Former Task Force Chief Rattner Slams Wagoner
BUSINESSWEEK.com
The Auto Beat
Posted by: David Welch on October 22
Former Treasury Department auto task force chief Steve Rattner took off the gloves in his assessment of fired General Motors Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner.
… Rattner said in his own narrative of the auto bailout that he and his team found at GM “perhaps the weakest finance operation any of us had ever seen in a major company.” That should be the last thing they discovered at GM given that Wagoner and many of his very top reports came from GM’s New York treasury office or were, at the least, finance guys by training.
… He wrote: “Certainly Rick and his team seemed to believe that virtually all of their problems could be laid at the feet of some combination of the financial crisis, oil prices, the yen-dollar exchange rate, and the UAW.” Wagoner made that case repeatedly and many in the organization took it to heart. GM had excuses for not succeeding and they came right down from the top. Rattner also wrote that he found a tone of “friendly arrogance” from Wagoner. That was what did Wagoner in. He opposed the idea of bankruptcy, which the task force and its advisors thought was an option that needed to be seriously considered. And if Wagoner thought GM’s problems were inherited, and the union, oil prices and the yen were to blame, then he surely wasn’t the CEO to bring in real change.
The truth is that the UAW did not hesitate to come to the party with concessions and total co-operation. The Wall Street bond holders were the bad guys, and refused to make any concessions at all until threatened by Washington, and specifically called out by President Obama.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
What’s Wrong With Michigan?
Last night Detroit TV station, Channel 7 ABC reported on the State of Michigan Budget negotiations now ongoing. The Legislature is refusing to raise any taxes, so that means cutting somewhere, and the usual target is Education.
Channel 7 News at 5:30 read two comments from viewers. The first comment was that if the educators had been doing a better job of educating our children, the State would have a surplus. [logic???] The second comment was that the first place to cut spending should be education, and that our teachers are overpaid.
This is a general opinion of Education in Michigan, where:
MICHIGAN HOUSE OK’S SKIPPING ALGEBRA II IN HIGH SCHOOL
(AP) -- Lansing, Mich. - Michigan high school students could skip algebra II and still graduate under legislation approved by the state House.
Lawmakers voted 97-10 Wednesday to pass the bill, which now goes to the Senate.
It likely will face opposition from [Democratic] Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who has said she doesn't want to water down Michigan's tough high school graduation standards.
This is the same State where Mitt Romney campaigned for the 2008 Republican Primary, telling us that you shouldn’t need a college education to get a good job. He also said he could fix the automobile industry and put us all back to work if elected President. Mitt won the primary here.
Michigan must be an attractive State for high-tech companies, with stone-age work force and great schools for their kids. Then there’s the roads…
Last night Detroit TV station, Channel 7 ABC reported on the State of Michigan Budget negotiations now ongoing. The Legislature is refusing to raise any taxes, so that means cutting somewhere, and the usual target is Education.
Channel 7 News at 5:30 read two comments from viewers. The first comment was that if the educators had been doing a better job of educating our children, the State would have a surplus. [logic???] The second comment was that the first place to cut spending should be education, and that our teachers are overpaid.
This is a general opinion of Education in Michigan, where:
MICHIGAN HOUSE OK’S SKIPPING ALGEBRA II IN HIGH SCHOOL
(AP) -- Lansing, Mich. - Michigan high school students could skip algebra II and still graduate under legislation approved by the state House.
Lawmakers voted 97-10 Wednesday to pass the bill, which now goes to the Senate.
It likely will face opposition from [Democratic] Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who has said she doesn't want to water down Michigan's tough high school graduation standards.
This is the same State where Mitt Romney campaigned for the 2008 Republican Primary, telling us that you shouldn’t need a college education to get a good job. He also said he could fix the automobile industry and put us all back to work if elected President. Mitt won the primary here.
Michigan must be an attractive State for high-tech companies, with stone-age work force and great schools for their kids. Then there’s the roads…
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Somali Pirates Mistake French Military Vessel for Commercial Ship
Wednesday, October 07, 2009 Associated Press
PARIS — Somali pirates in two skiffs fired on a French navy vessel early Wednesday after apparently mistaking it for a commercial boat, the French military said. The French ship gave chase and captured five suspected pirates.
Thong-Wearing Florida Biker Agrees to Cover Up in Future
Wednesday, October 07, 2009 Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Tallahassee man known for riding his bike in a thong has avoided prosecution for reportedly exposing himself and agreed to cover up in the future.
Irby had been charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct. A Tallahassee police officer who responded to a mobile home park on Aug. 17 was told that a resident saw Irby walking around in a thong with his genitals exposed. Days later, the mobile home park office manager said two others had reported exposure incidents. Irby told the Tallahassee Democrat Monday the he now has bicycle shorts that come down to just above his knees.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009 Associated Press
PARIS — Somali pirates in two skiffs fired on a French navy vessel early Wednesday after apparently mistaking it for a commercial boat, the French military said. The French ship gave chase and captured five suspected pirates.
Thong-Wearing Florida Biker Agrees to Cover Up in Future
Wednesday, October 07, 2009 Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Tallahassee man known for riding his bike in a thong has avoided prosecution for reportedly exposing himself and agreed to cover up in the future.
Irby had been charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct. A Tallahassee police officer who responded to a mobile home park on Aug. 17 was told that a resident saw Irby walking around in a thong with his genitals exposed. Days later, the mobile home park office manager said two others had reported exposure incidents. Irby told the Tallahassee Democrat Monday the he now has bicycle shorts that come down to just above his knees.
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