I Really Didn’t (and Should Have) Seen This Coming
Ford and GM have their hands out to Uncle Sam–i.e., you and me (probably requires registration; HT Club for Growth):
Automakers Are Lining Up Aid, But Just Don’t Call It a Bailout
Troubled U.S. automakers and their allies on Capitol Hill are seeking billions of dollars in aid from the federal government ranging from health coverage for their workers to extra tax write-offs for themselves.
They’re also asking for one rhetorical favor: Please don’t call the requests a bailout.
“I don’t view it as a bailout,” Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) said.
“We’re not looking for a bailout,” agreed William C. Ford Jr., chairman of Ford Motor Co.
The “B” word has been taboo ever since Chrysler Corp., faced with impending insolvency, sought and narrowly won $1.5 billion in loan guarantees from Washington in 1979 and 1980. The company eventually borrowed $1.2 billion and repaid the loans in 1983, seven years earlier than was required.
Nonetheless, the notion of the American taxpayer saving a company with a large and quick fix has pretty much gone out of style and has not been repeated since, with the exception of loan guarantees to airlines after 9/11. Even though General Motors Corp. and its rival Ford Motor now face serious financial straits, both are studiously avoiding public condemnation by spreading their aid requests widely among many types of government policies.
Taken together, however, the components of their wish list would cost tens of billions — far more than Chrysler ever dared to seek.
With pleadings that large, breaking the requests into smaller pieces makes a great deal of legislative sense, and industry and labor leaders hope that several relief packages could begin to move in Congress next year. The outlook is uncertain, especially given the size of the federal budget deficit, but auto industry representatives said they were optimistic that at least some of their proposals would succeed.
They want subsidies for making hybrids, retraining payments, dumping healthcare liabilities on taxpayers, and much more. CFG calls it “disgusting.” Definitely–and anyone who thinks this is going to work out like Chrysler did is in a dream world.
Now I Get It: Shoppers Are Drugged
Tara Parker-Pope’s Health Journal in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal (subscription required) gets to the science behind “retail therapy”:
Science is now discovering what ….. many consumers have known all along: Shopping makes you feel good. A growing body of brain research shows how shopping activates key areas of the brain, boosting our mood and making us feel better — at least for a little while. Peering into a decorated holiday window or finding a hard-to-find toy appears to tap into the brain’s reward center, triggering the release of brain chemicals that give you a “shopping high.” Understanding the way your brain responds to shopping can help you make sense of the highs and lows of holiday shopping, avoid buyer’s remorse and lower your risk for overspending.
Much of the joy of holiday shopping can be traced to the brain chemical dopamine. Dopamine plays a crucial role in our mental and physical health. The brains of people with Parkinson’s disease, for instance, contain almost no dopamine. Dopamine also plays a role in drug use and other addictive behaviors. Dopamine is associated with feelings of pleasure and satisfaction, and it’s released when we experience something new, exciting or challenging. And for many people, shopping is all those things.
“You’re seeing things you haven’t seen; you’re trying on clothes you haven’t tried on before,” says Gregory Berns, an Emory University neuroscientist and author of “Satisfaction: The Science of Finding True Fulfillment.”
….. MRI studies of brain activity suggest that surges in dopamine levels are linked much more with anticipation of an experience rather than the actual experience — which may explain why people get so much pleasure out of window-shopping or hunting for bargains.
Dopamine can cause someone to get caught up in the shopping moment and make bad decisions. Dr. Berns of Emory says dopamine may help explain why someone buys shoes they never wear. “You see the shoes and get this burst of dopamine,” says Dr. Berns. Dopamine, he says, “motivates you to seal the deal and buy them. It’s like a fuel injector for action, but once they’re bought it’s almost a let down.”
Seems making dopamine available as an over-the-counter drug might save a lot of people a lot of money.
I Wonder Why This Is Happening?
After cutting 85 newsroom jobs in November, The LA Times is in yet another round of cuts:
Tribune’s (TRB:NYSE) Los Angeles Times newspaper said it would cut 110 jobs in closing a Chatsworth, Calif., printing plant.
The Chicago-based publisher said the move will allow it to consolidate production at three of its most modern and efficient facilities in downtown Los Angeles, Costa Mesa and Irwindale.
The news comes just days after Tribune said national advertising revenue declined 6% from a year ago in November, due in large partto a soft period at the Los Angeles Times.
“We deeply regret the impact this consolidation will have on employees, but the reality is that The Times has invested $500 million to modernize and build new facilities and expand color capacity since the Chatsworth plant became operational in 1983,” said Mark H. Kurtich, Times senior vice president, operations. “The three more modern plants are fully capable of handling the current and future needs of Times readers and advertisers.”
Chronicling the Times’ coverage lapses and over-the-top bias over just the past two years would require dozens of posts I’m not in the mood for. Now Rolling Stone Magazine believes there’s yet another scandal at The Times–and this one’s Notorious(ly) B.I.G.
At this rate, my laser printer will be able to handle the needs of The Times’ few dozen remaining subscribers in about, oh, 15 years.
