Ford To Slash 3,000 Jobs As It Pushes Electric Vehicles

By William Teach August 25, 2022 – 2:00 pm

What was that talking point about the Green New Deal, er, Inflation Reduction Act creating lots of good paying jobs?

Ford is slashing thousands of jobs as it goes electric. Experts say a tidal wave of layoffs will rock the industry as it undergoes a seismic shift.

electric vehicleAutomakers from General Motors to Toyota are on a mission to phase out gasoline vehicles.

And while a future full of clean, electric cars will help reduce harmful emissions and stunt climate change, it may spell disaster for the thousands of auto workers whose jobs will be rendered obsolete by new technologies and manufacturing processes.

As one might surmise, workers who assemble gasoline engines, transmissions, exhaust systems, and the myriad of other parts not needed in electric vehicles will likely bear the brunt of the transition. Moreover, electric motors and batteries are much simpler than traditional powertrains, allowing carmakers to maintain the same production output with fewer workers.

Both Ford and Volkswagen have estimated that electric cars require 30% less labor than conventional vehicles. The consulting firm AlixPartners reckons that 40% less labor goes into an EV’s motors and battery pack than an engine and transmission. (big snip)

These cuts are already underway: Ford in August confirmed plans to lay off roughly 3,000 salaried and contract employees, the Wall Street Journal and others reported, as part of a larger restructuring.

Well, hey, all these automaker union members are big supporters of the Democratic Party, right? They organize for them, donate to them, and vote for them, right? So they don’t mind losing their jobs to pay for the Democrats climate crisis (scam) agenda, right?

According to an analysis by Boston Consulting Group, the shift to EVs in Europe will result in 630,000 fewer jobs at automakers and suppliers of parts specifically for combustion-engine vehicles by 2030. But booming demand for batteries, charging infrastructure, and the like will create 580,000 new roles.

“While the core automotive industry will certainly suffer significant job losses, some new industries that support electrification will experience tremendous job growth,” the firm said. When all is said is done, policy measures to spur domestic EV production could help the US add 150,000 automotive jobs overall, the Economic Policy Institute estimates.

They’re assuming this will happen with the new jobs. But, will those who worked the old jobs and getting laid off be getting the new jobs? Or, will they be filled by younger folks? Will they pay the same? Have the same benefits? How many of these jobs will shift to outside the U.S.?

Still, there’s no guarantee that displaced workers will benefit from newly created positions. “It’s not going to be the same people getting new jobs. It’s often going to be new jobs created in new places for new people,” Smith said. Automakers and their partners are planning a slew of battery plants in the US, but many of those factories will be far away from current auto manufacturing. Battery packs lend themselves to automation, Smith added.

Huh. The workers are good with taking one for the team, right? All those middle and working class folks are good with getting boned so Elites can feel good that they’re Doing Something, right?

Read: Ford To Slash 3,000 Jobs As It Pushes Electric Vehicles »

Posted in Economy, Global Warming | 12 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach August 25, 2022 – 1:00 pm

…is a wonderful walkway so Other People can be forced out of their cars, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Common Cents Blog, with a post on Biden forgiving lots of student debt.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 8 Comments | Trackback URL

LGBT’s Accuse Church Of Bullying For Building Cross Shaped Ocean Pier

By William Teach August 25, 2022 – 10:30 am

See, tolerance  is a one way street. How dare the Methodist church do this!

Jersey Shore Christians Accused of ‘Bullying’ LGBTQ+ for Building Cross-Shaped Ocean Pier

A community along the Jersey Shore established as a Methodist retreat in 1869 is building a pier out of its boardwalk shaped like a cross, prompting outrage from the neighboring LGBTQ+ enclave, NJ Advance Media reported Monday.

Ocean Grove, New Jersey, broke ground on a project to restore a pier jutting out of the boardwalk in July that will feature a design that resembles a cross from above. The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, the Methodist organization that founded the community and still owns most of the land, has said that the design is an “improvement” that will allow more people to enjoy being out over the water, compared to the pier that it will replace. The project is part of larger restorations still ongoing since Superstorm Sandy devastated much of the Jersey Shore in 2012.

Ocean Grove is located next to Asbury Park, New Jersey. Beachgoers can walk the boardwalk out of one town into the other.

Wait, what’s that, they own the land, including the beach (some areas in NJ have the beach owned by government, some the homeowners own the beach)? Huh. If the OGCMA wants to build it in the shape of a cross, which does give more area out at the end, then they can, and it’s no one else’s business. But, this is 2022, so, let’s go to that link above from “reported”

Members of the small seaside town’s LGTBQ+ community and allies are saying the cross crosses a line, but many are afraid to voice their grievances with the Camp Meeting Association, said Douglas Grote, a local resident and retired Presbyterian pastor.

The cross-shaped pier feels like “Christian bullying,” said Grote, who has penned letters to local and state officials asking for intervention.

“I am so deeply concerned,” he said. ”And I am so concerned from my neighbors who are scared and bullied.”

And? If they feel that way, that’s on them. It’s just a pier with a small cross shape. These people are so soft. Bullied? Pfft. If they don’t like it they can leave the area. They knew it was a very religious area when they moved there

Ocean Grove, referred to as God’s Square Mile by some of its residents, is a seaside community of roughly 3,000 residents located just south of Asbury Park. It’s technically not its own town — Ocean Grove is a small section of Neptune Township, set aside with a unique charter.

It was founded more than 150 years ago as a summertime, tent-revival religious retreat. It was governed by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, a Methodist ministry, as a religious enclave for 100 years until the New Jersey Supreme Court declared its charter unconstitutional after a series of lawsuits.

And the ministry still owns most of the land. Are none of the LGBT folks religious?

Since the pier project did not have to go through local officials for approval, many residents were surprised by the new cross-shaped pier design, said Shane Martins, an attorney who sits on the Neptune Zoning Board and lives in Ocean Grove.

Martins, who is gay, said even if he’s not personally offended by the design, “it’s not just about me, there’s other people being hurt.”

“Once this pier is built like a cross, I believe that will be the point of a no return,” Martins said. “To say that (cross-shaped pier) doesn’t represent Christian nationalism — anyone who says that isn’t being honest.”

Seems like that community is being intolerant. And, of course, has to take it further with “Christian nationalism”. It’s a pier. That is it. There are plenty of cross all over the area. You can be Offended all you want. Suck it up, buttercup.

Read: LGBT’s Accuse Church Of Bullying For Building Cross Shaped Ocean Pier »

Posted in Current Affairs | 22 Comments | Trackback URL

Biden Admin Blocks Mining In US, Funds Canadian Mines

By William Teach August 25, 2022 – 7:00 am

I just wonder how soon till we see Canadian climate crisis scam groups suing to stop the mines

Biden Admin Moves To Fund Canadian Mines While Blocking US Mining Efforts

The Biden administration is considering funding the Canadian mining and metal industry as it is desperate to acquire more rare earth minerals to build renewable energy technologies; however, the administration has previously blocked the development of U.S. mining efforts, according to E&E News.

Following the passage of the Democrats’ massive climate spending package, the Biden administration is looking to import critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel and may even give money to the Canadian mining industry to acquire such minerals and help push mineral supply chains out of Chinese hands, according to E&E News. Although it is desperate to produce these minerals and confront the Chinese dominance of the mineral market, the administration has blocked major mining projects in Minnesota and Alaska.

“The Department of The Interior is not for development of any kind … whether its mining or oil and gas,” Steve Milloy, a member of former President Donald Trump’s EPA transition team, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Canada has courts and climate activists and does not the same ability to undercut China’s slave labor and therefore, the plan has serious limitations.”

The move to acquire minerals from outside the U.S. comes amid the Biden administration’s repeated efforts to prevent domestic mining developments. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in May that it would review a proposal that dealt a significant blow to the Pebble Project, an Alaska mining project that would produce about 1.5 billion tons of critical minerals over 20 years. Additionally, Biden’s Interior Department (DOI) canceled two mineral leases belonging to the Twin Metals Mine in Minnesota in January, halting the mine’s construction.

The U.S. could be mining for our own materials for renewable projects and electric vehicles, but, no, Team Biden won’t allow it, and, heck, if Trump or some other Republican was president, the DOI would be working to kill the projects. But, at least we’re trying to get the materials from Canada, as opposed to China. But, we all know how this works out: the climate cultists and extreme enviros will sue to stop the mining, and loony tunes Canadian bureaucrats will work to stop the mining.

And those metals are going to be needed for things like

California to approve 2035 ban on gas-powered car sales

California is expected on Thursday to approve a ban on the sale of new gas-powered cars that would begin in 2035.

The state’s Air Resources Board on Thursday will vote on the ban, which would also ratchet up the percentage of vehicles sold in the state that are electric leading up to the 2035 date.

California’s clean car standards are also often adopted by other states, so the impact of this rule could stretch far beyond its borders.

Or, they might not. Not if consumers opt out because EVs are inconvenient and too expensive. Still lots of time, we’ll see how this goes. And will any news outlet ask California Gov Newsom and the members of the Air Resources Board if they have ditched their own fossil fueled vehicles and switched to EVs now?

Read: Biden Admin Blocks Mining In US, Funds Canadian Mines »

Posted in Global Warming | 8 Comments | Trackback URL

Texas Governor Keeps Sending More Buses To NYC

By William Teach August 25, 2022 – 6:45 am

Greg Abbott is such a giving guy, you know

5 more migrant buses from Texas arrive in NYC as Abbott calls out Adams’ ‘hypocrisy’

Five more buses arrived in New York City from Texas on Wednesday, the most buses in one day to reach the Big Apple.

The new buses are only the latest to make the trip — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has sent more than 1,000 migrants to New York since Aug. 5, his office has said. (sent)

Abbott called out Adams’ “hypocrisy” in a Wednesday New York Post op-ed, saying the mayor “likes to pat himself on the back for welcoming migrants with open arms to his sanctuary city. That is, until he actually has to follow through on those lofty promises.”

“Adams talked the talk about being a sanctuary city — welcoming illegal immigrants into the Big Apple with warm hospitality,” Abbott wrote. “Talk is cheap. When pressed into fulfilling such ill-considered policies, he wants to condemn anyone who is pressing him to walk the walk.”

Still needs to send a bunch to Reheboth Beach, Delaware. And leave some off right at the White House

Abbott is not the only one in support of the stunt. Texas mayors and lawmakers have laughed off complaints from major cities, pointing to years and years of dealing with the crisis on their own.

“You see New York, you see Washington kind of drowning with a few buses,” McAllen, Texas, Mayor Javier Villalobos told Fox News. “We used to get over a thousand-something people a day.”

“The city of McAllen was able to deal with thousands of immigrants a day,” Villalobos said. “I think they can handle a few hundred.”

Yeah, but see, liberal cities don’t really want to deal with them, they’ll protect some from deportation, but, would prefer most stay Over There.

Read: Texas Governor Keeps Sending More Buses To NYC »

Posted in Illegal Immigration | 16 Comments | Trackback URL

Climate Cult Wants Biden To Act Locally On Government

By William Teach August 24, 2022 – 3:00 pm

I actually approve of this idea

Biden administration needs to start acting on climate change at the local level

With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden administration has made a historic commitment to combating climate change. For the first time, the United States has the potential to actually meet its climate goals. But we must remember that doing so will also require effective executive action to implement and support the bill’s policies.

So far, in my hometown of Philadelphia, the actions of the Biden administration are not encouraging.

Inexplicably, the federal government is spending millions of dollars that will increase emissions at some of Philadelphia’s most iconic buildings. Independence Hall National Historical Park, the cradle of our democracy, and 30th Street Station, the lynchpin of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor network, are in the process of converting from efficient steam energy to new on-site fossil fuel boilers and emissions stacks. These changes will lock in decades of additional pollution and undermine Philadelphia’s effort to transition from fossil gas to renewable power, not to mention that there are cleaner, greener, economically efficient choices. Moreover, the actions directly contradict President Biden’s executive order requiring all federal capital projects to aggressively seek to reduce their carbon footprint.

The stakes for carbon emissions at federal buildings are enormous. The General Services Administration alone manages over 375 million square feet of space in nearly 10,000 buildings. Amtrak owns and leases space in dozens of stations across the country. Federal departments and agencies can make investment decisions and capital commitments to increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions without having to pass a single law or proceed through the regulatory process.

Reducing the government’s carbon footprint simply requires the will and determination to do it.

The Executive and Legislative Branch’s should be forced to reduce their own carbon footprints. Make all the elected politicians, their appointees, and their main staffs drive EVs or take mass transit. Make them rely on only “renewables” for energy at their offices, and, if there’s not quite enough power, oh well, deal with it, Sparky. They want to force Everyone Else to comply, but, they do almost nothing in their own lives

Read More »

Read: Climate Cult Wants Biden To Act Locally On Government »

Posted in AGW Socialism, Global Warming | 14 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach August 24, 2022 – 1:00 pm

…is an Evil can of soda full of carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Climate Depot, with a post on the feds going after an Amish farmer.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 6 Comments | Trackback URL

More Economists: IRA Will Have Barely To No Effect On Reducing Inflation

By William Teach August 24, 2022 – 10:30 am

Yeah, this is not a repeat of other articles on the negligible effect of the “Inflation Reduction Act”

Inflation Reduction Act ‘will have no measurable impact on inflation,’ economists say

President Biden recently signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law with the goal of taming inflation and addressing climate, tax, and health care issues.

According to economists, however, the $430 billion price tag over the next 10 years is a hefty amount for what they consider to be marginal economic returns.

“Our preliminary analysis of the ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ (IRA), a climate, tax, and health-focused bill, shows it will boost the level of GDP by about 0.2%-0.3% by the end of 2031 and, despite its name, will have no measurable impact on inflation,” Oxford Economics economists wrote in a new note.

Though economists at Wells Fargo agreed that the IRA’s actual effect on inflation would be minimal.

“In our view, the IRA will not have a major impact on the outlook for the U.S. macroeconomy over the next year or two,” the economists wrote in a separate note. “A tightening of fiscal policy can be disinflationary by slowing aggregate demand growth. The IRA does impose some fiscal tightening, such as the 15% minimum tax on corporations’ financial statement income and the 1% excise tax on stock buybacks. However, these new taxes are relatively small, amounting to just 0.1% of GDP per year.”

Mostly, those who think it will have an itty bitty effect are looking at the Obamacare subsidies being renewed and possibly the reduction of some medicine prices going down from negotiation (which doesn’t kick in till 2026). None are mentioning anything about the essentials, like food, clothing, and energy going down even a tiny bit.

Still, when combined with the recently passed CHIPS and Science Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021, the passage of the IRA marks “unprecedented, sizable investments in the climate agenda,” the economists added.

If the big Republican groups, such as the Senate Leadership Group and the National Republican Congressional Committee, and the GOP leadership as a whole, had any brains they would be incorporating this into their campaign talking points right now, just like the murder party is yammering about their support for abortion on demand, because the IRA won’t help the middle and working classes with inflation, and will probably increase their cost of energy, which will increase the cost of essential and non-essential goods and services.

Read: More Economists: IRA Will Have Barely To No Effect On Reducing Inflation »

Posted in Democrats, Economy | 7 Comments | Trackback URL

Climate Scam Activist Want Furnaces Restricted

By William Teach August 24, 2022 – 7:00 am

They need to mind their own f’ing business

Activists petition EPA to restrict the use of home and commercial furnaces by 2030

A coalition of 26 climate change, public health and environmental justice advocacy organizations formally petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday to regulate air pollution produced by residential and commercial heating appliances, a move that would require homeowners and businesses to swap out heating and hot water furnaces.

Noting that oil and gas-fueled boilers that provide heating and hot water in homes, offices, schools and hospitals produce between 9% and 10% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and release nitrogen oxides, which can cause respiratory problems, the coalition called for the agency to issue rules mandating emissions-free residential and commercial home heating appliances by the end of the decade.

“To protect public health while achieving the added benefit of advancing the Biden administration’s carbon reduction goals, EPA must set zero-emission standards for such appliances by 2030,” the groups, which include the Sierra Club, U.S. PIRG, Environment America and Physicians for Social Responsibility, wrote.

What that would mean, in practice, is that the EPA would set a first-ever standard limiting the amount of nitrous oxides that residential and commercial heating systems can produce, on the grounds that emissions-free heating systems such as electric heat pumps are widely available.

So, yes, what they want is to restrict the use of natural gas boilers and furnaces, and natural gas, which would mean anyone who has one would have to replace it.

Critics of the proposal, however, argue that the difference in cost between electric heat pumps and fossil fuel furnaces could make it difficult for the EPA to justify enacting new restrictions.

“Promulgating regulation is about more than just zeroing out emissions, it also requires that the agencies are prudent in capturing a net-benefit to American households,” Philip Rossetti, resident senior fellow in the energy program at R Street, a conservative think tank, told Yahoo News. “A forced transition to alternative appliances will carry a cost which will disproportionately fall on poor and disadvantaged Americans.”

I just paid to replace my furnace, which is natural gas, with the AC system. Are the acticultists going to pony up with their own money to replace it? How about the gas fireplace? What they’ll try and do is make the cost of replacement units so expensive that you’ll have to replace it with electric ones, which will rise in cost because of that whole supply and demand thing. And make natural gas so expensive you’ll consider replacing with straight electricity. Because they’re cultist assholes.

Read: Climate Scam Activist Want Furnaces Restricted »

Posted in AGW Socialism, Global Warming | 10 Comments | Trackback URL

Brandon To Give Student Loan Relief Wednesday

By William Teach August 24, 2022 – 6:45 am

This is all an attempt to get those who took out loans, and quite often got degrees not worth it, overpaid for the degrees, or, are just not working to pay them back, to get out and vote Democrat in November. But, will they remember come November?

White House to announce student loan cancellation, payment pause extension Wednesday

The White House is expected to announce a plan to cancel a chunk of student loan debt on Wednesday, in addition to an extension of the existing payment pause, three sources with knowledge of the situation told The Hill.

Sources said President Biden’s intended measure will include at least $10,000 in loan forgiveness for borrowers who make less than $125,000 annually, as well as another payment freeze for roughly four months.

The $10,000 figure would be the largest forgiveness of federal student loans per individual to date.

The move comes just a week ahead of the White House’s self-imposed Aug. 31 deadline. The timing has left millions of Americans waiting for guidance from the Department of Education on whether student loan payments that have been deferred since the start of the pandemic would resume next month.

Guess who gets to pay for it? Someone has to repay the loan companies. If they’re direct federal loans (why is the federal government even doing this?), it’s on the taxpayer. If private companies are getting stiffed, then they will make it a lot harder for college kids to get loans.

The potential announcement on Wednesday comes within the smallest window of time borrowers have had to determine when their payments would resume. The White House, under Biden and former President Trump, has extended the pause six times since March 2020, sometimes giving borrowers up to a month’s notice on whether their bills would be due.

You still have to pay your home loan, right? How about your car? And other things?

But the $10,000 in forgiveness for a much wider breadth of borrowers will likely not satisfy some Democrats or activists who have pushed the Biden administration to forgive much more in federal student loan debt.

No, it won’t. They’ll demand even more free money.

In May, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) met with Biden to push for forgiveness. Advocates and other Democrats, including Schumer, have pressed for forgiveness of $50,000 per borrower or to cancel debt entirely.

If you’re racking up that much debt, you better be getting a damned good degree, not in something like Feminism or any other ism that might get you a job slinging coffee.

Oh, and the cost?

According to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, a one-time maximum debt forgiveness of $10,000 for borrowers who make less than $125,000 will cost around $300 billion for taxpayers.

Surely, the IRS won’t go after those making less than $400k to pay for this, right?

Read: Brandon To Give Student Loan Relief Wednesday »

Posted in Democrats, Joe Biden | 3 Comments | Trackback URL
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