Layoffs blow!

Yesterday I heard one of my best friends lost his job. He worked at my former employer. the reason they are my former employer is because I went through the very same thing about 2 years ago (almost to the day, in fact). He was called into a conference room, told that today was his last day, and then given time to gather his things. In a span of about an hour and a half, he went from being a valued employee to driving home not knowing what was going to happen next. I know this all too well. This company had the temerity to tell my team at the end of the day. At least my buddy was told when he got to work. This company isn't necessarily the best at what they do, but they really have become quite good at laying people off and making them feel worthless.

I talked to him last night and kind of shared a little bit of my experience. I hope that I helped him out a little bit. What he'll be going through will test him. He's a good guy and I know in the long run, he'll be fine. He has a lot of people around to support him and he has always had a generally positive outlook. He's also been a very good worker. Any company would be lucky to have him. He's going to have some rough patches ahead, but I know he'll be okay.

What got me thinking last night and today was just how often this very thing happens lately. according to a newspaper article I read last week, Ohio has lost 200,000 jobs since 2000. That is a staggering number. Even if that number is exaggerated, any number in the six-figures would be mind-blowing. I mean if that number is off by 100,000, then that means that 100,000 jobs were still lost. That number may be a ballpark number, but I don't want to be in that ballpark.

The other night we had the Democratic debate here in town. What was never addressed, except in the most high-level terms, was what either candidate intended to do about it. It would have to be a Democratic candidate to address it too since the GOP doesn't seem to concern itself with the bread and butter issues of working people. Hillary talked about how she was against NAFTA and was lobbying against it when her husband was pushing it through Congress. Oh really? She was actively lobbying against one of the signature accomplishments of her husband's administration at the same time she was working on overhauling health care? Don't get me wrong, I still like her but this all is just noise. Besides, I'm not so sure NAFTA is the demon here. What has really hurt Ohio is the fact that so many jobs have been "offshored" to China and India (and other places as well). A lot of those jobs have even left Mexico-because even labor there was too expensive. And what all of this proves to me is that as a nation we are ill-prepared for the new realities of globalization. Countries like India have prepared their citizens for jobs in technology and medicine. Countries like China have so many people living in poverty that a seemingly endless labor pool awaits any company wishing to move. And where does that leave the U.S.? Well we own a lot of the factories in China and call centers in India-but can't you manage a company just as well in China as in Cleveland? We live in an age of conference calls, text messages, and You Tube. Is it really such a stretch to think that that mythical widget company can be run just as efficiently in Shanghai or Hong Kong as in the States? How did China, India, and other countries get to this point? They invested in so-called human capital. They prepared their citizens through education for the challenges of a new economic age. It would have been nice to hear any candidate discuss this in some detail. In many ways this is a greater national security threat than terrorists.

Last night's debate

This morning finds Cleveland under a good deal of snow and recovering from last night's debate. The NBC people, our local affiliate in particular, made a big deal out of it. It was a big deal if you were looking for some insight as to how to vote. It was also nice to see a big national event play out in downtown Cleveland. We all know that a week from today, the candidates and the press will have moved on.

Who won the debate? I don't know. I didn't watch all of it. My wife, who is a Republican, commented on how well prepared and tough Hillary was. She also commented on how well prepared and smart Obama was. She floated an interesting hypothetical, though. She is a big fan of the show "Survivor." When "Survivor" gets down to a few remaining contestants, one of the factors which people weigh is who to go up against in the final. If you go up against someone who is less popular than you, then you are almost assured to win the million dollars. My wife suggested that as a Republican, she would rather have McCain face Hillary (as would most of the GOP). She said that since the Republican contest is all but over, a lot of Republicans would cross over and vote for Hillary since it could potentially benefit them in November. Interesting. I told her I would never do that. But it is food for thought.

Finally-My First Post!

I finally make my first post today. I've had this address since August of 06 but I kind of forgot about it. It's not like I don't have anything to say. Sometimes it's just hard to summarize thoughts and post them to cyberspace. Well today that ends.

The big news here in Cleveburgh today is tonight's Democratic debate at Cleveland State. It has only been in the last couple of days that I have decided for whom I will vote. I am a Democrat, which is tough to claim at times. For most of the current administration, I have been ashamed of my party. As big a f-tard as the current Occupant of the White House is, in my opinion, he has largely gotten as far as he has by an enabling Democratic Party. He has much to answer for, but so does the Democratic leadership.

So you would figure that I would be looking to support someone outside of the mainstream Democratic Party. I did. I was looking forward to supporting John Edwards-although I had reservations in doing so. Edwards was running the kind of issues-oriented campaign that I thought was what was needed for this country. I thought, when it came to the economy, Edwards "got it." Edwards understood the need for drastic economic change in this country. That scares a lot of people. Yet I believe we are to the point where the distribution of wealth in this country rivals, if not surpasses, France prior to the Revolution. There are simply too many people that have no chance to make it. I see this in my drive to work every day and it's very depressing.

My only reservation with Edwards was his experience. He basically served one term in the Senate and did not run for re-election in 04-choosing instead to focus on his Presidential bid. I wished he had run. Another 4 years in the Senate would have given him an opportunity to hone his credentials (assuming he had won re-election). Despite that, I was prepared to vote for him. This was last Fall.

Once I started look at the candidates a little closer, I was intrigued by the Joe Biden candidacy. Joe Biden is certainly the most experienced candidate when it comes to foreign policy. As the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden understands what a disaster the last 7+ years have been for this country in our relations with other nations. After watching a couple of his speeches on C-SPAN (I'm a C-SPAN nerd), I thought Biden, too, "got it" when it came to the economy. Sadly he never made it out of Iowa. So I was prepared to look to Edwards. I live in Ohio so I never got the chance to cast a vote for him.

Since Super Tuesday I have really wrestled with whom to support. I like the fact that Obama represents change and has a lot of Republicans looking favorably upon his message. He truly does appear to be someone who can unite large segments of the country. In and of itself, that is no small accomplishment. Hillary Clinton can also unify large portions of the electorate-against her. There are people who will not vote for her under any circumstances. That is truly unfortunate. Hillary is getting my vote despite that.

Putting aside the fact that she has run a pretty mediocre campaign to date, I really believe she is the best remaining candidate. Her experience in the Senate as well as whatever she was able to gather being First Lady for 8 years trumps Obama, in my opinion. She has weathered the Republican smear machine better than the last 2 Democratic nominees. She has served in the Senate and has been re-elected. I think that whatever of her husband's charisma she lacks, she more than makes up for that in integrity and intelligence. She has learned some pretty difficult lessons and been publicly humiliated as few people ever have. She has persevered through all of that. She has established herself as an accomplished leader. Certainly her husband has helped her. Theirs is a unique situation. There are lots of things about the Clinton years I don't wish to see repeated or revisited. I think that Hillary's experience certainly is a big mark in her favor. Quite frankly, I would expect her to be a better president than her husband.

That is not to say I do not like Obama. I do. My reservations with him have more to do with the fact that he started running for president the minute he got to Washington. Hillary knew to sit out 2004. That was risky on her part given how close John Kerry came to winning. Everyone says Obama has a "rock star" appeal to him. Yet what happens to most rock stars? Most of them fall almost as quick as they rise. The difference between headlining stadiums and playing state fairs isn't all that big. Certainly he is the front runner now. Should he win the nomination, I will vote for him. He will not get my vote in the Ohio primary.

I'll write more tomorrow. I have more to say. Hopefully it won't be this long. thanks for staying with me.