No More Oldsmobiles

I don’t know which week I’m listening to. I’m at least a week behind. But Tom says there is no purpose in keeping the Oldsmobile division.

GM later agreed.

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It sounds like you were listening to a show from 2004.
The last Oldsmobile rolled off the assembly line in April of that year.

It was a show posted online last week. The general consensus has been that these shows are from about '92. Tom’s crystal ball was working pretty well back then.

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Tom got a reply from GM. They have no intention of shutting down the division.

Do you not know that you are listening to old broadcasts and Tom passed away in 2014 ?

I thought it was interesting Tom predicted this would happen, and at this point GM says it won’t.

What! WHAT? this is not 1992? darn I am old. :rofl:

What a shame. I miss the 1990’s. People were so much happier, healthier, and more prosperous then. Back in the mid-to-late 1990’s, which was the start of my working days, good jobs were plentiful, and even entry-level jobs paid reasonable wages.

Nowadays, most people are paid peanuts compared to the cost of living, which has really skyrocketed in the past two years. It seems like everyone is burned-out on life, burned-out on their jobs, and burned-out on our politics and social problems.

Someone please take me back to the 1990’s. I’d like to re-live the good times in my life, and buy a new 94-95 Dodge Caravan with the 3.0L engine and 3-speed automatic.

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I’ll second that part of your post.

I don’t want one of those necessarily. But a nice brand new Chevy Silverado of that vintage…I’d be willing to time travel with you and car shop!

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I dunno, I think you are mis-remembering. Truth though, that’s when a lot of the crazy stuff was just getting started. Maybe it was all the happy, well paid, and well adjusted people deciding to ruin it all. I’m happy to be retired though and not worried about what someone decides to pay me.

Talking to a friend and asking if he was having a retirement party and he said no because they are just virtual parties now anyway. Ha ha ha ha, virtual retirement parties with virtual cake.

+1

Well, on a positive note, at least those virtual cakes have zero carbs, zero fat, and zero calories.
:face_with_diagonal_mouth:

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The Wonderful 90’s - not really . Oklahoma City Bombing World Trade Center Several wars complete with genocide Home loan rates of 7 % to 10 % and other things that just were not good.

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If you spend your time looking backwards sooner or later you’ll crash into something.

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I was listening to a radio talk show yesterday, host talking to guest about how great it is now that Covid has shown it is possible for the worker to be able to work from home, and those who can work from home are sitting pretty. And those who can’t (like car mechanics, grocery store workers etc) aren’t.

I got to thinking … if these workers are able to easily work from home, the company can hire the same work done by a worker located anywhere for less salary & benefits , China/India etc. From that point of view, given corporations constantly strive to increase profits, reduce expense, it seems like if you have a job in the USA where you can work from home, you may not be having that job for long. The guest continued to say how great this working from home idea is. The guest (professor from Univ of Calif I think), his name as I recall: Khana.

You are not the only person who thinks that. I have thought for a long time that this “gravy train” of high-paying remote jobs will come to a screeching halt–and then people will be stuck with high mortgage payments on houses which they bought based upon their remote worker salary…and no way to replace that income here. Local jobs simply don’t pay anything close to what these remote workers are being paid–hence why the jobs are vulnerable to outsourcing.

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Many years prior to the pandemic, this began to be a factor. US companies began laying-off much of their legal staff, choosing instead to have their legal forms drafted in The Philippines. The 12 hour time differential means that it is frequently possible for a US company to relay the relevant info to their Philippine contract workers during the US working day, and–in most cases–have the necessary documents sitting in their email in-box the next morning.

The job title that was most negatively affected by this trend was Paralegal/Legal Assistant. For less money than they pay their US-based Paralegals, companies can have their legal documents drafted by lawyers in The Philippines who are fully-fluent in English, and who have extensive knowledge of the US legal system.

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Tom actually said today that it was 1992.

It seems everyone in my area WHO IS WILLING TO WORK is doing great right now. The worker shortage has created a huge demand for those willing to work and do a good job. This includes everything from auto mechanics to HVAC to IT. Every business I do work for is just swamped.

I am sure certain industries are hit harder and that businesses not doing so well are not quick to spend money on my services so I am probably seeing a bias for that reason.

The lockdowns were very brief in my area but it seems people are spending money like mad right now, even with all the rising prices.

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You can always listen to REO Speedwagon records.

Not spending much for a couple years, people have a lot of money and of course pumping up the money supply. Problem is supply chain and shortage issues on some goods. Then throw in rising interest rates that spook people who decide they should accelerate their purchases to avoid higher prices. Recipe for disaster. We called this stagflation back in the early days. Interest rates at the bank were 18%. 50% down for mortgages. A new generation needs to live through it I guess just like our parents lived through the depression. Frustrating part is it is all so unnecessary.