Sunday Notes

Some interesting reading in today's paper.

The Washington Post lays out a presentation made by Robert Miller of Delphi, the automotive parts company, here. Some key points:

• Parts will be made where it makes financial sense for them to be made. That determination is a blend of the absolute cost of manufacture and the cost of getting the item to where it's needed. That last phrase is why complex and complete electromechanical assemblies are built near the automotive plants that need them -- until the cost of making them overseas and shipping them here becomes cost competitive; then it becomes a timing question -- can they be gotten here as fast as ones made locally. Long delivery pipelines translate to less market flexibility.
• He does not intend to declare bankruptcy, but neither does he not intend to declare bankruptcy. He sees it as an option; if it is one that's chosen, it is just one option, and it's a process, not a once and done event. And if you do it, do it in an organized, planned way -- don't surprise anyone, and don't be in denial about what's happening, what's going to happen, what's not going to happen, and what might happen.
• Merging the assets and liabilities of multiple ailing companies can produce a single successful company -- but not if the process includes formal bankruptcy proceedings.
• Funding of pension guarantees has to be reflected in current statements of financial position. They are as much an impact to that position as a natural disaster or an explosion at a supplier's plant.
• The future is in things like hybrids.

Which brings me to a different article, same paper, about hybrids and hummers. People who drive these are used to getting attention, though for different reasons. The person who drives a hybrid exults in seeing the miles per gallon indicator floating at 55 or 60 mph -- and sometimes going to infinity. The person who drives a hummer delights in being up higher than most others, being able to see further, feeling safer, and seeing other cars move out of his way. Neither is morally superior. I do think that hummer drivers ought to be able to get all the gas they want, at a guaranteed price. Twenty bucks a gallon sounds about right... for now.

The New York Times has some excerpts from Putinki: A Short Collection of the President’s Sayings, that are pretty cool. Incidentally, this is President Putin:

In answer to the proposal that Russian troops take part in operations in Iraq, you just want to say, “Right, like we’re that stupid.”

Speaking about Russian’s oligarches, “Everyone has to understand, once and for all, that you’ve got to obey the law all the time, and not just when someone’s got you by the short hairs.”

About what he’d really like to do as president: “I can’t go beyond the framework of the Russian Constitution, although sometimes I’d really like to.”

On contrary opinions: “I don’t want to say that your opinion means absolutely nothing to us and that we want to spit on everything. No, we will listen to your advice...with good will.”

On perfection: “ If a person is satisfied with everything, then he’s a complete idiot. A healthy person with a normal memory can’t always be satisfied with everything.”

On what the future holds: “We’re all going to die out like dinosaurs.”

And an article on the nomination process for the O'Connor seat brings up the concept of 'superprecedents', making the point that there are some decisions, such as Roe vs. Wade, which have become so intregrated into the fabric of the law that it is useless to contemplate changing them -- which is exactly what the strict constructionists would like to do. Their feeling is, nothing is written in stone (with the possible exception of the ten commandments) and everything can be changed -- especially with the right nominee.

Should be interesting.

And finally, one of my favorite subjects: concierge medicine... From an article in the New York Times:

Despite the drastic decrease in patient load after he changed the way he ran his practice, Dr. Kaminetsky's personal compensation and the salaries of his office staff members increased by about 60 percent.

Must be nice.