Monday, January 23, 2006

Let's hear it for free trade

Ford today announced the tragic yet inevitable evisceration of its American labor force, with plans to cut a quarter of their US jobs--30,000--and close 14 plants--news, which of course, sent stocks soaring.

Bill Ford, Chair and Chief Exec. expressed his rue, reminding all of the laid off workers who won't be able to feed their families or, in many cases, get decent jobs again, that we all need to tighten our belts:
"These cuts are a painful last resort, and I'm deeply mindful of their impact," Chairman and Chief Executive Bill Ford said in announcing the cuts. "In the long run we will create far more stable and secure jobs. We all have to change and we all have to sacrifice, but I believe this is the path to winning."
Meanwhile, government officials are just as dismayed about our economy tanking, with Senators like Baucus, top Dem. on the Finance Committee, explaining that he too is really sad:
Everybody is concerned about job losses and so am I," he told The Associated Press in an interview in Bangalore, his first stop on a five-day tour of India.

"But the world is flat and we must work harder to better retrain our people," rather than resist outsourcing, he said. "Offshoring is a fact of globalization. Opportunities for U.S. companies come from everywhere--including India."
Well, I'm here to say, I'm really concerned too. Job loss being the sad but seemingly irresistible force of nature that it is on this flat earth we inhabit, I'm going to suggest that we think about outsourcing Congress. I am certain there are plenty of qualified lawyers in Bangalore who would be happy to serve on the Finance Committee for a fraction of the cost of Baucus.

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