28thavenue.net

I remember when the dollar could buy you 8 Norwegian Kroner — perhaps 8 years ago or so. Not any more. Just checked the Foreign Exchange (we’re about to head out on vacation) and the good ol’ green back is good for 5.5 NOK. Yikes.

Maybe I’ll offer to mow lawns for people while I’m there…

Today GM UAW workers went on strike, reaching a deadline in their ongoing negotiations with General Motors. This is an interesting situation, because, as many are expecting, health insurance may move from GM’s balance sheet to a trust, controlled by the UAW, for both active workers and retirees.

This would do two things. First, GM would move health care benefit provision from its balance sheet. Rather, they would be contributing a set amount to the UAW’s trust for health care. It would be the trust’s responsibility to manage these funds and maintain solvency for the workers’ health care plan.

Second, and I think more importantly, GM workers will no longer totally depend on their employer for provision of heath care benefits. That’s a remarkable shift. What could happen in the medium run is this health care arrangement could become the norm, where UAW workers (for all automakers) no longer receive health care benefits from their employer, but rather from their union. This changes the market for labor significantly, because the workers, through their union, can change the rules for health care coverage for their members. Perhaps they’ll create additional benefits for new families. Perhaps they’ll curtail coverage for certain kinds of care. Regardless, employees will be less dependent on their employers for the basic necessity of health care, and it could provide a glimpse into what a Universal Health Care system might mean for Americans.

I was once a union member, and for whatever reason I always find myself in support or workers fighting for better pay, and better benefits. I support unions in general. I simply think it’s a natural extension of free enterprise and freedom to peaceably assemble. I’m not a member of a union now. I have the good fortune to be able to effectively negotiate the terms of my employment as an individual. For many people, however, they must face their employer as a member of a class, and in such cases I believe that union membership is in their interest, and can also be a beneficial form of organization for the employer to negotiate with.

The GM strike is significant. I suggest it’s worth following.

“How a millionaire’s brain works.”

In the spirit of looking after my cents, I’m considering letting 28thavenue.net expire, and conducting my blogging operations from http://28thavenue.wordpress.com/.

I’d like to hear reactions, positive or negative, from anyone who has an opinion about the idea.

For after you talk to your realtor.

I am so freaking sick and tired of the term “perfect storm.”

How many damn perfect storms can there be? Why did they have to go and make that stupid movie and enter this annoying phrase into the lexicon?

The Perfect Storm, by the way, was released in 2000, which means we’ve been suffering for 7 years. Ugh.

I liked the mooning of the Packers’ fans. I liked the “I play when I wanna play.” I’m sorry to say, I kind of liked the traffic cop incident.

I lost interest in the Vikings when we traded him away.

Check out the eyesore of the month.

From the nytimes, on the subject of the World Trade Center site development:

Rather than emphasizing the distant bird’s-eye perspectives typical of most ground zero design unveilings, the developers and architects who are working on the redevelopment project stayed pretty much at street level, showing many of the details that will make or break the pedestrian experience.

What if this became the next thing in architecture? Wouldn’t that be great? You wouldn’t have buildings like the Guthrie built that make a person feel like a termite standing next to them.

Termite, yeah, I think I took that from this:

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3057280178909051497]

90 degrees. September 5.

I. am. so. sick. of. heat.