools (cell phones, video conferencing, etc.) and they still don’t know how to use them. PATHETIC!!! Political Correctness is destroying this country and will one day rear it’s head as people have to fight for what little is left because of failed policies and leaders.

Well, we’re well on the road to “socialism” here in the US. And socialism ends up the dictatorship of the elite. The rest of us can go scratch.

Sadly, Taylor is describing a problem the US is not immune from thanks to unionized public K-12 education that has replaced common sense with political correctness, eliminated a work ethic and graduated students with reading and math skills that can be challenged by a private school third grader.

Good we need more guys like this in industry.

Hey maybe we should all just work for free so the boss can live like a king and make sure his family’s future is secure.

another union success- result- loss of 1250 jobs.

could we do better here in the States?

Let’s say I want to start a new goodyear plant here the first thing is the unions want everything.

But I Don’t want unions could I get workers to work for $15 an hour, 40 hour weeks rotating shifts, the company will pay 25 cents on the dollar to a 401k or other type retirement program if they want more then they add it from their own checks. Profit sharing to all at the end of the year and a health package paid for by both the company and the employee equally.

And all this without any Unions.

Not much difference between the French government and Obama’s administration.

WOW The Gi

Wow… The Grizz sounds like my kind of guy. Loved that slap down… Awesome!

Here, here!! Fight back against the Marxists.

The above article cites “some” as understanding that it is impossible to make a profit employing crony unions allied with socialist governments. Well brothers and sisters, this is not just a French problem. This is a problem that is strengthening in destructive power in our own country. For the anyone who has worked in a union rules shop knows, the passion is often taken from the people working there. A union shop immediately devolves to us versus them in the workplace, and the employer, who is the customer, is soon forgotten.
Allow a thought, when God is mocked even as He put the law in our hearts, we are left opinion and weak envy. All the petty rules in the world will not change a heart. When we know God through His son the Christ we realize the service required to others is from love.
We can hold an employer to account without hating them, or causing disgust by their management in their approach to us. We are not laves to be chained by anyone in America.
Yet.

The above article cites “some” as understanding that it is impossible to make a profit employing crony unions allied with socialist governments. Well brothers and sisters, this is not just a French problem. This is a problem that is strengthening in destructive power in our own country. For the anyone who has worked in a union rules shop knows, the passion is often taken from the people working there. A union shop immediately devolves to us versus them in the workplace, and the employer, who is the customer, is soon forgotten.
Allow a thought, when God is mocked even as He put the law in our hearts, we are left opinion and weak envy. All the petty rules in the world will not change a heart. When we know God through His son the Christ we realize the service required to others is from love.
We can hold an employer to account without hating them, or causing disgust by their management in their approach to us. We are not laves to be chained by anyone in America.
Yet.

…And, we have a link from the rightwingnuts at Drudgereport.

daedilus you nailed it the Grizz for President! Spread the word lol.

Liberalism is nothing but laziness: intellectual and physical laziness. I have never known a liberal who was energetic and had a work ethic. They were always trying to get out of work, either intellectual or physical. They are the slugs of the world, and apparently France thinks that is way cool. WRONG.

“I told this to the French union workers to their faces. They told me that’s the French way!”

LOL…then it’s a wonder any company, other than a French company, has any business in France. This highlights exactly the problem with Socialism/Communism. Let others do the work…I’ll just sit back and take, take take.

The situation in France is still very far from what we have here in the US. In fact, it’s so different that no American can even imagine what it’s like to live and work in France.

Whether directly or indirectly, the French state owns most of the French economy, and this tendency to overstep is the result of decades of policies implemented by both left and right wing governments.

France needs to undergo a huge shakeup including major social unrest and a collapse of its unsustainable socioeconomic system, if the French want to adapt to the new global reality.
The further such transformation is delayed the harder it’s going to be for the French to succeed.

“Tax the rich … problem solved!”

useful-idiot liberal

Break the Unions! (can someone please translate that into French?)

French workers -vs- US Government workers = epic fail

French workers -vs- US Government workers = epic fail

To all the brain dead obama voters, try as you might to deny it, this is exactly the type of government you “savior” is trying to mold ours into. Socialism has never and will never work ANYWHERE! If he continues, he and you will not like the response from true Americans.

Don’t sugar coat it Grizz, tell them what you really think! I wish some executive with balls or without, would say the same thing to the US President! The majority of union members in the US work for the government – why do they need protection from the entity that is supposed to protect worker rights? They don’t, it is just extorting the american public for less work and more money.

But…but…but, it is France! Why, the French think of themselves as special and that their country, whose soil is steeped in the blood of decapitated humans and American soldiers, is just too, too elegant for words…they may be stupid and their unions gross examples of greed, but Taylor is not! This brings to mind Greece! Their workers must truly be a worse lot because they have managed to bring their country to its knees and refuse to work for it! The French should pay attention.

The statement “being run by left-wing revolutionaries” Could also apply to the USA.

The really telling part of the article:

.

“Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co’s Amiens Nord plant employs 1,250 workers, who have been battling demands that they work more shifts or accept layoffs. The government said in January that the site faced imminent closure.

.

Talks with Titan over a possible purchase of the plant’s farm tire section fell through last September after a failure to reach a deal with the CGT union on voluntary redundancies.”

.

I other words, these dam(n)ed union fools would rather be jobless than make any effort to save their livelihoods. But then why should they when they have the dole to sit around on? This is why I oppose unlimited unemployment benefits. Where is the incentive to work?

.

They deserve to starve. They are unworthy of the name ‘worker’. A worker works, he is not a spoiled brat no good deadbeat bum like these frogs are.

Obama and the other leftists are like the pigs in Animal Farm, “all animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

Horse worked himself to death in the name of the farm. Refuse to be the pigs’ horse!

I want to thank this Brit paper for publishing stories which their cowardly US MSM brethren fear to to allow in print or online. These ridiculous French workers are merely the progeny of France’s leftist academia’s Frankfurt School of German Intellectuals, the ‘school’ which fought for the Bolshevik’s Dictatorship of the Proletariat in Russia, and cared little between Hitler’s National Socialists, or Stalin’s Soviet Socialist totalitarians as to which socialist dictatorship was able to take down The People of The West.

These French non-workers are merely being the tools of their elitist controllers, kind of like they are the worker ants being told what to do by the Queen ant’s ‘soldiers’.

The same people who’ve wrecked France’s economy, Obama’s people, have also destroyed the once most potent economy in the US: California’s economy, and in the process they have wrecked the hopes and dreams of The People of California.

Those 1,250 workers can now get in the unemployment line which will be funded by the 75% tax of anyone foolish enough to stay in France . If I asked to to write paragraph describing how it ends what would you say?
Something like industry shrinks causing shrinking revenues which cause a lower standard of living while the elite wealthy flee to avoid joining them. ? Sounds logical to me ,how could it end any other way?

KellyMontana .who tolerant you are of the options of others. Have you always been right all your life or just recently?

Wow, somebody finally spoke the truth to the French communist workers collective. And obama wants to bring this type of worker attitude here,
lol. If that were to occur then most tires for us consumption would originate in china.

Three hours a day… lol

No wonder their economy is a wreck. But I must agree – they are still working harder than 80% of government workers.

I was a government contractor – and I think maybe 10% of the Feds do 50% of the work – the contractors do the other 50% and 90% of the Feds sleep in their office all day – and make jokes about it when they are actually awake.

Better to work your people into an early grave and pocket every cent you can like the Corporations do here in Murka!

“Despite having per-head productivity levels that rank among the best in Europe . . .”
Productivity?? What a stinking, lying statistic.
The company spends capital to put in machines and robots and computers, and the workers get the credit for productivity??
French companies exhibit such high productivity because it’s cheaper to install robots, than hire lazy Frenchies. Once a Frenchie is hired, he can’t get fired.

The French comparative advantage is not in manufacturing. I’m not sure where their comparative advantage is, but it’s not in manufacturing.

The CGT (Confédération générale du travail) will wind up burying France. Their rank-and-file were dancing in the streets when Hollande was elected. Now lets see their members party hearty when the Goodyear plan is closed.

Corporations have unions as well. The only difference being they are cunning enough to call them lobbyists.

This whole scenario seems like it was taken from the script of Atlas Shrugged II. The equal share law. What a crock of shyte these people are. It is time to galvanize our resolve and stick it to these looters and their treasonous unpatriotic ways. Let’s just all sck up for a month and just quit. I am tired of paying through th nose for freeloaders and political shysters. It is time to get real.

The French; Would you ever by an RCA television? I personally never buy anything from France OR CHINA. The French can’t even assemble a good pair of shoes to run from whatever conflict is ready to occur. Now it appears that a day’s work is now what they run from. WHY are you the way you are? Take a look and the mirror and ask yourself that.
But first, get yourself a cappuccino so you can think straight.

I would sure like to hear his take on our Socialist in Chief, Obama.

USA is much closer than you think …. I worked a year at a good-sized regional hospital (NW Boston, AM USA suburb) in an administration dept. This is after being sole proprietor running a moderately successful professional services business, and an Operations Manager for an IT start-up. I was shocked at the lack of productivity deemed acceptable in the ‘modern’ American workplace.
I was amazed at the sense of entitlement and the strong – even sabotage – effort to maintain status quo. Even in the face of major and urgent need for adaptive change in the efficiency of the US health care ‘industry’. Worse, these people think they are exemplary, hard-working, high-value assets, and have ‘earned’ the ‘right’ to their position. They have NO CLUE what it is to be any one of those things. None.
The allowed use of personal electronic devices was more shocking. At least twice the dept. Director joked about one ‘workers’ constant use several devices concurrently. The ‘worker’, with some 25 years at the hospital, routinely had smart-phone, tablet, and ipod (earphones/jacks/plugs expressly forbidden by policy) running plain as day on her desk.
Another, behind me repositioned her desk workspace specifically to hide he constant use of her smartphone – especially watching videos sent all day long by her ‘buds’. Yet, another – mind you all this in arm’s reach of my cube – young man easily spent 3+ hours daily on facebook, ‘researching’ youtube to augment his music playlist, and general surfing. This occurred throughout the workday and often given priority to current tasks.

France is such a dis-appointment. I suppose we could use some of that here in the Socialized States of America. Union workers will continue to take this country apart just as they CONTRIBUTED to it’s building. The question is.. WHO will step forward and take on any one single union in this country of ours. The last person I knew who did as such and for all the right reasons was Ronald Reagan when he fired the Air Traffic Controllers. Reagan was last REAL President this country has seen who was NOT afraid to face the unions for what they were THEN.

From the overwhelming consensus here; I guess no one knows which side of the bread is buttered. I don’t support laziness, but breaking ones’ back to add lots of value to a product shouldn’t result in poverty and yet another arrogant billionaire!

A country’s wealth depends on ONE THING–what it produces. A country’s spending (should) depend on ONE THING–available surplus from profit.
Here and elsewhere we no longer produce and we spend fake wealth with borrowed or printed money.
France is only worse than US by degree.
We’ve been violating natural laws of economics for 40 years, with accelerating abandon. It can only end badly, and soon.

Got to love the righites and the anti-worker sentiment, guess they do not realize our country, the USA (and other countries), enjoyed its best economic success with a large and growing middle class. This middle class grows because people make, as in workers, a good wage for their task. I see none of you ridiculing ‘the Grizz’ for his comment that he would rather pay workers one Euro per day, now how is that going to contribute to economic growth? it simply contributes to the pocket books of people like him, growing income inequality and lowering the overall purchasing power of the populace. And many of you are calling out for this guy to be POTUS, sad. The growth of unions and the middle class after WW2 is one of the many reasons why the USA has the world’s #1 economy. And the death of a good middle class wage for workers and the accompanying rise in income inequality is one of the root causes of why our economy is in the slow, inconsistent growth phase now.

That being said every thing in the world demands a balance, workers working for 3 hours a day(if that is even the case, doubtful, but sake of argument), when paid for more, would make it impossible to make a profit and yes companies do have to be profitable. But the one Euro wage per day ‘the Grizz’ talks about is just as unsustainable. This is one of the many reasons why the right continues to marginalize themselves in the USA, they are not interested in compromise or balanced solutions to our problems. They create these straw man arguments that are not true, like ‘Obama wants to make the USA like France’, and use that to ‘justify’ why compromise is a bad thing. And the same thing is happening in this thread.

some folks should get beaten at foxconn before their remains are fed to the grizzlies…

GuidoV said: “I’ll tell you how stupid we are, we voted (twice) for an amateur who is intentionally flushing this country down the toilet. Exactly like the left in France.”

No WE did not vote for this total loser of a president. They, the low information, dim-witted wet-pantie libs voted this moron back into office.

NEVER expect a democrat to tell the truth.

i”ve worked in enough union shops to see exactly why our jobs leave the country. high pay for low output & low quality. and you’re gonna criticize a foreign company who does no different than your union shops in america? 3 hours work huh? why that’s 2 more than we get here each day. it ain’t hard to figure out. and for the record, i’m NOT a liberal.

Who is John Galt?

I purchased Chinese tires under a situation where there was no other option at the time. After having the Chinese tires delaminate and fail early my answer is NO CHINESE PRODUCTS OF ANY TYPE EVER AGAIN. Plus China spends the profit supporting North Korea & Iranian terrorism and building up their own nuclear forces.

I purchased Chinese tires under a situation where there was no other option at the time. After having the Chinese tires delaminate and fail early my answer is NO CHINESE PRODUCTS OF ANY TYPE EVER AGAIN. Plus China spends the profit supporting North Korea & Iranian terrorism and building up their own nuclear forces.

The French can express all the outrage they want, and spout (dubious) figures of their high productivity all day long. The bottom line is simple. Guys like “The Grizz” are NOT going to skip out on a good opportunity for profit if they’re presented with one.

That Taylor not just turned the offer down, but did so in such an outspoken manner, cannot mean anything except that he saw VERY little chance for a reasonable return on investment.

here workers are expected to work for minimum wage, 52 weeks a year and get paid for 8 hours while working 9. no health insurance for part time workers so guess what, your hours have been cut back so now you’ll have to work 2 jobs and depend on food stamps and other programs . and when a machine can replace you it will.

If Michelin is such a super company, why aren’t the French making it attractive for them to buy the plant?

Why didn’t the Grizz tell him that he’d build a factory in the US? I’m glad US companies are making money, but when they make it overseas, it doesn’t do the US any good. Americans are going to have to be content to work at Wendy’s and Burger King. Ah, prosperity.

Go Grizz!

I’ve purchased Chinese tires before as well. Every one of them split inside the treads to the core before 15,000 miles. I do my best not to purchase chinese products, whether it is cell phones or general stuff for the house.

I’ve worked for union shops before and hated it. They did not allow me to try & improve quality of the product. They only listened to “union engineers” and sometimes management. I’ve never met more arrogant people.

The French I have met from France have no initiative and low work values. I am sure there are some good ones, but I have yet to meet one.

Yes, Obama is lowering the standards in the United States. Obama does not care about freedom or personal initiative. Obama has mandated that the working class pay for everything for themselves as well as house, feed & provide medical care for illegal immigrants and their entire families. Obama just about ruined this country in the first four years by dividing the country up where there is more racism, more distance between the poor & the wealthy and growing the deficit. Obama says he created over 6 million jobs. All that have been created under Obama is about 1 million as over 5.1 million lost their jobs after Obama took office. Obama said he did not want any American Citizen to own a gun. Obama has created massive gun sales with bans proposed by Congress. Obama has never recognized that all but one of the mass killings are by people on psychotropic drugs. There is a mental health issue in America that is getting worse & needs to be treated. There is not a gun issue. Under Obama, DHS has purchased enough ammunition to put 5.1 bullets in every man, woman & child in the United States. DHS (Department of Homeland Security) is an in-country force only to protect the citizens (HA!)

The U.S.A. will not last much longer under President Obama just as business will not continue under union stranglehold. Both the country and the U.S. citizens are being choked to death by a government that is growing so fast that it actually affects the employment statistics.

Where do we go from here? Sure won’t be France.

And yet another example of a phenomenon called “long term consequences;” the French Revolution that lopped off the heads of anyone who had even a base education or level of intelligence.

Hahaha … because the French are lazy. It’s true.

Obama passed a law that welfare freeloaders, don’t have to do any work. What kind of message is that ?

In 1993 IBM, in their first ever layoffs, had to keep French factory workers due to the socialist laws and laid off American workers, even though the French workers productivity and yield were MUCH lower!

What one wonders is just how far behind are the American Unions! Care to take a guess? You have been paying attention to the Detroit Car manufacturing plants haven’t you? Well, maybe US unions are not as far behind these outrageous terms as you might think!

@michaelp, news flash, the President CAN NOT pass a law on their own.

All unions had their day. They were honestly needed in the first part of the 20th Century but they became power hungry and lost their way. Looks like France didn’t know when to stop.

Union are dead in the US. Less than 14% of the work force. The only exception, and its a big exception, is government workers. Their pay and benefits are way to high, but that too is changing.

Can you say ‘Hostess’?!

France is a joke, but a really bad one.

OUCH!!! The truth hurts. Way To Go Griz.

I was GIVEN (never would have bought it) a 1965 Citroen ID19. This was a made in France POS car that I was able to keep on the road long enough over a two year period to drive it exactly 31 miles. When it comes to anything mechanical, I do not look to France. Keep in mind that this is the country that took 10 or 12 years to build one aircraft carrier and on its maiden voyage the propellor fell off.

I notice Michelin, and Goodyear have no interest is keeping the plant open
Elections have consequences, and the productive only take so much robbery by the on productive, before they find a better place to be productive. Socialist do not understand competition, and human nature.

Compare the average French worker to USA Government employees and they appear to be superstars.

If the actions of these socialists did not offend me to my very core, I would find their outrage at being held accountable for their actions hilarious.

As things stand, I cannot help but think of the fact that folks were rioting again today in Greece, thinking that some how, some way these fire bombs and rocks will magically cause their government to discover unaccounted trillions which have to be distributed among the population, and worry that we are walking down the exact same path.

Part of Michelin’s “international influence” is its large non-union factory in South Carolina, an American “right to work” state. Even the French know the French are lazy!

I wonder how many of the griz supporters would line up for $1.25 a day.

@USAPragmatist

Executive Order…

Yes, finally, a GOP candidate who wants to build stuff in china and india and pay only a dollar and hour wages, that would be so great for the USA. Didn’t they try that in the last election?

You know what other cars stunk in 1965? Yeh, that would be Japanese cars.

Japanese car companies employ union workers in Japan and America… Yet somehow they seem to be surviving.

An outspoken anti-globalization campaigner, versus a right-winger who revels in provocation — it sounds to me like two guys who might well be on the same side (at least some of the time) if their egos hadn’t collided.

Titan is the typical US corporation run by a psycopath who thinks he can move his operations to China and keep on forever using slave abour. China is taking care of these egomaniacs: tyre production there is getting better and better thanks to the technology provided by jerks like Taylor. Very smart, Grizz. You will end up back to your forest.

…wow…. put this guy in charge of “immigration reform”…

After those US greedy investors monopolized all Chinese factories with Intellectual Properties laws, those Chinese factories will be the same. Those investors need manipulation, not productivity, to make money. That is how they would get rid of those Chinese labors as well.

The Grizz is just another dumb loudmouth…. boasting that workers are paid 1 euro an hour in China? That’s like boasting you made soap in a concentration camp. Wait till the Chinese workers start demanding a real wage…. and wait till the litigation comes in from tire-owners who have had accidents due to exploding tires.

The guys in Amiens should just take over the factory… Coops work very well.

By the way, all the other anti-French loudmouths here…. change channels, you are being fed anglo-news from Murdoch…. France is very different from all your prejudices, which are essentially dumb.

Maurice Taylor is in fact an actor who wears a chimp costume for Titan

Some how he ended up holding a microphone and they have been wheeling him out for media interviews ever since.

Occasionally they have the chimp write letters to the editor, so that they can go “and Morrie says ….”

goes to show, pay workers bananas, you get monkeys

Gee, doesn’t Michelin have more tire factories outside of France than they do in France? You know like those factories in Alabama, Georga, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, South Carolina and other evil capitalist States not to mention the UK, Canada, Brazil, Thailand, etc.
Also, Michelin has indeed been looking at China (Warrior Tires).

There’s a simple reason why a shorter work week is a winner: To have time to buy and consume products. ‘Rest time’ has very little to do with it!

Love this guy.Thanks for this article.

What the CEO really means, is if he has to pay a fair living wage, they can keep their workers… just like he refuses to pay a living wage here in the states. They claim they must outsource to sweatshops in order to keep their heads above water. What he really means is they must outsource our jobs in order to fly over the water in a new lear jet, laughing at the foolish Americans who allow them to get a way with this.

USAPragmatist

You claim that anyone to the right of you (assuming it is possible to be to the left of you) thinks that comprimise is a bad thing. The thing is the unions you appear to worship see comprimise as meaning “you give us EVERYTHING we demand and we will not shut you down”. Comprimise works both ways

What irony in this statement by NealR.WV: “Power and money is what runs the liberal’s lives.” So, Neal, evidently you believe that the Koch brothers and Carl Rove are liberals, since Power and Money are totally what they are about, and anyone who paid any attention to American politics in the last two years alone knows that.

Like a true conservative (Republican), you have again attempted to make the truth appear to be the opposite of what it is. What a waste.

Speaks volumes about US corporate attitude and community responsibility doesn’t it.

The best thing this guy could do for his business is relocate it out of Illinois.

*If this guy has anything in China it should be investigated less than 1 euro an hour is well below China’s minimum wage. (Although it sounds like this guy thinks all workers anywhere should just be slaves).

I find it hilarious that this CEO spoke so candidly about the French economy and why no business wants to invest there.

I find it frightening, however, that the left wants to pursue that same path for the US economy…because half of the electorate appears to be just ignorant enough to buy into it.

Please explain how Unions are the problem, since Germany has Unions and their economy is excellent. Also the average work week in Germany is about 35.6 hours, and they get 35 paid vacation days a year.

I know what George W. Bush thought:

“You work three jobs? … Uniquely American, isn’t it? I mean, that is fantastic that you’re doing that.” —to a divorced mother of three, Omaha, Nebraska, Feb. 4, 2005

Our CEOs earn, on average, SIX TIMES more than Japanese CEOs. Are our CEOs worth 6 times more? They also get paid (golden parachutes) even if they destroy a company.

BTW read Forbes they give a good account of what REALLY destroyed Hostess: various bad mergers that racked up debt and shed profitable assets, management giving themselves bigger and bigger raises, etc.

BeornBorg-the Unions in Germany have for the most part an attitude of working with management as opposed to the ultra confrontational disfunctional US unions-could have something to do with not being all mobbed up. They (the German Unions)actually care about the workers more than about the dues.

So ALL AMERICAN unions are bad. Well I’m sure that generalization works perfectly. Thanks.

This is so weird. The guy spends millions for lobbyists to lobby Congress, manages to get tariffs placed on the competition, and now spitting the dummy and threatening to get his tires made in China @ a buck an hour. Wake up mate your lobbyists and the unions are no different. You are both trying to get the best deal.

I love the comments here, it sounds like most of the “conservatives” aspire to be more like China.

Maybe we can have a society with just the ultra rich and the rest of us. Then we can all dream of working ourselves to death to make it out of poverty … is that the new American dream?

I know ignorance is bliss, so ignore the rest of this.

We’re the ONLY INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD WITH NO LEGALLY MANDATED ANNUAL LEAVE. I mentioned, in an earlier post, that Germany has 35 DAYS of annual leave. The GERMANS have an EXCELLENT ECONOMY. Does anyone in these comments wonder why we can’t look at GERMANY and improve our economy? No they just look at FRANCE and scream that it would destroy our economy. Funny how both countries can have Unions, paid annual leave, health care, etc. and then you can point to FRANCE and say that it destroyed their economy … but if you then look at GERMANY you say … oh it doesn’t really have anything to do with it.

I really don’t know where you “conservatives” want to go. We’ve let you run the place for the last few decades (Reagan, Newt, Bush, Scalia, Greenspan, etc.). We let the banks pass laws to repeal all the safeguards that were forced on them after the first depression. We have an unregulated derivatives market with more than 20 times the money than exists on the entire planet. We have hundreds of explanations by top economists of why our economy tanked (but conservatives made up this CRA BS that no one with a neuron takes seriously).

There seems to be a lot of “conservative” anti-science, anti-education, anti-health care, anti-infrastructure, anti-environment, etc. ideas.

But then we have PRO religion, PRO prison, PRO drug war, PRO any war, PRO privatization, etc.

Then we get to hear how “liberals are stupid”. After dubba, and almost getting Sarah Palin … really …. really are you going to go there?

Also please quit using the work “Socialist”, or buy a dictionary.

It is better to work 3 part-time jobs at minimum wage without benefits. That’s the American way… AMERICAN FRIES AMERICAN FRIES AMERICAN FRIES

BeornBorg, I’ve lived in Germany for a number of years so I am anything but ignorant of the culture.
The fact is that in Germany both the Unions and management have avenues where they attempt to work TOGETHER to resolve conflict. Unlike in the US where Unions start from a basis of confrontation. Why else would Unions in the US lobby to be exempt from Stalking Laws as noted in a recent Reuters article?
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2013/02/14/why-do-unions-seek-exemption-from-anti-stalking-laws/
And as an aside the German economy is chugging along by leveraging its future and because they have plans to institute various budget cuts. (again in Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/23/us-germany-budget-cuts-idUSBRE8BM06S20121223

If you do not understand that the entire fallacy of Keynesian econommics as a saviour to a consistantly depressing economy has been brought to light to all of the European countries (name one that ISN’T cutting some programs) then you are simply spouting rhetoric based on a world as you wish it were and not as it truly is. Your hatred of Republicans has blinded you.

CBJ

I’ve been to Germany, one of my best friends is German and his family goes back every summer to be with his mother.

My POINT is that you can’t say UNIONS are the problem when there is an example of UNIONS (i.e. German Unions) that work. Again “conservatives” point at FRANCE and say “run away”, but then don’t want to acknowledge WHAT WORKS (or can work) in GERMANY. I’m not even arguing the point of the differences in our cultures, I’m arguing the point that you (or they) can’t use FRANCE as a cautionary tale because of that very same reason.

Also the GERMAN economy might have slowed down, but ALL ECONOMIES TOOK A HIT. We let our Bankers, none who have been brought to trail, almost destroy the financial system.

And since you brought up the “fallacy of Keynesian” economics, am I to assume you believe in that “Austrian School” BS? Libertarian maybe?

I’ll try to be clear. I’m not saying ALL UNIONS are good or ALL UNIONS are bad. I’m saying that GERMANY (and the other industrialized countries) have Unions, legally mandated vacation days, health care, etc. and IT DIDN’T DESTROY THEIR ECONOMIES.

And my “hatred of Republicans” hasn’t blinded me. What I do object to is the current crop of “conservatives”. The ones who are ANTI-SCIENCE, and have a low information world view. Their ignorance is starting to be a problem for the rest of the planet.

BeornBorg,
The old “I have a fried who . . .” gambit never really is a substitute for facts.
Is Europe or is Europe not cutting spending in various and sundry entitlement programs that have been funded using the Keynesian school of thought that government spending fuels the economy?
Don’t prevaricate.
One of Keynes last quotes
“I find myself more and more relying for a solution of our problems on the invisible hand which I tried to eject from economic thinking twenty years ago.”

You do know what the ‘invisible hand’ is that he was refering to, no?

When I lived in Germany I was able to experence their social health care program first hand and I have no complaint. It was great. The problem is that social spending is funded by an ever decreasing work force and is being used by an ever expanding retirement force (the aging demographics). All social spending can only work as long as more goes in than comes out and the very laws of entropy support this and if you look at earth sciences the very same claim is being made. It is a question of dwindling resources being used by an expanding consumer base.
Social spending is only a part of it. Point of fact is that consumption itself must decrease and how is this possible when the entire human nature is based on consumption? How, when the economy (even under Keynesian theory)must consume its way out of depression? It matters not if its the government which consumes or the public directly the end result is the same.

Um, like three hours is a lot! You can get a lot done in that amount of time. I’m now worried about the productivity gap between our unions and France’s! What can we do to catch up?

CBJ

I understand you have a problem with Keynesian economics. The original point was that those countries were doing fine until WE (or the U.S. Banks) destroyed the world economies.

And I’m not sure how relevant the Adam Smith reference is, considering modern Keynesian theories. BUT SINCE I’M NOT AN ECONOMIST it’s not really something I feel compelled to attack or defend.

Again my point was that most modern industrialized countries seem to have a better deal for their MIDDLE CLASS.

The boss BIG DADDY wants his American workers to work hard to make him wealthy so naturally he approves of long hours at minimum wages with no benefits.

Look at some facts.

American Goodyear’s annual profits for 2011: $343m.

French Michelin’s annual profits for 2011: $1,927m

So… Goodyear is being soundly beaten by the French tyre manufacturer Michelin, yet the right-wing CEO of American Goodyear, instead of accepting that his businesses troubles are down to his incompetence, blames them on… the lazy French.

Of course it is possible to tough it out and work 16 hours per day doing physical labor. I’ve done this for short stints, and the work can even be gratifying. But why would anyone want to do this all the time? And for the rich out there, why would you expect anyone to do this for you without making it possible for these people to spend time with their families?
When you hire a worker to take care of your kids, you don’t just want a productive worker – a machine could be produced to feed your kids, change their diapers, and bounce little Johnny up and down on a mechanical knee – Charlie Chaplin was strapped into just this type of machine in the classic movie, “Modern Times”, only that machine was supposed to feed him soup in the name of bringing efficiency to his lunch break so that productivity could be raised.
When you hire a worker to take care of your kids, you want quality. You want someone who cares, who is engaged with them, someone the kids respect. You want someone with some imagination, and creativity.
Sure productivity is important, but so is the quality of the product, and the quality of life of those producing it.

In this day and age you probably can pay someone $1.25 per day to work for you, but this is such a cop out. All you are doing is sowing the seeds of a future revolution. Sure we can kick the can down to the next generation doing this, it might even take a couple of generations, but in the end, sowing seeds of hatred, distrust, disrespect, and the like can only produce a crop a malnourished, maladjusted, malicious individuals bent on overthrowing a corrupt system.

@taxcorps2

“What irony in this statement by NealR.WV: “Power and money is what runs the liberal’s lives.” So, Neal, evidently you believe that the Koch brothers and Carl Rove are liberals, since Power and Money are totally what they are about, and anyone who paid any attention to American politics in the last two years alone knows that.

Like a true conservative (Republican), you have again attempted to make the truth appear to be the opposite of what it is. What a waste.”

Buffet, Soros, Kennedy, Rockefeller, Kerry, Gates, etc. etc. Both parties are ran by multi-billionaires. Thinking one party is better than the other is insanity.

@TheNewWorld

Both parties have wealthy contributors, but that’s somewhat of a FALSE equivalency. If you look at

http://www.opensecrets.org/overview/topcontribs.php

You can see what people, and groups, contributed to which parties and by how much. It’s not 50-50.