Captain Chelsey B. Sullenberger III—An American Hero

I have been thinking a lot about the actions of Captain Sullenberger the past couple of days. He's the US Airways pilot who safely landed an Airbus A320 passenger plane on the Hudson River after the plane's engines were disabled, probably by a flock of birds (or a couple well-placed Canada geese). Captain Sullenberger's cool thinking and knowledge of his airplane saved the lives of 150 people.

Captain Sullenberger is 57 years of age.

How many employers/industries would have tossed this man aside by now? Fortunately for those 150 people and their families, US Airways had the good sense to keep him around. Captain Sullenberger is a prime example of smarts, good military training and a personal interest in investigating aviation crashes and improving training for evacuating airplanes during an emergency.

I will repeat this until I am blue in the face: Older workers have so much to offer today's workplace, and today more than ever. With our economy in the toilet there is little time for people to learn on the job, even with the most impressive college credentials. The biotechnology industry is starting to whine about a shortage of qualified scientists—and of course bemoan the poor quality of education in the U.S. so there are few qualified scientists in the U.S. or in the pipeline. (Do you smell a plea for more guest worker visas?)

I know there are qualified older scientists out there who have been discarded in the name of "cost." I also know that in today's economic uncertain times, older workers do have the good sense to understand the need to bite the bullet and accept a somewhat lower wage than they are really worth. Why is it that employers believe that all older workers will demand too much in salary? Why is it okay to hire a younger worker at (presumably) a lesser salary, only to have to take the time to train that person? Wouldn't it be wiser to hire the older worker who is ready to hit the ground running?

Sadly, I don't see our incoming president select having the testes to take this on. Even though he himself is a "young" baby boomer, he doesn't seem to relate to this generation. By denying the talent that boomers do possess, he (and the rest of the U.S.) is missing out on a wonderful resource that could no doubt assist the nation out of the pickle we are in thanks to the Democratic Congress and the mortgage failure crap quagmire we are all caught in.

Fears

I suppose I should start talking about my fears for the United States (and my way of life) during the rule of the newly-elected messiah.

First, I am so distressed about people who say "this is the first time in a long time I am proud to be an American," or "I finally have hope." Listen, if things had been so terrible, if you'd been humiliated to be an American, there are other places you can go. Perhaps you should have gone there years ago. 

I do think it's funny that the term "liberal" is used when what being a liberal means is an anything goes attitude, except the government is telling you what goes. Liberal means more government in everyday life, legislating morality (and the ultra-conservative Repubs are just as bad, so I'm not blind to this) and telling us all what is acceptable to think and do. 

So here's today's concern: employment/labor & immigration

I'm a baby boomer who can't get full-time work. People in their 30s are picked before me, even though I have more education and most likely can do the job better than someone wet behind the ears. How many other boomers are in my situation? I know so many high-tech workers, smart people, eager and creative people, who remain unemployed while their former employers demand that more work visas be granted so they can fill jobs. What of the boomers you chose to fire because you felt their benefits were getting more expensive? It's more acceptable to import an unknown person so you can pay him/her less? Shame on the U.S. companies who have bought into this! Claiming qualified workers aren't readily available is as shameful as the outsourcing that's become so popular. Why isn't Big Brother looking out for the good of U.S. workers? I'm hoping against hope the messiah and his regime find a way to take away any advantages to these labor practices—higher taxes, tariffs for each foreign worker admitted into the U.S., and closer monitoring of those workers to make sure they do leave the U.S. when their visas are up. Oh and NO ANCHOR BABIES. That's always their way in.

There is an article in today's LA Times about how happy labor unions are with the messiah's election. They are salivating all over themselves, eager to unionize anything and everything. Look what unionization has done for American car makers—the product is not as good as a Japanese or German-built car (even if they are built somewhere in North America), and the U.S. product is certainly no value for the dollars you spend on it (though my 1998 Mustang with 162K miles is still going strong). And the government is considering bailing those automakers out, which really means that the unions can continue to extort dues from American workers.

I have worked in unionized jobs twice. I hated paying those dues, and in each case, the union did NOTHING for me. I looked for assistance as I kept suffering on-the-job injuries with the first job, and the union rep claimed there was nothing that could be done for me. Thanks for nothing! I sure could use that $200 a month in "dues" you took from me in the 1980s. 

I know of a family whose patriarch worked tirelessly for the United Farm Workers in the late 1960s into the 1980s. He alienated local growers who had previously hired him and his family. When he became too gravely disabled to work or even do union organizing, he filed for retirement—benefits he'd been paying for as a member of the UFW.

He was told he hadn't paid enough in to draw from the UFW's retirement program. Yet Cesar Chavez' family all live in very nice homes, driving late model cars. This man ended up on social security disability AND SSI—something he never expected to do, because he believed in the UFW and its retirement program.

The only people who benefitted from the UFW's union dues are Cesar Chavez and his descendants. I believe the only people who benefit from unions of any kind are the head honchos and the so-called organizers. Their check is in the mail. Where is yours?