Meanwhile in Europe...

All European Governments are bailing out their auto industries.
The auto crisis has everything to do with the current administration disastrous energy policy and Iraq war and little to do with GM or Ford models. GM and Ford are very successful in Europe.
German auto workers are all unionized (3,6 million members!) Unions not only help set up wages, but have mandatory seats on the board and all auto companies MUST have a workers'council that decides on policy.
The average worker's salary at Porsche's, Opel (GM) or VW is 1,600$ a week for a 35 hr week. Workers are paid a 13th month at Christmas. Like all German citizens, they are entilted to 6 weeks paid vacation and enjoy 100% medical coverage courtesy of their Universal Medical Insurance scheme. Their children go to college free of charge and like any German kid, can also attend free training classes in the Industry.

US auto workers would be competitive if their companies were not burdened by an insane healthcare system that enriches the few and puts the US at the bottom of OECD countries ranking.

The posse of Southern Senators who want to score against the UAW at the expense of the country are the same people who have given huge subsidies to foreign manufacturers in their states. they have chosen Japan and Korea over their own country. Shame on them.

Separated at birth?

In true Grinch fashion, Senator Mc Connell is giving lumps of coal to Detroit workers. Not satisfied with having ruined the nation with their ideology since Reagan, Congressional republicans are hell bent on destroying what is left of it, the hard working blue collar middle class. It is ok to bail out reckless bankers who gambled our savings, but if the workers' Unions do not commit hara-kiri, our Confederate rump Republicans would rather let the whole manufacturing sector of America go down the tubes. Lets get rid of the only group to defend the working class and their working conditions. It does not hurt that Japanese automakers are located in Tennessee either!

There are 3 parallel downward curves starting in 1981: Union membership, education levels and the US ranking by WHO. Not a coincidence.
Henry Ford knew a thing or two when he decided to pay his workers enough so they could afford a Model T.
But in a last salvo, a band of republican dinosaurs is unabashedly trying to hurt the working man and his unions to win a last one for the Gipper.
Bravo Mitch the Grinch. Remember Scrooge and look out for a few ghosts.

From Silicon Valley to Africa

Last week, I added a few miles to my account. For the cognoscenti, I flew to the following airports between Nov. 30 and Dec.11. : TPA-JFK-LGA-DCA-IAD-OAK-IAD-DAK-IAD.
The first week was dedicated to compare the French way of raising funds to the new `Venture Philanthropy`` in the US. A new way to raise funds for the neediest. In France and in the US, we are faced with Public authorities who can no longer finance basic needs in terms of health and education. The logical end of a long running policy of No New Taxes.
This week, I was in Africa, where the world was discussing its successes in fighting TB and malaria. For AIDS, the record is not quite as good. Overall, the situation in Africa is not good, with a steady deterioration aggravated by the financial crisis.
The contrast in one week between the Stanford campus and the streets of Dakar was sobering. It is true, if you it is like riding a bike. If you stop pedalling you will fall. They have started to fall.

G 20 meeting.

The 20 most powerful countries in the world met this week end to propose solutions to the crisis. I was lucky enough to play a minor role in this gathering. I was the proverbial fly on the wall , first at the evening dinner , and then at the conference. Washington was enveloped in a pink mist that evening, that gave a melancholy impression, quite in tune with the moment. Greed broke the back of a world economy, which, until now, roared from record to record. The Europeans are determined to severely restrict greed and make the presence of Big Brother felt at every transactions. The US are trying to resist, But real power, is in the hands of leaders who have acquired our wealth through our own sins: China, the Gulf Emirates, Saudi Arabia etc. We could not have picked less democratic regimes. Alas, He who pays the piper calls the tune.
Are we ready to have to receive our marching orders in Chinese characters?

President-elect Obama.

I was lucky enough to be at "Election plaza" in New York City when they announced that Barack Obama had clinched the election. I was engulfed in a very emotional crowd. People of all colors and origins embraced each other and there was not a dry eye. I felt at that time that this country contains a vital energy that does not exist anywhere else. It thrives on challenges, and, whereas our European allies love to write America's obituary on a regular basis, it is precisely at its hour of deepest crisis that it is reborn, a cross between the mythical Phoenix and "Groundhog day". If there is one country that will get out from under in this catastrophic economic era, it is the US.
Thank God the Bush era is over. One of Obama's hardest tasks will be to re-connect with our allies and other countries. But as long as the previous administration enjoys impunity, the rest of the world might not be convinced the page has turned

In the meantime, back at the barn.......

Although it may be early to write the History chapter related to the George Bush presidency, it is now time to ask Reagan's famous question: "Are you better off than 8 years ago?"
The answer borders on the cruel...Both wars are faltering. After thousands of death and trillions of wasted dollars, we are paying off the enemy in Irak and about to hand over power to the Talibans in Afghanistan. The economy is in a free fall. Our car companies about to disappear. Detroit will be just as abandonned as New Orleans. The loss of two major cities and part of New York. I won't mention the Constitution nor America's status abroad.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the aerth, the Chinese are doing well, thank you. Oh, they slowed down to "only 9% annual growth. But they build more Chryslers and Buicks than the US. Their "taikonauts" had a successful spacewalk, a rehearsal before their planned moonwalk. And, their leaders just met the leaders of 27 European and 20 Asian countries, to decide what to do with their wayward American friends. No American was invited.

Lessons from the bank crisis.

Who would have thought that a Republican Administration would have nationalized US banks? After the absolute shambles caused by the buying of politicians in order to get rid of regulations, our Masters of the Universe have to eat humble pie. Hank Paulson himself told his counterparts that it was "humbling" to represent the US at this time.
This worldwide disaster is one more scalp on GWB's belt. You did a heck of a job Bushie!
The French, the Europeans and the US treasury all had their solution, which means that nothing would work. After long discussions, for which I was the proverbial "fly on the wall", our leaders promptly adopted Gordon Brown's solution, the radical takeover of most large private banks.
This is not socialism, it is merely a shot in the arm to repair a virus sown by greed and a political system gone wild. The constant campaign US politicians are caught in , force them to raise funds 24/7. Lobbyists use it to exchange funds for easier rules. The result is a worldwide recessiom an increase in world poverty (+ 100 million people in only 1 month), the wiping out of our savings, retirement funds and housing stock, and one more grudge the World will bear against the US.

We are lucky Globalization worked in the guise of the IMF annual meetings.
I, was lucky enough to be present at these meetings and witness some of these discussions.
There is a direct link between Reganomics {dubbed voodoo economics by Bush pere), Enron, the Newt Gingrich revolution, the ruthless culture wars of the christian right, the organized plunder of the State by the likes of Abramof, the disregard for the Constitution by the neocons, and the catastrophic wars of preemption : hubris, lack of any sense of reality, greed, power craze, and a profound lack of respect for their fellow human beings. All this is linked.
It will take the effort of the entire world and generations of US citizens to repair the damage caused by this handful of political thugs.
"Ill gotten gains never last"!
How different the world would be today if the 2000 election had been free of fraud!