GM thanks America... by cutting 2,000 jobs

Today, GM—one of the Big Three automakers that recently was given $13.5 billion dollars from taxpaying, working Americans—returned the favor by announcing today that it will be cutting 2,000 jobs from its workforce. Those workers will then become the rest of America’s problem as they apply for and receive unemployment checks funded through tax dollars, while at the same time cutting off funding for those tax dollars through taxable income. In effect, the rest of us will not only be on-the-hook for the $13.5 billion that we obligated ourselves for by giving GM the money in the first place—we’re also going to need to pick up the slack in order to compensate for the loss of tax revenues that we figured into the equation. If that’s not enough, we’re also going to need to figure out how to do that in addition to ensuring that there is enough tax revenue to pay out the unemployment claims.

If the loss of 2,000 jobs isn’t something you’re particularly concerned with because you have your job, then none of this will matter.

However, if you care about the implications of this latest high business chicanery on the part of General Motors, let me give some perspective to further raise your indignation.

According to one site, GM executives earn around $65 million dollars annually. Of course, GM president, G.R. Wagoner, Jr., agreed to settle for a $1 salary to help secure the monies we gave GM. And, of course, they decided not to award too noticeable a bonus this year and risk too high a public outcry.

Be that as it may, $65 million dollars is a significant chunk of change.

But what does any of that have to do with them announcing that they needed to cut 2,000 workers from their payrolls?

Well, let’s do the math and find out.

Now, I’m not going to pretend to know the exact amount of the wages of those workers who are going to be cut. For the sake of this argument, it really isn’t necessary. But for the sake of argument, let’s say that each worker earns $25 an hour (some earn more, some less) and works 40 hours per week. That gives us $25 x 40 = $1,000 in gross income. Multiply that by the number of weeks in a month: $1,000 x 4 weeks = $4,000. Now, multiply that by the number of jobs being cut. $4,000 x 2,000 jobs = $8,000,000 is what we come up with.

Now, to find out how much those 2,000 workers earn in a year (gross earnings, mind you!), multiply by 12 and you end up with $96,000,000.

Are you still with me? Yes?

Alright, now, if GM executives were really wanting to help their company and repay their gratitude for the rest of us working, tax-paying Americans throwing that $13.5 billion dollars to them, they would say, “Look, we will all settle for a $1 sum for our payroll, and tighten our belts this year to ensure that our workers can continue to meet the needs of their families, and together we will get through this crisis and reap the benefits later.”

If they had done that, they would have already had all but $31,000,000 of what it would have cost to keep those workers on the payroll and thus continued to provide tax revenues to fund their own bailout. That $31 million could easily have then been taken from those below the executive level who likewise make significant amounts of money in their relative positions as they, too, tightened their belts in order to show their support and appreciation for the workers. Similarly, the UAW representatives could have announced a temporary furlough on union fees, until the crisis passed and sales were on the rise.

What’s still more interesting is that that $31 million remaining shortfall could have been shored up with plenty left over, just from the nearly $50 million that was spent just in the first nine months of 2008 (Report by CBS News) lobbying against better fuel standards and decreased emissions. And now, they’re spending a yet-to-be-discovered amount of money lobbying angrily against allowing states to determine vehicular standards within their own borders, taking the burden off an already over-burdened federal government.

Coulda, woulda, shoulda. None of it really matters, does it? Big Business and Corporations have no qualms about taking us for a ride, so long as we’re willing to pay for the gas. No “thank you” and no show of real appreciation from them.

And what is even more sad is that this won’t be the last of the job cuts that will be made. Everywhere, businesses and corporations are cutting out the workers, starting anywhere below the cushiony office suites and elitist paygrades that separate “them” from “us.”  They’re continuing to demonstrate an unhesitant willingness to chop off every other head before they themselves feel the pinch of tightened belts and conservation in spending, much less the impact of their dereliction of duty to the working class. It’s been an entitlement culture on both Wall Street and in the upper echelons of Big Business and Corporations, and by every indication, they are intent on seeing to it that things continue exactly like that.

As for the lost jobs and unemployed workers? GM’s opinion is this: “Let the rest of America deal with them. Our only concern is with our own profit margin, annual bonuses, and padded pockets and wallets. But please, keep giving us your money.”