Why Should the Government Assist US Auto Manufacturers?

As a lifelong resident of Michigan, I was raised with the belief that we must purchase only those automobiles produced by an American car company (yes, even if some parts were made in foreign countries). To this day, I still hold that belief due to the fact that I find it incomprehensible to allow my own selfish desires to affect the employment outlook of my family members, friends, neighbors, acquaintances and my community as a whole.

Yes, Detroit built its share of lemons in the 70's, 80's and 90's, but quality has much improved since then. Here's an example; I am a self-described car nut, and my enthusiasm happens to get the best of me when that awesome, latest and greatest "wow" car design is introduced. As a result, I don't wait for rebates or incentives; I just go for it as soon as my dream car hits the showroom. The first time I could afford to do so was over ten years ago, when the '97 Ford F150 was introduced. I loved it, leased it and never had a single problem with it. Then came the '99 Chrysler 300M. Again, I leased this beauty and loved driving it. Unfortunately, it was not as trouble-free as my Ford, but it was okay. I figured it still looked good, was fun to drive and the lease would be up soon. So, the next best thing came out, and again it was a Chrysler product, albeit the Dodge line - the 2004 Dodge Durango. I leased this vehicle for four years and didn't want to chance a potential lemon, so I purchased the extended bumper-to-bumper warranty. Of course, I never had to use it; this vehicle was abused by my family, pushing the towing capability to the limits, and during our four-year lease we never once required service. Even at its lease end, this vehicle drove beautifully. So, it is my opinion that Detroit's automakers made a 100% improvement in quality in the short span of just five years, from the late '90's to the year 2004.

Some might wonder why I would have chosen an American car, after recently experiencing problems with a previously leased American car. Well, the answer is simple, my friend. If more people had my attitude, Michigan would not be where it is today. You see, Michigan has been in a recession for five years, and it hurts to know that my decision, combined with all of the others who might choose foreign cars, will deeply affect others.

While I agree that the business model of U.S. auto companies needs drastic change, I also have a clear understanding of what's ahead for the entire country if the government does not lend these manufacturers the necessary funds to see them through this very difficult period; we're living it already here in Michigan, and the rest of the country will experience what we've gone through for several years. Michigan lost 330,000 factory jobs since 1999, and as a result many others have been affected:


My husband is an energy center operator for a manufacturer directly tied to the auto industry. He's been laid off at least five times in as many years, and the threat is always lurking.

My dentist has lost 27% of his business due to the fact that people who don't have insurance simply do not go to the dentist.

My OB/GYN found it necessary to eliminate 20% of her staff - again, because women's "female problems" are placed on the back burner when they don't have insurance and can't afford an office visit.

A close friend has taken a 10% pay cut in order to keep his job. As a result, his home has been in a near-foreclosure status twice within the past year.

My sister, a medical biller, lost two jobs in the last five years due to our economy. She now works two part-time jobs, just trying to make the mortgage payment.

My close friend, a vice-president of the mortgage department for a local bank, lost her job when the bank was absorbed by a larger national bank.

Beautiful neighborhoods are left with abandoned homes because people have had to move just to find work. Of course, there are few people who can afford to buy homes, so these homes sit unoccupied.

Municipalities are eliminating police and fireman jobs because they're not collecting the taxes required to pay the employees' salaries.

School systems are eliminating teachers, resulting in higher class sizes.

My nephew, a packaging engineer, moved to Pennsylvania because there are no such jobs here in Michigan. The affect of our economy is also starting to hit Pennsylvania, and he's not sure if he'll have a job in six months.

The list goes on and on, and the loss of another 2.5 million jobs in this country will be absolutely devastating; entire cities will go bankrupt and recovery will take years. The government didn't waste a moment deciding the fate of AIG, who employs 100,000 people worldwide. Why are they so hesitant to save 2.5 million jobs here in the United States? Probably because they believe auto workers are overpaid - and they are. The UAW needs to voluntarily take a 20% pay cut, and the company executives need to do the same. Perks need to be eliminated, and survival has to be priority number one. Each car company should be required to produce small, fuel efficient vehicles within 18 months of obtaining government assistance, and do everything in their power to develop alternative energy for their vehicles - even if it means joint ventures. Executive greed needs to be a thing of the past; the auto company leaders could learn a thing or two from talking with Lee Iacocca, who generously offered to bring Chrysler back from the brink of bankruptcy for a yearly salary of just $1.00 back in early 1980's. Now, that's a true leader, and a man dedicated to seeing results. Perhaps Steven Feinberg, owner of Cerberus, which purchased Chrysler in 2007, should do a little something to help with the U.S. manufacturing sector, rather than just looking to make a quick profit.

If the auto industry in this country is going to survive, and ultimately keep the United States from entering a depression, everybody needs to give. Consumers need to take a second look at American cars, the UAW members need to take a 20% wage cut, as well as start paying for a portion of their health insurance, and CEOs and executives need to put an end to their greed. And most importantly - the key to the auto companies' survival - the United States government needs to lend the money these companies need so that manufacturing and its jobs remain a vital and stable factor of this nation's economy.

Marie Megge is a consultant in the credit services industry. Over the past several years she has assisted many individuals in resolving their debt-related matters. For more information on Marie's work, visit http://www.DonaldsonWilliams.com

Is Disability Insurance a Mature Enough Industry That You Need to Trust in Its Ability to Assist?

Disability insurance, in case you look at it, need to figure on our list of issues to do, just like a lot as medical care insurance does, shouldn't it? About one in five Americans experiences some form of injury each and every year that keeps them from working for a period of time. Depending on who is advertising, it is possible to get to hear figures anywhere between 30% and 80%, as an estimation of your personal chances of being struck by some form of disability in your lifetime. Disability insurance exists, to produce up for whatever shortfall in salary you experience, whenever you can't function. And all of this, is when most of all Americans get by with no disability insurance of their own. They can count themselves lucky if their employer occurs to cover them, but which is all. Most individuals who cover themselves paying premiums out-of-pocket, never can afford enough.

The disability insurance industry, can consider of no far better method to respond to all of this, than by inflicting grisly advertisements on us, that make them sound like vultures circling inside sky. They put out statistics that go, 'Every second in America, there's a new disability that occurs". They get that figure from the National Safety Council that has sort of a broad definition for disability injury. If you ever get anything that keeps you away from any everyday activity for a lot more than one day, they call that a disability injury. For instance, in the event you feel you cannot go to the movies one night, due to the fact you were roughhousing with your kids, and got punched inside nose, that counts being a disability injury. Lots of persons look at to put in fake claims to obtain their hands on some undeserved disability payouts as well, to generate points worse. For whatever reason, doctors seem to acquire a great deal of disability insurance for themselves as well, and they claim on them generally. If most of our estimates of how likely we are to need to have disability insurance comes from those who take these into account, how do we actually know just how much we require it?

There's not a whole whole lot of independent info on the subject. There was a book known as How to Insure Your Income, released a lot more than 10 years ago, that gave you statistics that weren't all that various. The site of the Council for Disability Awareness has an on the internet quiz, that says that if you've an office job, you just have a 10% chance of getting that unlucky. So just how much is enough? About one in three workers inside the country has some form of coverage that their employers pay the premiums on. Everybody has Social Security, but you don't get far more than a couple thousand dollars a month, and it's extremely, quite hard to qualify. If you're counting on worker's compensation, they'll only care if you're truly injured whilst at your post. Private disability insurance, even if you ever do purchase it, could be challenging to claim on. They have all kinds of exclusions to look at to disqualify you. They'll test to tell you, "Oh! so you cannot work as a lathe turner anymore? We cannot pay you, unless you attempt (and fail) at finding do the job as being a holiday gift wrapper at the mall". Seeing as how complicated it's to come by correct coverage, perhaps it's just very best to let items take care of themselves.

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How Does a Document Review Center Assist the Legal Process?

In a legal context, document reviewing concerns the examination of files, reports, and other written articles during the discovery phase of the legal process, the phase in which evidence is exchanged by both sides of a case to establish the basis on which the case will turn. Some cases involve little to no document reviewing, such as only the examination of police reports. But others involve document review that requires a special team of reviewers to help attorneys glean crucial information. There are two situations that generally call for a team of reviewers: documents that are lengthy, such as transcripts produced by an unusually high number of deponents, or documents whose contents require specialized expertise to understand, such as scientific materials.

The Benefits of a Document Review Center

Regardless of why an entity needs document analysis, it usually needs it fast, a situation that benefits from retaining review services through a legal support agency that offer review centers with the following benefits: 24-hour a day availability, secured card-key access, manned security stations, redundant power, pre-installed technology, private offices, kitchen facilities, Internet carousels, and office equipment. Law firms and corporations often find a review center by retaining support through a nationwide or worldwide court reporting agency. Unbeknownst to outsiders, top court reporter agencies do more than supply court reporting; they also offer various legal support services, one of which is document review.

The Advantages of Using a Court Reporting Agency

There are several advantages to using a court reporting agency for reviewing, but two stand out in particular: the agencies also offer documents retrieval, which is often the first step in the reviewing process; and they also offer complex litigation services to help with cases that feature one or more aspects that make them more difficult than normal cases, such as a large number of deponents, a narrow time frame within which to be brought to court, or the presence of voluminous and/or difficult to understand material. When entities seek analysis services through reporting agencies, they can receive the aid of complex litigation specialists that will perform reviews at a client location or one of the reporting agency's reviewing centers.

In addition to making sense economically, retaining document analysis through a court reporter agency is also beneficial due to the other services that an agency offers, which could prove beneficial to their clients in the future, such as temporary legal staff placement, various reporting technologies, deposition services, legal software training, case management, and video services, to name a few. To learn more about how an agency's services could improve your file and report analysis, call a nationwide reporting agency and discuss your current and anticipated legal support needs today.

In my research on the ideal legal document review center, I've found that the National Network of Document Review Centers sets the standard.