September 26, 2007 by Tom Armstrong.

Opinion in today’s WSJ (subscription required) on the influences of globalization.

Notable:

The struggles of the Big Three workers and other stakeholders are very real. The livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of UAW workers, retirees and their families have been under pressure for many years. But there is a critical, bigger picture that we must not lose sight of: America overall is stronger today because of, not in spite of, the globalization of the U.S. automobile industry.

Start with the Big Three. For decades the competitive pressures of international trade and investment have forced the Big Three to innovate and boost productivity, starting with gains in fuel efficiency after Japanese car imports surged with the oil-price shocks of the 1970s. In 1998 GM averaged about 46 hours to produce a vehicle in North America. By 2005 that was down to just 35 hours. On many dimensions, it is foreign-headquartered companies like Mercedes, Honda and Toyota that establish and push global best practices — a lead the Big Three have been compelled to pursue and thereby improve performance.

Now look at the U.S. auto industry overall. The argument that America can no longer produce cars because of foreign competition flies in the face of one word: insourcing. In 2005, foreign-headquartered multinationals in motor vehicles and parts employed 334,900 Americans — at an average annual compensation of $68,125, fully 34% above the private-sector average. Over the decades that the Big Three have struggled with their American operations, foreign auto companies have rapidly established and expanded U.S. production through foreign direct investment.

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September 26, 2007 by Tom Armstrong.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a big football fan. In fact, I operate the football technology department of my high school alma mater, William Blount High School (AKA Blount). Currently, we are ranked the #72 team in the nation, among thousands. This Friday we play the #5 team in the nation, Maryville, which is 4 miles down the road. Since my college alma mater, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is having a poor year in football, this is the only game I have to look forward to this week. Maryville, looking to win 50 straight this week against us, should have its hands full. So if blogging slows in the next few days, you’ll know why. Here are the national rankings in high-school football.

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September 26, 2007 by Tom Armstrong.

My most recent letter to the editor of a local paper concerning TN legislation (usually printed on a 5-day delay):

Oh, thank the good Lord for all His mercies; the Tennessee Legislature, in its infinite wisdom, and its members being the quintessential self-sacrificing, virtuous crusaders for equality and justice, have passed legislation—the Non-Smokers Protection Act—to protect me and other non-smokers from those vile, repugnant exhaust pipes otherwise known as smokers.

Violators will incur fines, which will increase in severity with each violation. I notice that a contact number is provided for citizens to report violators to authorities, a tactic right out of the old Soviet playbook. Friedrich Hayek and George Orwell would be proud.

This is typical legislation that pits one group against another, declaring one to be an absolute wrong and another right. The arbiters of right and wrong in Nashville are becoming ever more brazen.

The legislation prohibits smoking in all enclosed public places. Public places would be construed by most to mean publicly-owned property, but this is not the case. Public, in this case, means any location visited by the general public, which could be state or private property. The judges in Nashville have preempted the will of the marketplace and replaced it with a policy that is more fitting to their utopian visions.

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September 26, 2007 by Tom Armstrong.

This piece by Gene Policinski says one in four Americans do not see First Amendment rights as “essential” in their lives.

Although chilling, I suspect that a majority of Americans could not enumerate the five protections in the First Amendment, which, of course, is even more frightening. When you take freedoms for granted, you are more likely to loose them. Incidentally, many of my students often confuse the first 10 Amendments (Bill of Rights) with the 10 Commandments, which, I’ve gotta say, sends a shiver down my spine.

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