The Way I See ItBy cj pollickHave A Safe And Happy Thanksgiving - Even though many people are struggling through a deep recession, we have much to give thanks for. We are thankful for our US military serving overseas – Thank our fine young men and women protecting our nation and its people. Thank you to our loyal readers and advertisers – Thank you to all of our writers and administrative staff – we are most grateful for your support and loyalty. Have a Happy Thanksgiving. Turkey Trot – For the past 30 years there has been a city event that helps to create the “Thanksgiving atmosphere,” the Times Turkey Trot. Over 17,000 runners are expected to participate in this year’s event. Runners from Tampa Bay turn out to test their running skills against some of the best runners in the state. Of course, you do not need to be a great runner to enjoy the Turkey Trot. All runners and walkers can participate in the fun. Festival Of Trees – Looking for the exceptional Christmas tree? Perhaps you should consider visiting Clearwater’s Festival of Trees at Harborview Center Wednesday – Sunday. Mitt Romney Responds - The former governor of Massachusetts wrote a most interesting article that was published in the Wall Street Journal last week. Romney said, " If General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for this week, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye." "Without the bailout," Romney said, "Detroit would seriously need to restructure itself." Romney believes the American automotive industry could compete globally if disadvantages in costs to foreign competition was eliminated. Romney explained that the added costs inherent to US auto makers was equal to about $2,000 per car... imagine the things Detroit could do if the playing field was equal. However, without changes in the way business is done in Detroit, a bailout could simply be a waste of taxpayer funds. "In a managed bankruptcy, the federal government would provide newly competitive and viable automakers, rather than seal their fate with a bailout check." Should management in Detroit be given a free pass to use taxpayer funds and continue a losing business model? Mitt Romney believes there should be some government assistance, but only with changes in the way business is done in Detroit. To merely give billions of dollars of taxpayers funds without any significant changes in helping the automotive industry, it is likely they would be back asking for more government money. Remove unfair US tax barriers and try to create an even playing field with foreign competition, says Romney. Obama Tries To Help The Clintons - Sen. Obama was trying his best to give the Sec. of State job to Sen. Hillary Clinton. The problem, however, was allowing the Clintons time to straighten-out Bill Clinton's financial affairs. Things like his Foundation list of donors, speaking and engagement fee income, etc., etc. On the other hand, making the list of Clinton donors public might show a financial picture the Clintons have been trying to avoid. Sen. Obama knows this problem and has been working with Clinton attorneys to "pave the way" to her appointment as Sec. of State. Of course, one of the lingering issues is how the Clintons would raise several million dollars to pay for Hillary Clinton's campaign financial shortfall. It appears that Sen. Obama has not rescued Hillary Clinton from campaign debt. Sec. of State for Hillary? Yes, she won the election and picked the cabinet. Obama and Private School – Sen. Obama plans to send his children to the Sidwell School, the same school Chelsea Clinton attended. The cost of this exclusive private school? $30,000 per student per year. Yet, Sen Obama rejects the school voucher program – go figure. Financial Shortfall - When city and other government unions negotiate for best possible retirement plans, they tend to negotiate for a plan referred to as "defined benefits." The reason? Simple, this type of retirement plan means the taxpayers (government) must pay whatever it takes to fund the retirement benefits, regardless of investment and/or market conditions. Thus, it means the monthly check amount to retirees is guaranteed by the city/government. The good news? It is the best of all retirement plans. The bad news? If market (recession) conditions change or, if investments made to fund the payouts fall, more taxes might be needed to fund the fixed retirement plan. How are things going with local city/governments? Probably not good, investments are down by as much as 50% for some investments and current invested assets might not be actuarially "up to snuff." This is one area where elected officials confront a lose-lose situation; they might be forced to make tough decisions with city unions that typically get involved with city elections. On the other hand, taxpayers have just about been tapped-out. This is one of those city problems that might not receive much news, for obvious reasons. Banks And Life Insurance Companies Crumble – Citigroup might sell assets in order to survive. Bank of America’s stock value continues to drop while several large llfe insurance companies are buying small banks just to obtain federal “bailout” funds. All in all, the financial services industry is in deep trouble and without federal funds they might fall the way of AIG. Who would have through things could have gotten this bad. Tebow For The Heisman -- Why should Tebow not be considered for the Heisman this year if the Gators win the national championship? Some sports writers have mentioned Tebow as being a part of the list of possible winners, but few have listed Tebow on their short list. Tebow, they say, is not having the same good year as last year when he won the Heisman. Gator fans are outraged with those types of comments; after all, Tebow is clearly the reason the Gators are in contention for the national championship, Tebow does the things necessary to win-- and that pleases the coaching staff at Florida. Yes, less running this year for Tebow, but more passing and more field management for Tebow. The Way I See It, if the Gators win the national championship, it would be difficult to not consider him for the Heisman (again.) GO GATORS. (Lookout Alabama.) Bail-out GM, Chrysler And Ford? - Democrat leaders in Congress are just beginning to observe how the "BIG THREE" automakers do business overseas. Each automobile company has, or is building, large production plants in places like Brazil, etc., at a cost of hundreds of million of dollars (and lost US jobs.) And, yes, they all expect a government bailout of billions of US taxpayer dollars. Good deal? No. How will President Obama handle this bailout? He will try to balance support for auto unions versus non-support for automotive company greed and mismanagement. After all, the US workers had no part in car design, engineering, foreign tax and office planning, stockholder relations or poor investment planning. On the other hand, what if three million jobs are lost due to US automaker collapse? These tough decisions had been made by Republicans in national office, now they will be made by Democrats in office. Pay close attention to the liberal media spin when those difficult decisions begin to haunt our nation's economic plight. How bad is the nation's economy? One national commentator stated that it could take two generations to pay for the bailout debt being created in our US Congress. |