Constant Conservative

I love my Ford. It’s been a very good vehicle for me. It has been surprisingly low-maintenance and has managed to make it through about 7.9 winters.

I was glad recently that Ford was not standing with its hands out to the taxpayer, giving me reason to believe that there was hope for a future.

With that said, is it too late for the folks who build the Fords to realize they’ve been living in a artificial environment?

Factory workers at Ford Motor Co. seem ready to ratify a tentative agreement between the struggling automaker and the United Auto Workers, if only because they see the alternative as too frightening to contemplate.

[...]

The new deal preserves wages and health benefits, but eliminates hundreds of dollars in bonuses and cost-of-living adjustments, ends the jobs bank program, changes work rules and allows Ford to pay up to half its contributions to a union-run retiree health care trust with company stock.

[...]

“The good news is that our base pay and medical benefits are not being touched, but we are taking some hits,” he said, noting that the elimination of the $600 Christmas bonus will be a real Grinch.Retirees also are watching developments closely.

Uh, Christmas bonuses? For what? Bonuses are for businesses that make money. I feel your pain. Tell you what. Why don’t you stop thinking that someone somewhere owes you a living (at your current comfortable level)? You may be surprised how much of the pain goes away.