Wall St Journal headline. The new Ford-UAW contract allows Ford to hire new workers on at about $15 an hour. Ford is going to beef up production in Michigan and start assembly the new Fusion in Michigan. Up until now Fusions were only produced in Mexico. Another Ford plant in Kentucky will assemble vans which are currently assembled overseas. Ford also announced plans to manufacture a transmission currently purchased in Japan, and oil pumps currently made in China.
Could it be that the UAW managed to price itself out of business and is just coming back to its senses?
Friday, October 7, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Obama gives a press conference
Just finished up on Fox. Disappointing. Obama called upon reporters by name, and was able to get a series of softball questions from the likes of the New York Times, ABC, NBC, and Reuters. Each question resulted in several minutes of meaningless blather from the President. "millionaires and billionaires", "Good of the American People", "Fair share", "economists agree that my jobs bill will create jobs" (without naming any of these economists). "Solyndria was one one of many green jobs companies financied by the Federal government" (without naming any of the others).
Never a number. Never a substantive statement. Obama, like most US pols, has mastered a language of vague nice sounding phrases, and he can just open his mouth and they spill forth, as meaningless this time as they were the last time. Arrgh.
Never a number. Never a substantive statement. Obama, like most US pols, has mastered a language of vague nice sounding phrases, and he can just open his mouth and they spill forth, as meaningless this time as they were the last time. Arrgh.
We are going to miss Steve Jobs
It was with sorrow that I heard of Steve's death last night. Steve was the man who conceived and brought to market, Apple II, Macintosh, Ipod, Iphone, Ipad. Today tens of thousands of people are gainfully employed making, selling and servicing these revolutionary products. Without Steve, all those people might well be out of work today.
We need more new products guys. The way out of Great Depression 2.0 lies thru new product introduction.
We need more new products guys. The way out of Great Depression 2.0 lies thru new product introduction.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Nobel Prize in Chemistry for quasicrystals
NHPR announced the Nobel prize in chemistry was given to Daniel Schechtman of Technion in Israel for the discovery of quasicrystals.
I never heard of quasi crystals before so I did some research. Far as I can tell, quasi crystals are a form of solid matter in between regular crystals and glasses. Glass lacks any kind of order on the molecular level; glasses are more like a supercooled liquid than a crystalline solid.
Quasi crystals are somehow less ordered than ordinary crystals. When they refract X rays they don't show some of the symmetries that regular crystals do. Just what those symmetries are, and what they mean was not clear to me.
Since most of what we know about the crystal structure of matter comes from X ray diffraction experiments, discovery of a new structure is clearly very important in the field of X ray crystallography. Applications outside that field are less obvious right now, although we can expect it to lead to better insight into strength of materials, and possibly lead to stronger building materials or stronger metal alloys.
I never heard of quasi crystals before so I did some research. Far as I can tell, quasi crystals are a form of solid matter in between regular crystals and glasses. Glass lacks any kind of order on the molecular level; glasses are more like a supercooled liquid than a crystalline solid.
Quasi crystals are somehow less ordered than ordinary crystals. When they refract X rays they don't show some of the symmetries that regular crystals do. Just what those symmetries are, and what they mean was not clear to me.
Since most of what we know about the crystal structure of matter comes from X ray diffraction experiments, discovery of a new structure is clearly very important in the field of X ray crystallography. Applications outside that field are less obvious right now, although we can expect it to lead to better insight into strength of materials, and possibly lead to stronger building materials or stronger metal alloys.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
NH revenues improving
After all the sturm and drang over the NH budget this spring, things are looking up. Tax receipts are up and we might even turn a slight surplus. If you remember back in June the MSM were wailing and gnashing their teeth over "cuts" to all sorts of worthy programs.
Looks like the fiscal blood letting has done some good. Tax revenue is up, estimated tax payments are up, and tax refunds are down. Maybe the New Hampshire Advantage is kicking in again.
Looks like the fiscal blood letting has done some good. Tax revenue is up, estimated tax payments are up, and tax refunds are down. Maybe the New Hampshire Advantage is kicking in again.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Economic recovery means defeat Obama
After three years of Obama the private sector is shell shocked. They plan to dig deep holes and hibernate until Obama is gone. For example.
1. Shutting down oil exploration and voiding oil leases.
2. Repeated Federal financial crisis and lack of Federal budget.
3. Obamacare
4. Dodd Frank
5. Taking over GM and Chrysler
6. Calling for punitive taxes against oil companies and corporate aircraft. And against "the wealthy" who don't sound very wealthy, they sound like pretty much everyone.
7. Threatening Boeing's new North Carolina plant for 787 production
8. FCC taking over the internet via "net neutrality" regulations, despite a court order not to.
9. EPA running amok and trying to shut down everything that burns anything.
10.Gun running into Mexico (Fast and Furious)
11.$14 trillion federal debt.
12. 54 mpg CAFE.
13. Killing off Gibson Guitar. Obama's Feds have put Gibson out of business and thrown all the workers out on the street for no reason (other than Gibson has contributed money to Republicans.
After all this anti business action by the Obama administration, investors of all sizes have decided to bury their money in the backyard and wait for safer times. At this point there is nothing Obama can do to overcome the fear that the last three years reign of terror has created in the business community. With luck he will be gone in 2012. Too bad we have to wait that long to start putting people back to work.
1. Shutting down oil exploration and voiding oil leases.
2. Repeated Federal financial crisis and lack of Federal budget.
3. Obamacare
4. Dodd Frank
5. Taking over GM and Chrysler
6. Calling for punitive taxes against oil companies and corporate aircraft. And against "the wealthy" who don't sound very wealthy, they sound like pretty much everyone.
7. Threatening Boeing's new North Carolina plant for 787 production
8. FCC taking over the internet via "net neutrality" regulations, despite a court order not to.
9. EPA running amok and trying to shut down everything that burns anything.
10.Gun running into Mexico (Fast and Furious)
11.$14 trillion federal debt.
12. 54 mpg CAFE.
13. Killing off Gibson Guitar. Obama's Feds have put Gibson out of business and thrown all the workers out on the street for no reason (other than Gibson has contributed money to Republicans.
After all this anti business action by the Obama administration, investors of all sizes have decided to bury their money in the backyard and wait for safer times. At this point there is nothing Obama can do to overcome the fear that the last three years reign of terror has created in the business community. With luck he will be gone in 2012. Too bad we have to wait that long to start putting people back to work.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Bashing the Tea Party
The Tea Party has spread fear and panic among professional politicians nationwide. Tea Party has a huge number of supporters, and last year showed some teeth in the elections. Some RINO's were slain in the primaries, and that was really scary.
Tea Party is so scary that the North Grafton DEMOCRATS have rented the Colonial Theater in Bethlehem and will put on an anti-Tea Party program this coming Thursday evening. Message of the show will be "The Tea Party is just AstroTurf, bought and paid for by the millionaire Koch brothers".
I have some association with the Tea Party, and the people are all New Hampshire citizens of long standing. They wish there were outside money (or inside money or any kind of money) to support them, but there isn't.
The Tea Party is more idea than Party. It stands for lower taxes, and lower spending to permit those lower taxes, less borrowing, and the limited Federal government that the US Constitution calls for. Those ideas are shared by all Americans. The Tea Party lacks ballot access, candidates, dues, membership cards, elected officers, regular meetings, and all those things that mark an ordinary political party.
But it does have a compelling idea and lots and lots of believers in that idea.
Tea Party is so scary that the North Grafton DEMOCRATS have rented the Colonial Theater in Bethlehem and will put on an anti-Tea Party program this coming Thursday evening. Message of the show will be "The Tea Party is just AstroTurf, bought and paid for by the millionaire Koch brothers".
I have some association with the Tea Party, and the people are all New Hampshire citizens of long standing. They wish there were outside money (or inside money or any kind of money) to support them, but there isn't.
The Tea Party is more idea than Party. It stands for lower taxes, and lower spending to permit those lower taxes, less borrowing, and the limited Federal government that the US Constitution calls for. Those ideas are shared by all Americans. The Tea Party lacks ballot access, candidates, dues, membership cards, elected officers, regular meetings, and all those things that mark an ordinary political party.
But it does have a compelling idea and lots and lots of believers in that idea.
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