Jackson Jambalaya

Meanwhile Tom Head and his CAIR buddies grieve.

See rest of video of debate at this link

If you want to lobby RNC members, here is their contact info: RNC Members

2009 Mississippi Legislature Social Calendar


Read it and weep.

Should Kingfish run for Mayor of Jackson?

Here is a link to the video for the debate for the election of RNC Chairman today in Washington. Video. The Chairman is selected by the 158 members of the RNC. The best part came when the question was asked (at 29:00) who they would not want to "emulate". Most of them said any Republican president was better than a Democrat president in a display of political immaturity as well as a lack of intellectual depth and backbone. Blackwell immediately said Herbert Hoover was the worst as he "opened the door to big-government activism and I think unfortunately President Bush in the last few months has opened up the door to Mr. Obama's big government activism". It was the only answer that received an ovation.

If you desire to contact the Mississippi members of the RNC, here is their contact information:
Chair Brad White brad@msgop.com
Member: Henry Barbour hbarbour@capitalresourcesllc.com
Member: Cindy Philips craycindy@aol.com

A list of all RNC members can be found here.

Wall Street Journal Mobile Reader Link

Best news reader I've seen so far. Best information and easiest to use. Just fill out info, click on link on your Blackberry when you get email, download. Click on applications, then place cursor on WSJ icon, click on menu, select move, move over to move up and voila, on your main screen. Enjoy.

Well, well, well, the pro-UAW, pro-bailout crowd has been out in full force lately in the local media bashing our representatives for opposing shoveling more money to the Big 3 without requiring major changes in the way they do business.

Dear Lotus, maybe you think of a what Hamas did to Israel as a slight provocation but if someone rained 300 missiles between Hazlehurst and Madison, there would be more than a few voices screaming for retaliation or self-defense. By the way, Hamas isn't just attacking Israel, its also attacking and butchering Fatah as well right now.

If they do not play, these links work:
Enjoy
Enjoy II

Since commencing operations against Hamas, the Israelis created a Youtube channel for the IDF: IDF Channel It contains videos of field operations, briefings, and video blogs from IDF officers. Here are some of the videos uploaded so far.


Weapons hidden in Mosque


Mortar bombs shot from UN school

State Senator John Horhn announced this week he is running for Mayor of Jackson. The Jackson Free Press reported obtaining more money from the legislature for Jackson is a major part of his platform:
"Horhn, who has been a senator since 1993, said he would like to use his legislative contacts to generate more state revenue for the city to offset the high percentage of non-taxable property the city contains.
“For the capital city, which has 40 percent of its property not on the tax roll, it makes sense for the state to rebate an additional amount of sales tax back to the city to recover, as the city hosts the State Capitol," Horhn said. "An additional one-and-a-half percent in sales tax for the city would generate just under $3 million.”
“One of the things that my friends in the Legislature say to me is that they’re waiting for better leadership in the city before trying to help the city," said Horhn, who noted that traditionally legislators have low regard for the city, and little desire to allot it any additional money. "I think the better relationship that I bring the city could help us get some of that done."

Are we supposed to believe he will have more clout with the legislature when he is no longer a member of it? Perhaps Mr. Horhn should put his money where his mouth is and get it done during the legislative session that starts next week. Now THAT would show some real leadership and a good reason why he should be elected Mayor.

There will actually be a debate between the candidates for RNC Chairman Monday afternoon at 1:00 PM at the National Press Club. You can watch it here.

Watch it all the way through. You thought the Jackson City Council was bad when it had Kenny and Louis.

Read it and weep. His predictions from a year ago were on the money (no pun intended) and I expect most of his for 2009 to be right as well. Local Jackson investors, I wouldn't buy any Parkway or Eastgroup if you take him seriously. Here it is:

The economy will not recover in 2009. Job loss will continue through the year and unemployment will reach 8% in the "headline" statistic by the end of the year. U-6 (broad unemployment, or the closest to "real" unemployment without government "cooking") will top 15%. All the "talking heads" are predicting a turnaround in the second half of 2009. They will be wrong. Look at their records for 2008. All of them were predicting closes at or above 1500 for the S&P 500. Why does CNBC continue to put people on the air who, if you listened to them, cost you 40% or more of your money?
Deflation, not inflation, will become evident well beyond housing. Other capital goods beyond housing will see real price declines for the first time since the 1930s. Debt is inherently deflationary; the "hyperinflationists" will once again be shown to be wrong (how many years running will it be now?)
Housing prices will continue to decline. I believe we're about halfway done with the price correction. Those who think we will turn this in 2009 are wrong - unless we get an all-on collapse in prices in early 2009, which I do not believe will occur......
The Fed's attempt to "pump liquidity" will be shown to be an abject failure. We will see either a Treasury Market selloff or worse, severe instability in the dollar at some point in 2009.
GDP will post a 12-month negative number and there is a decent shot that we will actually see an official depression print before the end of 2009, defined as a 10% decline peak-to-trough.
The Stock Market has not bottomed although you may think it has for a few months. The annual range will be quite extreme; I would not be surprised at all to see 1,000 touched on the SPX in the first part of the year. I believe the SPX will at least touch 500 in the next 12-24 months and the current bottom will not hold. It is possible that we could see a crash to SPX 300 and DOW 3,000 some time this year, probably after the spring (when the "Obama Halo" wears off - if it isn't blown off by economic events first.) Yes, this means I am predicting a fifty percent swing in the SPX in 2009. Lots of money to be made as a trader if you're quick and good, but an absolute minefield if you're a long-term investor.....
The Dollar will not collapse. This is not because we're in great shape or will truly recover, it is because the rest of the world is in worse shape than we are. Last year pundits were all calling for the dollar to collapse to 40 - it didn't happen. Now they're calling the dollar's strength a "Bear market rally." Nonsense; the simple truth is that while we're in bad shape the rest of the world is literally on the precipice of a full-on collapse. European banks are more-levered and less-transparent than our banks as just one example.....
Commercial Real Estate will effectively collapse and most commercial Real Estate REITs will be either insolvent or limping on life support. .......
Along with the above, expect 10% of all retail stores to close, and that number could go as high as Several states will get in serious financial trouble and outright default of one or more is possible in 2009. California leads this parade. But even if there is a default on a state basis, the effect will be highly localized, as county and municipal governments vary in their wisdom and budget process. The real pain comes in state-wide social and educational programs. Be very careful if you are in municipal bonds or thinking of getting back into them (I recommended they be dumped in 2007 - look at what has happened to the closed-end funds in 08! Aieeee!) as the default risk is VERY REAL........
Mortgages are not done. The story last year was "Subprime." This year's will be "ALT-A", "Option ARMs" and so-called "Prime". The Fed and Treasury know this, which is why they are playing games with "agency" debt in a desperate attempt to clear this market before the ticking nuclear devices go off. The amount of debt involved in these "bad deals" is vastly higher than that in the "subprime" space and if they fail to contain it (a near certainty) Round #2 of severe bank instability gets served up on us in the second half of 2009.......
Those who have said that the corporate bond market is being "unreasonable" in its expectation for defaults will start to look like the jackasses they are. Actual default rates (not projections) on non-investment-grade debt will skyrocket starting in 2009 and there will be no sign of it turning around this year.......
The calls for "more lending" to consumers and businesses will go exactly nowhere. The problem isn't credit availability - there's plenty of money available to lend if you are credit-worthy. Those who are being turned down now simply aren't credit-worthy when one looks at what they want to do with the money and what they're backing their repayment capacity with. The more "credit stimulus" is thrown into the economy (and there will be more) the worse the downturn will get.
General Motors and Chrysler will fail to meet their targets and it will be labor that sinks the deal. At least one and probably both will wind up in some form of bankruptcy in 2009......
China will have its first large-scale rumbling of civil unrest as a consequence of collapsing export demand and thus employment. They'll manage to tamp it down - this year. Don't take a bet on that holding together longer-term. Those who think China will be "ok" are deluded; they have a horrifying overcapacity problem (debt-financed, of course) and there is no way for them to get out of it. They are truly going to "take it in both holes" down the road, but the worst of it won't be in 2009 - that is still a year or two in the future.
Foreign uptake of Treasuries will be choked off - by necessity. It won't be because they want to screw the US (although they should have a long time ago, given our profligate and unsustainable habits), it will be because they will be forced to redirect their resources inward as their own economies collapse.....
2009 Predictions

Think he's full of it? Read his 2008 predictions: On the Money

New act for Trollfest '09 - Frank Melton confirmed he will be at Trollfest '09 to give a dramatic performance of Fred Sanford's "It's the Big One" on the MADD stage. Should make an action-packed night even more lively.

Mississippi Business Journal reports today:
"Gov. Haley Barbour has appointed former State Senator J. Ed Morgan as Commissioner of Revenue and chairman of the Mississippi State Tax Commission, effective Jan. 1, 2009."

All I will say is make sure he has only male secretaries.

Poor little Mychal Bell is in trouble once again. You may remember this member of the Jena 6; he and five friends beat up Justin Barker. Prior to that incident he was arrested for other crimes, including beating up a teenage girl and trashing his grandmother's house after she kicked him out. Since the Barker beating, he's been in trouble again after moving to Monroe, Louisiana. The Monroe newspaper reported Bell apparently got a little too carried away with the Christmas spirit:

"Bell, 18, who lists his current address as 109 Grayling Lane, Monroe, is free on bond following a Christmas Eve arrest on multiple charges, including shoplifting, resisting arrest and simple battery, related to an incident at Dillard’s in Pecanland Mall. Bell was arrested less than one month after he completed a sentence for his role in the beating of a fellow classmate, Justin Barker, at Jena High School in 2006.
Police said Bell and an unidentified male were spotted Wednesday by store security after they placed $370 worth of merchandise in a Dillard’s shopping bag. After the two separated, Bell left the store, was followed by a security officer, and began running through the parking lot.
Police said Bell was discovered under a vehicle in the Sears parking lot. Lt. Jeff Harris said Bell began “swinging his arms wildly” and delivered a glancing blow to the security officer with his elbow. Bell was booked into Richwood Correctional Center and released on $1,300 bond. He will be arraigned at a later date. Each of the charges carries a possible penalty of up to six months in jail......." The Rest of the Story

His lawyer naturally claimed he was arrested because he was black: "Louis Scott who has represented Bell in the past said that preconceived notions on the part of Dillard’s employees may have played a role in Bell’s arrest. “Dillard’s has a tradition of being overly suspicious of young black males,” Scott said."

Yeah, those evil white people made him put a bunch of merchandise into a Dillard's bag and then leave the store. (Anyone want to bet who the video supports?) I said he would be in trouble again when the Jena 6 turmoil was taking place . It's sad. This former football star has talent (good enough for a USM or 1-AA school) that could get him a scholarship to college where he could become a productive citizen. Unfortunately, Mr. Bell repeatedly chooses to get in trouble and learns nothing from his experiences.

Update: Apparently Mr. Bell decided to do something even more stupid. Stupid because he tried to shoot himself in the chest. More stupid because he used a .22. The police said they thought he did it because he was upset over the coverage and didn't want to be in the news again. Hey Mychal, if you want to stay out of the news, here is a piece of advice: stay out of trouble! That means don't beat up your girlfriend, don't get in fights, don't steal, and don't tear up someone's house when you are mad. These are not hard things to do.

Previous Jena Six posts:
Update
Bad apples don't fall far from the tree
Is this the real story of the Jena 6?
Nice to see the media catching up with Kingfish
Beat up student, get red carpet treatment
What is the truth here? Heroes or Hoodlums?

The mad genius behind Redstate.com, Erick Erickson, will appear on Kim Wade's radio show tomorrow from 5:10 to 6:00 PM CST. Mr. Erickson is one of the leading conservative bloggers and more concerned with shaking things up in the Republican party than being liked by so-called establishment Republicans. Should be an interesting show.

Articles on Redstate and Mr. Erickson:
http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2008/12/26/evredstate.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/24/AR2008112403004.html?wprss=rss_technology%2Ftechpolicy

Can't get near a radio? Stream show at WJNT's Website .

If it doesn't work, try this

Paul Mulshine, a columnist for the Newark Star-Ledger, pens a column in The Wall Street Journal about how bloggers will not replace journalists. Mr. Mulshine is correct in that blogging is no substitute for reporting. Few bloggers will take the place of the backbone of journalism: the beat writer that sits through every public meeting, digs through public records, and interviews everyone involved in a story. Here are some excerpts from his column:
"The common thread here, whether the subject is foreign, national or local, is that the writer in question is performing a valuable task for the reader -- one that no sane man would perform for free. He is assembling what in the business world is termed the "executive summary." Anyone can duplicate a long and tedious report. And anyone can highlight one passage from that report and either praise or denounce it. But it takes both talent and willpower to analyze the report in its entirety and put it in a context comprehensible to the casual reader.
This highlights the real flaw in the thinking of those who herald the era of citizen journalism. They assume newspapers are going out of business because we aren't doing what we in fact do amazingly well, which is to quickly analyze and report on complex public issues. The real reason they're under pressure is much more mundane. The Internet can carry ads more cheaply, particularly help-wanted and automotive ads.
So if you want a car or a job, go to the Internet. But don't expect that Web site to hire somebody to sit through town-council meetings and explain to you why your taxes will be going up. Soon, newspapers won't be able to do it either...."

Mr. Mulshine makes good points. Only a fool thinks bloggers will replace journalists. However, where bloggers are superior to journalists is in expertise. The Scruggs story was a perfect example of this, as the local media covered the scandal but its reporting was rather lacking in comparison to FOLO (http://www.folo.us/). The bloggers at FOLO were lawyers digging through motions and other court filings while providing true expert analysis, something beyond the education or experience of most reporters at similar-sized newspapers. However, Mr. Mulshine has been spoiled working at an excellent newspaper such as the Star-Ledger.

Most reporters have journalism degrees (how many classes do you need to take to learn how to write a story?) and are clueless about law, economics, finance, science, and other matters. Even a veteran star reporter such as Jerry Mitchell didn't know how to read a deed of trust when he reported on Judge Bobby DeLaughter's mortgage. Blogging allows for people who are not journalists but who are more experienced and better-educated than the reporters covering a story, to offer true insight, news and analysis on a particular subject. However, bloggers must not get too carried away and think they will replace true journalists.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/video/15908257/index.html


Also notice the abseentism figure for UAW shops. Seems to be just a lil bit higher than in non-union ones.

What qualifies Marshand Crisler to be Mayor of Jackson?

Mr. Crisler's resume consists of the following items: Marine Corps and Air Force officer, Jackson City Council, Master of Public Adminstration from JSU, police chief of Utica and a deputy in the Hinds County Sheriff's office. Compare his background to the duties of the Mayor who administers a budget of several hundred million dollars, is responsible for economic development, appointing school board members, complying with federal regulations and programs, and operating the executive branch of city government with its various departments, programs and employees. The ideal candidate should have both government and business experience as the Mayor must wear many hats in performing his duties.

However, what exactly is on Mr. Crisler's resume suggesting he should be mayor? One rarely gets in trouble when following the principle "hire the resume". If Jackson was a private corporation, the Board of Directors would be fired for incompetence if it hired a person with so weak a resume to be CEO. Mr. Crisler's professional experience has been that of a local cop. He was a chief in a very small town, not even the equivalent of an assistant chief or commander in JPD. He is a deputy working for someone who potentially will depend on him for his job (can we say conflict of interest? It is my understanding he is still an employee of the Sheriff as reported last week in the Clarion-Ledger and this fall by The Northside Sun).

He has been a Councilman for some time now but the city council in Jackson is weak under its charter and councilman is a part-time position (can anyone name a major reform or piece of legislation he led?) They don't hire, fire, or make executive decisions, yet somehow this individual is considered to be a leading candidate for Mayor even though he's yet to show he can actually do something. One doesn't promote a corporal overnight to a general in charge of several divisions.

Jackson has suffered from four years of Melton. Crime is out of control, the budget is a mess, mismanagement has been the rule, not the exception in city government, yet the answer is to hire someone to clean it up who has NO experience in such affairs? In all of Jackson is this the best Jackson can do? On the recent list of supporters for a Crisler fund-raiser at Bravo!, there were several names much more qualified to be Mayor.

A Crisler candidacy points out one of Jackson's main problems: Its best and brightest never desire to lead the city, while we wonder why Jackson declines. Beverly Hogan. LeRoy Walker. Jeff Goode. David Watkins. Robert Gibbs. All MUCH more qualified than Mr. Chrisler yet sitting on the sidelines even though they are the talent Jackson needs in City Hall. If Jacksonians were serious about their city, someone whose claim to fame was being a councilman and a "crime prevention specialist" in the Sheriff's office would not be taken seriously as a candidate for Mayor.

What is also interesting is how the business community has apparently flocked to Mr. Crisler, ignoring his past comments on implementing some form of commuter tax or toll tax from a past interview with The Jackson Free Press:
"(Q) You see the commute lines every morning and evening. What ever happened to the toll-booth idea?
Canned. Flushed. Trashed. It required legislative action, and it got no traction. Every year we bring it up, and it doesn’t even get past a committee, but that’s not the only option. You could do a user fee. A road tax. An occupational tax—meaning if you work in Jackson, you should pay an amount of money there. It comes straight out of your paycheck.
(Q) The first thing business owners will say is you’re hurting business with a new tax.
So? Where are they going to go? Madison? Pearl maybe?My point is, how many jobs are in Pearl? Better yet, how many industries are in Madison? You can’t pick up and move the capitol city. It’s not going anywhere. We’re not talking about Greenville. States don’t change capitols. The industry here is government. As long as that’s the case it will contain the type of jobs that can support those $2 million homes in Madison. "

Does this sound like someone who is pro-business or understands economic development? Yet for some reason the NE Jackson business community has decided to throw in its lot with the South Jackson Councilman. Perhaps someone should ask Mr. Crisler to clarify his remarks on commuter taxes, occupational taxes, and whether government should be the leading industry in Jackson as they are great prescriptions for destroying a city's economy.

Jackson is in crisis right now. Jacksonians have an opportunity this spring to make a change from the last four years of Melton hell. However, this is not the time to give the keys to someone who has to find the clutch and then learn how to drive the car.

Denninger gives his opinion on what Obama must do when he first takes office:
"Immediately investigate Hank Paulson, focusing on his 2000 and 2004 "requests" to remove leverage limits and his firm shorting the bonds they were selling to investors. ....
Each and every individual and firm involved in the blatant, rampant fraud that allowed the housing and mortgage bubble to occur needs to be prosecuted.....
Appoint a cadre of special prosecutors with power to subpoena every hedge fund and broker-dealer on Wall Street to ferret out the other Madoff's out there - jail them all. There is never only one cockroach. Never. Oh, and while we're at it we need to guarantee that everyone involved in the Madoff mess goes to prison, including people in the SEC who were complicit in this scam. Nobody pulls something like this for 20 years, at this magnitude, on their own...
Force changes in the bond ratings agency game. No more "pay to play", otherwise known as "issuer pays" - at all. ...
Stop trying to support home prices. The solution to the housing mess is in fact found in the exact opposite policy - correction to affordable levels nationally. That's no more than 2.5-3x incomes, on average. .....
Force The Fed to disclose every asset it has purchased, and disclose every action Treasury has taken. One Executive Order takes care of both. This is our money, not theirs. ......
Revoke the EESA/TARP. ......
Enforce by executive order, immediately, 12:1 leverage limits via the SEC. You control the SEC now. Make it happen on January 21st......
Send up a bill to make the use of off-balance-sheet games a federal offense punishable by forfeiture of the entirety of any asset so concealed. ...." The 100 Days

"I want to kiss you"

Classic.

From The Wall Street Journal:

When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus the whole of the known world lay in bondage. There was one state, and it was Rome. There was one master for it all, and he was Tiberius Caesar.
Everywhere there was civil order, for the arm of the Roman law was long. Everywhere there was stability, in government and in society, for the centurions saw that it was so.
But everywhere there was something else, too. There was oppression -- for those who were not the friends of Tiberius Caesar. There was the tax gatherer to take the grain from the fields and the flax from the spindle to feed the legions or to fill the hungry treasury from which divine Caesar gave largess to the people. There was the impressor to find recruits for the circuses. There were executioners to quiet those whom the Emperor proscribed. What was a man for but to serve Caesar?
There was the persecution of men who dared think differently, who heard strange voices or read strange manuscripts. There was enslavement of men whose tribes came not from Rome, disdain for those who did not have the familiar visage. And most of all, there was everywhere a contempt for human life. What, to the strong, was one man more or less in a crowded world? Then, of a sudden, there was a light in the world, and a man from Galilee saying, Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's
. And the voice from Galilee, which would defy Caesar, offered a new Kingdom in which each man could walk upright and bow to none but his God. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. And he sent this gospel of the Kingdom of Man into the uttermost ends of the earth.
So the light came into the world and the men who lived in darkness were afraid, and they tried to lower a curtain so that man would still believe salvation lay with the leaders.
But it came to pass for a while in divers places that the truth did set man free, although the men of darkness were offended and they tried to put out the light. The voice said, Haste ye. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you, for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
Along the road to Damascus the light shone brightly. But afterward Paul of Tarsus, too, was sore afraid. He feared that other Caesars, other prophets, might one day persuade men that man was nothing save a servant unto them, that men might yield up their birthright from God for pottage and walk no more in freedom.
Then might it come to pass that darkness would settle again over the lands and there would be a burning of books and men would think only of what they should eat and what they should wear, and would give heed only to new Caesars and to false prophets. Then might it come to pass that men would not look upward to see even a winter's star in the East, and once more, there would be no light at all in the darkness.
And so Paul, the apostle of the Son of Man, spoke to his brethren, the Galatians, the words he would have us remember afterward in each of the years of his Lord:
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

This editorial was written in 1949 by the late Vermont Royster and has been published annually since.

Made me think about learning how to firebomb.

Seems as though Mr. Bush gave a nice little yuletide pardon to one Isaac Toussie, a mortgage fraudster in New York. It turns out the father of the convict (who was also a co-defendant in a lawsuit related to his son's mortgage fraud) gave $28,500 to the Republican National Committee.

There's only once choice for the RNC: give it back. period. If the RNC keeps the money then it really is morally bankrupt.

Since Monica Hernandez told me she never saw In Living Colour because she was too young, here is a sketch from the show just for her.

Well, well, look at how Madame DeLadd censors and slants over at her lil ole progressive alternative weekly "newspaper". Seems that on this thread on immigration, she didn't like some of the comments being made and deleted them as well as slanting the finished product more to her liking. Here is the censored version (The full thread is published in the comments section below): Immigration McCarthyism. Someone with too much time on his hands noticed this and sent it to me. Since jackassery is a featured part of this blog and at times its guiding philosophy, I decided to post the two versions for you. Enjoy.

The Clarion-Ledger 's editorial today contained this little tidbit of information concerning possible candidates for the mayoral election in a few months:
"Of the contenders so far, former Mayor Johnson and former Police Chief Johnson both also have records of public service upon which to judge their ability.
So does Crisler of Ward 6, who works for the Hinds County Sheriff's Department, and Horhn, who has represented Hinds and Madison counties in the Legislature for about 16 years." Editorial

The South Jackson Councilman is still working for Sheriff McMillin, who is also the Chief of JPD? Is that not a conflict of interest? Considering Mac is his boss and could be his future employee, Mr. Crisler should resign from the Hinds County Sheriff's Office as he is clearly a candidate for Mayor even though he has not yet formally announced his intentions although he has already held one fundraiser at Bravo! Jacksonians expect straight talk from the candidates concerning their plans to fight crime. Its hard to see how Mr. Crisler can be candid given the circumstances of his current employment.

One should also ask why a so-called anonymous blogger is raising this issue instead of the newspaper.

What an egghead. Peter Schiff owns him.

Bashing Southern states, always a pastime for much of the country and liberals, is once again in vogue as Detroit tries to avoid bankruptcy. A typical scare tactic used by them is the complaint the Big 3 can't compete with foreign competition because the Southern states pay them to build their plants in the South.

The president of the Mississippi AFL-CIO provided a perfect example of this excuse in the Jackson Free Press (a Mississippi free "progressive" weekly) recently “What they do is they come to America and start a bidding war between these southern, right-to-work states, and taxpayers wind up subsidizing their arrival by paying for infrastructure and tax subsidies. Then they get to sell a product for less than their American counterparts."

This statement was disingenuous as it assumed Northern states are NOT themselves giving huge tax breaks to the Big 3. A quick search on Google reveals Northern states haven't exactly sat on their hands when it comes to shoveling out the dollars to Detroit (The governors are in parenthesis, Democrats are highlighted):

Arlington, 1991. Faced with closure, Texas (Anne Richards) and Arlington offered a tax incentive package with abatements and training funds as well as a reworking of worker's comp laws worth $30 million.

Lansing, MI 1999. Michigan (John Engler) gives GM a $98.9 million incentive package to build a new plant. Governor Engler justified the help: "The GM project will provide more than $2.163 billion in revenue to the state over the life of the agreement, resulting in a net positive gain to the state of over $2.090 billion after the MEGA credit. The project is expected to generate over $27 billion in personal income.
"While this package of incentives is large, the benefit to the community and to the state is much larger," Engler said. "For every dollar we invest in this project, we will collect more than $21 dollars in new tax revenue. This is a wonderful return on investment on a project worth fighting for."

Warren, MI 2004. Michigan (Jennifer Granholm) gave GM and Germany's Dr. Schneider Automotive Systems Inc. over $43 million in incentives while the Warren City council also awarded GM nearly $20 million in tax abatements at the same plant. The same story reports Four years ago, Michigan's $256-million state and local incentive package helped persuade GM to announce two new plants just outside Lansing. The two projects, a stamping plant and an assembly plant, involved 2,800 new jobs. Addition Story, scroll down

Lordstown, OH 2008. GM gets $80 million from Ohio (Ted Strickland) for its Cruze production plant.

Yuma County, AZ 2007. Arizona gives GM $500,000 to build a grounds testing facility in that county.

Dayton, OH 2008 Ohio offers GM $56 million to keep a plant open but GM says no thanks.

Jaynesville, WI 2008. Wisconsin (Jim Doyle) gives GM $5.4 million for training costs.

Flint, MI 2008 MI offers GM $122.5 million to expand its plant in Flint.

Michigan 2008 State grants GM more than $130 million in tax credits for future Volt production at several plants.

Ohio 2008 State gives Ford $1.7 million in tax credits for an engine plant.

Detroit, MI 2008 State gives Ford $151 million for several plants.

Ontario, Canada 2008 Canadian government gives Ford $75 million in incentives to reopen plant.

Auburn Hills, MI 2008 State awards Chrysler over $115 million in a tax incentive package for the building of a new plant in partnership with Mitsubishi.

Kenosha, WI, 2007 State announces Chrysler will receive $16.7 million in tax incentives for plant upgrade.

Toledo, OH 1997 Ohio gives Chrysler $280 million in tax incentives for a plant.

The total incentives, credits, and abatements on this list total $1,456,300,000 with nearly $1 billion of it coming from Michigan alone. (This list is incomplete as it was compiled after only spending 20 minutes on Google.).

There is nothing wrong with states creating tax breaks and other favorable economic conditions for such plants if it leads to a stronger economy and increased tax revenue. However, it is more than a little hypocritical for the unions and their lapdogs to blame the South for Detroit's meltdown when the North has been doing the same thing for years. If the union apologists want to blame someone, perhaps they should look in the mirror and start taking responsibility for ridiculous work rules, jobs banks, and a chronic absenteeism rate of ten percent instead of blaming the South.

Note: If I missed any similar aid by states outside of the South, please free free to send examples to mewith supporting articles.

The role of the UAW in the implosion of the American auto industry has been hotly debated for some time now as its critics place most of the blame on the union while its defenders point to irresponsible decisions made my management. However, very little is mentioned about the jobs bank that pays union members not to work and was agreed to by management. The jobs bank is a program created by the Big 3 and UAW in earlier decades as a compromise on layoffs and automation of assembly lines where workers laid off are paid at close to their original salaries, receive benefits, and do not work. That's right: they do not work.

The Detroit News reported in 2005:
"Pool (subject of the story) is one of more than 12,000 American autoworkers who, instead of installing windshields or bending sheet metal, spend their days counting the hours in a jobs bank set up by Detroit automakers and Delphi Corp. as part of an extraordinary job security agreement with the United Auto Workers union.
The jobs bank programs were the price the industry paid in the 1980s to win UAW support for controversial efforts to boost productivity through increased automation and more flexible manufacturing. ......
General Motors Corp. has roughly 5,000 workers in its jobs bank. Delphi has about 4,000 in its version of the same program. Some 2,100 workers are in DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group's job security program. Ford had 1,275 in its jobs bank as of Sept. 25. The pending closure of Ford's assembly plant in Loraine, Ohio, could add significantly to that total. Those numbers could swell in coming years as GM and Ford prepare to close more plants.
Detroit automakers declined to discuss the programs in detail or say exactly how much they are spending, but the four-year labor contracts they signed with the UAW in 2003 established contribution caps that give a good idea of the size of the expense.
According to those documents, GM agreed to contribute up to $2.1 billion over four years. DaimlerChrysler set aside $451 million for its program, along with another $50 million for salaried employees covered under the contract. Ford, which also maintained responsibility for Visteon Corp.'s UAW employees, agreed to contribute $944 million. ........"

Why exactly did management agree to this fiasco? Seems the same people who paid Ross Perot twice the value of his stock just so he wouldn't criticize them and decided to make Cadillacs and Chevies look alike used similar judgement:
"The jobs bank was established during 1984 labor contract talks between the UAW and the Big Three. The union, still reeling from the loss of 500,000 jobs during the recession of the late 1970s and early 1980s, was determined to protect those who were left. Detroit automakers were eager to win union support to boost productivity through increased automation and more production flexibility.
The result was a plan to guarantee pay and benefits for union members whose jobs fell victim to technological progress or plant restructurings. In most cases, workers end up in the jobs bank only after they have exhausted their government unemployment benefits, which are also supplemented by the companies through a related program. In some cases, workers go directly into the program and the benefits can last until they are eligible to retire or return to the factory floor.
By making it so expensive to keep paying idled workers, the UAW thought Detroit automakers would avoid layoffs. By discouraging layoffs, the union thought it could prevent outsourcing..." (For more details on the jobs bank program (your jaw will drop a few times), read this story at Carlist.com: Jobs banks, featherbedding, welfare, its all the same thing)

This welfare program may disappear as the government today made elimination of the jobs bank part of the loan package it agreed to for the Big 3 today. Even though it will be removed, the jobs bank is one of the main reasons the American auto industry is in the ditch. While union defenders are correct in arguing that Big 3 auto workers make the same in wages per hour as their foreign-employed counterparts, the costs for them explode when benefits and the jobs bank is included. Comparing American and foreign auto manufacturer expenses is like comparing apples and oranges as the UAW forced the Big 3 decades ago to pay thousands or workers billions of dollars over time to not work. Such policies kept them from pouring money into research, improved quality, and more plants such as those they've built overseas (such as the Ford plant in Brazil that has FIVE different platforms). Even though last year both Toyota and GM sold the same amount of cars, GM is broke while Toyota made a profit.

A recent article in the International Herald Tribune bears this out:
"Detroit automakers — and Chrysler in particular — nearly erased the North American productivity gap with their Asian rivals in 2007 thanks to worker buyouts, leaner plants and other improvements, but they still make less money per vehicle because of higher costs, according to the Harbour Report on manufacturing released Thursday.....
Still, the Detroit Three are lagging in profits per vehicle because of higher costs for health care, pensions, sales incentives and the higher number of dealerships they support. Ford lost $1,467 per vehicle in 2007, while GM lost $729 and Chrysler lost $412, the report said. Toyota made $922 per vehicle, while Honda and Nissan both made $1,641. That gap is expected to narrow significantly in 2010, when the Detroit automakers hand over their retiree health care liabilities to new independent trusts overseen by the United Auto Workers union...." International Herald Tribune Story

There is no way a company can stay afloat with such numbers. While some like to blame the unions, its not completely their fault. Management made many bad decisions in car design, quality, strategy, and spending hundreds of millions of dollars on bonuses for themselves. Shareholders and bondholders demanded their fair share of the pie. Paul Ingrassia (a Pulitzer-prize winner) summed this perfect storm of incompetence quite nicely:
"The Detroit Three got into their current quandary by making decades of bad decisions, with some help from the United Auto Workers union. Yet despite the current crisis, General Motors is still paying dividends to shareholders, the car companies are paying bonuses to executives, and the private-equity billionaires at Cerberus who bought Chrysler are trying to reap enormous rewards from their risky investment. Meanwhile the UAW's Jobs Bank -- which pays laid-off workers for doing nothing -- remains in place."

Make no mistake, they all deserve a pox on their houses. However, the next time someone defends the unions and says Southern politicians are just trying to bankrupt Detroit, ask him to defend the jobs bank program.

Harbor Report on cost/profit differences between Japanese and American Auto Manufacturers

I'm reposting this video again as it's simply that good. Watch 3:45 and how they are laughing at Peter Schiff. Bet they aren't laughing now.