Monday, October 10, 2005
The Rich Get Even Richer
Well, it's happened again. Not that it's any big surprise really, but it's still very annoying. One of the local cornerstones of Michigan industry, Delphi, has gone bankrupt. Honestly, it shouldn't be a big surprise to many people. GM, who once owned it, is following the SUV path down the road to ruin. GM is losing money and now with Delphi, they've just added about $12 billion more of debt.
The worker peons are really getting the shaft - current estimates show that pay will be cut by more than half - from $25 to $10 an hour. Pensions will be cut down (again in many case by half) and existing pensions will probably be foisted off on the government - meaning you and I will be paying the pensions that GM promised. But what is really annoying is that upper management is getting their severance packages increased by 50%. Yep - the same folks who managed the company into bankruptcy are getting bigger pay packages so they won't leave!
Unfortunately, in today's world, money is everything. While my pay hasn't dropped in any way like Delphi's has, I am making less now than I did when I started my current job five years ago. And I'm supposed to be a good worker - not some screw up, or so the evaluations keep saying. It's not only me, it's everyone - workers that is. Management also got upgraded severance packages in our company during bankruptcy. I never in my worse nightmares growing up would have thought that the longer and better I worked for a company, the less I would be making.
