Posted by Tina
Hostess Bakeries have closed their doors; an American company with an iconic product is no more.
Hostess Brands began as Interstate Bakeries Corporation in 1930. The business started as a wholesaler providing fresh baked bread wrapped in Gingham to grocery stores. The baked goods business has a long history of acquisitions but most remember it for the Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Ho Ho’s and Sno-Balls that became lunch and snack time favorites during the “Leave it to Beaver” and “Brady Bunch” years. More than a few sentimental sighs could be heard last week as fans scrambled to grocery and convenience stores to snap up the last of the fun time fare.
But hold on…although the company is gone the confections will likely live on. Yes indeedy, boys and girls, the fallen company will sell its secret recipes…you knew that it would.
It turns out a Mexican bakery, Grupo Bimbo, has shown interest in buying the rights to the treats…sweet revenge for the Twinkie lovers of the world. Now before you get all worked up about Americans losing their jobs to cheap Mexican labor you should know that the owners of Grupo Bimbo are said to be billionaires…with a definite sugar advantage over Hostess. Seems the price of sugar is much higher in America due to tariffs…one of the many reasons Hostess found it difficult to compete in the international bakery industry.
The other reasons are, well, pretty obvious. One of the highest corporate tax rates in the world hasn’t helped and most Americans are down on sugar these days. The last three years of healthy lifestyle edicts coming from the White House may have pushed against the bottom line…as has the economy! Let’s face it, the American economy has been stuck in park for some time and new taxes and regulations by busy body lawmakers won’t help and only add to the mix. President Obama says he expects that our energy prices “will necessarily rise” as he ushers in a new era of green energy…a tough break for a company that runs ovens all day long. Top iall of this off with the fact that the American worker is quite often more interested in making his boss a bad guy than in keeping his job and its easy to see why this company couldn’t make it in America. Did you ever think you would hear that said with such finality? I tell ya, there are a number of small business owners who are thinking and feeling just that. Oh well, Hostess isn’t the first and won’t be the last company to fall
So someone will likely make Ding Dongs and Twinkies but we may have to wait awhile before we see these guilty pleasure items back in our stores. I have a suggestion…while you wait just keep chanting…Yo quiero Twinkies! Yo quiero Twinkies!…like a mantra.
Perhaps Grupo Bimbo will answer the call. Let’s hope so, we know most Occupy people hateConAgra ’cause it’s an evil American corporation.
Would a Mexican company buying these recipes represent a measure of sweet revenge? I’m afraid so.
Hostess failing is a tragedy of corporate looting. They raided the employee pension fund (stole) that they contributed to. The executives received huge bonuses while employees took pay cuts. One CEO even sold his stock before announcing profits were down.
I have a friend here in town who is a bread truck driver. I’m afraid he is going to lose his job. How sad that this is what has come to American jobs.
The executives were slapped down by the court and ended up taking $1.00 in pay for the year, Princess.
“Looting” is an interesting choice of words. When revenue from sales to pay your bills isn’t sufficient payments begin to lag. What would you do?
Moving on….
THE PRESIDENT’S FAILURE TO SPUR ECONOMIC GROWTH certainly has done little to help companies keep agreements with employees on pensions…governments aren’t funding their pension agreements…HELLLLLLLO!
It is sad that this is what is happening in America. Socialists are killing the very thing that allows ALL Americans to better prosper. Socialists prefer to keep people dependent and in chains. They gain this power by appealing to weakness.
Where government grows nothing grows!
America is about to become a wasteland.
Wake the he** up!
Hate and despise money makers all day long but when envious greed seeks to punish and stomp the productive people are no fools, they will follow your lead, use their money to buy tangibles like art, real estate and gold,take as much as they can as fast as they can out of the market, and go on permanent vacation. Why should they stick around while ingrates rape and punish them for their efforts and investment?
Re: Hostess bosses
It is a travesty that top execs would take pay raises while employees get pay cuts. That is scandalous and I hope they will never find another job in corporate America. However, there is blame on the other side too, because he union contributed more to the unprofitability even more than those greedy top execs.
I do not understand why as a Republican, I am expected to hate all unions and disparage the people who work hard for their money. I truly do not think that being a bakery worker is a gravy job. It is hard work. I know bread truck drivers and they bust their butts to get their stuff in on time. My friend who drives a bread truck just sent me this sad story from a Hostess employee. It sums up perfectly what is happening to good-paying jobs in this country.
http://www.dailykos.com/blog/bluebarnstormer/
The whole thing bears reading but this part seems most important and eye-opening to me
“In July of 2011 we received a letter from the company. It said that the $3+ per hour that we as a Union contribute to the pension was going to be ‘borrowed’ by the company until they could be profitable again. Then they would pay it all back. The Union was notified of this the same time and method as the individual members. No contact from the company to the Union on a national level.
This money will never be paid back. The company filed for bankruptcy and the judge ruled that the $3+ per hour was a debt the company couldn’t repay. The Union continued to work despite this theft of our self-funded pension contributions for over a year. I consider this money stolen. No other word in the English language describes what they have done to this money.
After securing our hourly cash from the bankruptcy judge they set out on getting approval to force a new contract on us. They had already refused to negotiate outside of court. They received approval from the judge to impose the contract then turned it over to the Union for a vote. You read that right, they got it approved by the judge before ever showing to the Union.
What was this last/best/final offer? You’d never know by watching the main stream media tell the story. So here you go…
1) 8% hourly pay cut in year 1 with additional cuts totaling 27% over 5 years. Currently, I make $16.12 an hour at TOP rate of pay in the bakery. I would drop to $11.26 in 5 years.
2) They get to keep our $3+ an hour forever.
3) Doubling of weekly insurance premium.
4) Lowering of overall quality of insurance plan.
5) TOTAL withdrawal from ALL pensions. If you don’t have it now then you never will.
Remember how I said I made $48,000 in 2005 and $34,000 last year? I would make $25,000 in 5 years if I took their offer.
It will be hard to replace the job I had, but it will be easy to replace the job they were trying to give me.
That $3+ per hour they steal totaled $50 million last year that they never paid us. They sold $2.5 BILLION in product last year. If they can’t make this profitable without stealing my money then good riddance.”
Princess, you’re not expected to hate all unions, I’m sorry if anyone with an -R after their name gave you that impression.
Unions still serve a decent purpose! I’m ready to acknowledge that right up front. If it were not for unions a lot of employees would be mistreated by bad bosses, somebody powerful has to be there for them. A bad mid-level boss can make an employee’s life miserable, if it were not for the protection of the union. Reasonable wages and benefits are what unions are supposed to seek, something that works for both sides.
However, there are times when unions have asked for too much. Of course its their job to keep asking for more and more at every bargaining sesson. But, there does come a tipping point in all businesses when the burden of that union cuts too deeply into the bottom line and the business is at risk. I am not addressing the specifics here, just the general idea. There is no doubt many cases we can find for corporate injustice and maybe Hostess is one of them, I personally don’t know. I am only talking in broad terms. There must be a balance. I’m sure you would agree with that, right?
You have made very good points about what was wrong with Hostess management. Thank you.
Tina: “The executives were slapped down by the court and ended up taking $1.00 in pay for the year, Princess.”
It was my understanding that this was not a court decision, but was imposed by the new CEO, Greg Rayburn, after criticism for raises given to top executives in the lead-up to bankruptcy. Here’s a New York Post article from April explaining the decision:
Hostess pay hikes reversed after Chapter 11
By JOSH KOSMAN
Thats not a lot of dough.
Facing an internal revolt, Hostess Brands will roll back pay raises it doled out to top managers just months before filing for bankruptcy.
The maker of Twinkies and Ding Dongs is slashing pay for its four highest-paid managers to $1 apiece until Hostess emerges from Chapter 11 or Dec. 31, whichever comes first.
In addition, CEO Gregory Rayburn said four junior execs will see their salaries reset to the amounts they were paid before last summers huge pay hikes.
Those raises were the product of an assessment by our compensation committee and an independent compensation consulting firm and were meant to create stability while we sought to restructure the company, Rayburn said in a letter to employees yesterday. We are in different circumstances today.
The move came after the companys creditors slammed Hostess in court papers for jacking up managers salaries in July after it had already hired restructuring lawyers. Hostess hired advisers in March 2011 but didnt file for bankruptcy until January.
The creditors accused Hostess of sidestepping rules designed to prevent distressed companies from paying big rewards to keep executives from bolting.
The disclosure put Hostess already locked in tense negotiations with its unions over pension and health-care costs at odds with rank-and-file workers who have gone without significant raises for years and had their 401(k)s frozen. Adding insult to injury, the company laid off 10 percent of its workers last summer.
They are ripping us off from the top, a Hostess salaried worker told The Post. They eliminated all 401(k) matches in August while they got increases.
A source familiar with the boards thinking at the time said the raises were approved under former CEO Brian Driscoll. Hostess counsel and its restructuring adviser also reviewed the raises and believed they were legal, the source said.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/hostess_dough_cut_U3uJ0MELraEEdw8xSPoPKN
Tina: “Why should they stick around while ingrates rape and punish them for their efforts and investment?”
I think using the term “rape” to refer to workers demanding better pay is disgusting, Tina. And I don’t see how one can blame government, unions or “socialists” for Hostess’ closing. The company has been having financial troubles for years. The unions in this case were representing workers who were upset over an 8% pay cut and cuts to their health and pension plans. I don’t see how one can blame the workers, who in this day and age, are literally struggling to survive, when the top executives had just gotten raises.
You seem to have bought into Ayn Rand’s juvenile power fantasy, where wealthy business owners are horribly persecuted and must “Go Galt” in order to stick it to the greedy, meddling lower classes, who aren’t good for anything except leeching off the earnings of their social betters. It’s a delusional, offensive and selfish ideology, and I’m sad that the Republican party seems to have embraced it wholeheartedly.
Jack, thanks for those sensible comments. I am glad we can agree on something.
Chris: “It was my understanding that this was not a court decision, but was imposed by the new CEO, Greg Rayburn, after criticism for raises given to top executives in the lead-up to bankruptcy.”
Thanks for the information Chris. Pressure was brought to bear but by creditors using the courts. From the article you cite: “The move came after the companys creditors slammed Hostess in court papers for jacking up managers salaries in July after it had already hired restructuring lawyers.” so it wasn’t the court per say but creditors using the courts. (Bosses do get to answer to others.)
“I think using the term “rape” to refer to workers demanding better pay is disgusting, Tina.”
Yeah because the terms “rape and pillage” are too dramatic…too extreme…too hurtful…not like calling good “folks” who join the Tea party to protest against a government that is too big racist…that’s mild by comparison.
“I don’t see how one can blame the workers, who in this day and age, are literally struggling to survive, when the top executives had just gotten raises. ”
I didn’t. I happen to agree that the raises for executives were STUPID, unthinking, and cruel. On the other hand, the business is also struggling. How STUPID is it to kick the company when its down…and turn down a compromise agreement that even the AFL-CIO thought they should take.
You seem to think that only workers struggle, that people that make more money never face difficult problems and that they exist just to keep employees down. It’s a crock but it is the story that unions use to attract members and wield mob rule power.
“You seem to have bought into Ayn Rand’s juvenile power fantasy, where wealthy business owners are horribly persecuted and must “Go Galt” in order to stick it to the greedy, meddling lower classes…”
The fantasy is all yours. Nothing about this description comes even close to the point that Rand was making in her novel.
“I’m sad that the Republican party seems to have embraced it wholeheartedly.”
I’m sad that your education has been so warped and distorted and that you have no grounding, no sense of the power of individual freedom or the genius of our founders.
Princess: “I do not understand why as a Republican, I am expected to hate all unions and disparage the people who work hard for their money. I truly do not think that being a bakery worker is a gravy job.”
Princess I don’t think you are expected to hate union workers; I certainly don’t. I can’t blame any worker for joining a union if he must to get a job, for wanting to make more money or for wanting more for his family.
I do hate union tactics and I think the bosses are the problem. Most unions operate on the principles of Marx and they use tactics and principles for enforcement that is much like the mob.
Is it too much to ask that they bargain honestly, that they make an effort to understand the position a company is in, or that they make an effort to find out if the demands they seek are likely to be unsustainable for the company? Union bosses treat the company like an enemy. the owner like an evil monster.
I don’t know why employees have come to think that owners and investors are evil for the profits they make. I don’t know of anyone who would go to the trouble and expense of starting a company expecting to be poor or to give all of his profits away to others because those others demand it. Nobody would bother to go into business under those circumstances. There is little incentive to stay in business when employees, the state, and the federal government all consider the business owner evil, greedy, and corrupt…a target to be robbed of profits he has worked to make. We’re talking about unreasonable demands, something most people never consider.
People seem to believe that if they have needs that exceed their current pay, or if they just want more, it is up to someone else to provide what they need.
That is not how conservatives, libertarians, or republicans think.
Most company leaders know that it’s smart to keep employees happy and eager to come to work. We are not, however, a personal source of funding to be used to make everyone rich.
In a free country improving ones circumstance has to be up to the individual otherwise the country will cease being free. Is that important to anyone anymore?
Interesting. Here we have demonization of a corporation from the Progressive Democratic Party talking points parrot “Princess” (who poses as a Republican) to the all too predictable, asinine, snotty progressive jerk who states “You (meaning the folks at Post Scripts) seem to have bought into Ayn Rand’s juvenile power fantasy.” As if Ayn Rand and her works were ever “juvenile”. Snore.
Try this on for size you spittle spewing manics: Hostess union labor and management could not reach an agreement where Hostess could remain profitable. Hostess management decided to abandon an unprofitable business and sell off the assets rather than continue to operate an unprofitable company.
Get over it, you invective invoking sneer mongers from Twinkie Defense hell. Other companies who can compete will buy up those assets. The union(s) screwed themselves and their members royally.
End of story. Hostess is gone. Long live Ho Hos.
Tina: “I don’t know why employees have come to think that owners and investors are evil for the profits they make.”
Tina, 19 minutes earlier: “I happen to agree that the raises for executives were STUPID, unthinking, and cruel.”
That’s why, Tina. Because the situation you describe is not rare. Corporate profits are at an all-time high, while wages are at an all-time low. This equation only makes sense if corporations are doing something wrong.
I haven’t called any business owner or investor “evil,” as I don’t like to throw that word around. But I do think it is greedy and irresponsible to freeze or lower pay to workers while also giving raises to those at the top. Again, this is common in today’s economic climate. And it’s the reason why corporations have gotten a bad rep. Frankly, they’ve earned it.
“Yeah because the terms “rape and pillage” are too dramatic…too extreme…too hurtful…not like calling good “folks” who join the Tea party to protest against a government that is too big racist…that’s mild by comparison.”
I also think it’s wrong to generalize all Tea Partiers as racists, as I’ve said many times.
By the way, using The Daily KOS as a source, Princess? I just about spit up my green tea on that one. Why do you continue your silly facade?
That history about the origin of the company follows the wrong branch of a family tree of mergers and acquisitions. As has much of the news coverage.
My Dad worked for the company from around 1960 and into the 1980’s…. This is the correct branch to follow: Continental Baking Company, which was purchased by Interstate in 1995. All of the stories seem to focus on the history of Interstate, not Continental.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostess_Brands
History
It was founded in New York City by Robert Boyd Ward in 1849 as the Ward Baking Company. In 1921 William Ward, the grandson of Robert took over the company. He renamed it the Continental Baking Company in 1925. Continental Baking acquired the Wagner Baking Company in Detroit, Michiganand in 1925 bought Taggart Baking Company, the maker of Wonder bread, to become the largest commercial bakery in the United States.[1] Twinkies were invented in 1930 in Schiller Park, Illinois by James Alexander Dewar.
Continental was based in New York from 1923 to 1984.[2] It also had its executive offices in Hoboken, New Jersey. [3]It was purchased by ITT in 1968, and Ralston Purina in 1984.[4] It was purchased by Interstate Bakeries in 1995; the combined company was rebranded Hostess Brands in 2009.[5]
On November 16, 2012, Hostess Brands announced that it would be closing down
“Try this on for size you spittle spewing manics”
As usual, Pie, the only “spittle” is coming from you. The rest of us are trying to have a civil debate. I wish you’d join us some time.
Chris: “Because the situation you describe is not rare. Corporate profits are at an all-time high, while wages are at an all-time low.”
First of all “stupid” is not “evil”…more like a wrong move than a diabolical plot. What evidence is there that a stupid move like that is an every day occurrence in most companies? I suggest it is assumed because it fits the left narrative that most people in business have too much money and “don’t share” enough of it with others…absurd! The companies that make the headlines do not represent all companies. A movie with Michael Douglas doesn’t accurately depict all investors either.
“This equation only makes sense if corporations are doing something wrong.
The article linked below suggest that corp profits are not at an all time high. The reason some economists have said so is because they are using information that compares unfairly to earlier times:
http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-perspective/111212-633197-profits-are-driving-force-behind-us-job-gains-data-show.htm?p=full
Now for low wages in the private sector. You might want to consider this article:
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/08/29/federal-state-workers-overpaid/
The American people are taxed to death to pay for all of this bureaucracy at the local, state, and federal levels. We pay as employees and we pay as corporations. We pay at the pump and to buy various licenses. We pay property tax and use tax and sales tax. We pay phone fees and water fees and garbage fees and energy fees on top of these services. We pay state and local business license tax, dog tag tax, bicycle tax, bridge tolls…and the leviathan just keeps eating more and more of private sector wealth. People with money learn how to protect it as best they can…YOU WOULD TOO!
You know, that is exactly what bugs the hell out of me! People like to pretend that if they had money they would give it all away to good causes. They pretend they wouldn’t try to protect it from the government in every legal way possible. Nearly every Tom Dick and Harry in America buys a lottery ticket or plays the big slots at least once in their lives hoping to hit it big. The proof is that gambling is big business in this country! The states have even gotten into the act (another way government takes money out of the private sector). But unless a person is a complete fool you bet he would protect that money as his property. He would also prefer to spend it as he sees fit, whatever that might be…not have government, or employees dictate how it should be spent.
Somehow it never seems to occur to people that they could get richer by earning it, by saving and investing their own money. Most wealthy Americans have done just that! Most wealthy Americans were not born with a silver spoon in their mouths.
I think if we could scale back government to a more reasonable size, educate, train and inspire people so they would spend their energies building their own wealth we would have a lot fewer problems and divisions and we would certainly see a more dynamic and growing economy. Resentment, envy, covetousness, or are all a waste of energies and unhealthy for anyone of any station or class.
Thanks for the history, Mark. The company had a long run with many changes. I’m afraid it just encountered too many problems from too many sources to continue.
Business folks are people. They make decisions that affect a lot of people and they don’t always make the right ones. They are, as are we all, also subject to failures in their personal ethics but I think they should be judged, if we must, as individuals when they fail. Overall business people have done a lot of good things for America and for Americans and I don’t think they deserve the generalized black eye they have been given.
Chris: “”I think using the term “rape” to refer to workers demanding better pay is disgusting, Tina.”
For the record I was speaking of an attitude not any particular agreement that an employee might make with his employer. And…the term is applicable:
Rape: 4. an act of plunder, violent seizure, or abuse; despoliation; violation: the rape of the countryside.
I think the bargained agreements that unions forced on GM could be considered the raping of the company’s viability. Pension and medical payments for life is quite extreme IMO.
Dr. Thomas Sowell adds some information and insight:
http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-on-the-right/111912-633985-unions-dont-always-benefit-workers.htm?p=full
I agree Tina, if business people are going to be labeled like that, then Muslims should be too. We have more daily examples of them doing evil than our business people. Of course I want neither to be labeled, I’m just pointing out another example of liberal hypocrisy.
This comment is not to be confused with reasonable profiling methods which deal with statistical probability, i.e. profiling for security. Apples and oranges. -jack
Re: “As usual, Pie, the only “spittle” is coming from you. The rest of us are trying to have a civil debate. I wish you’d join us some time.”
Let us review the spittle thus far–
Princess: Hostess failing is a tragedy of corporate looting.
Princess: (Further invective and then cites KOS) http://www.dailykos.com/blog/bluebarnstormer/
Chris: (Tossing about his usual juvenile snot indirectly suggesting Post Scripts is juvenile with a canard): You seem to have bought into Ayn Rand’s juvenile power fantasy
So, this is what qualifies in your mind as a civil debate Chris? Have you ever been able to engage in a civil debate? Yeah, and pigs fly.
While the usual gang of progressive manics slobber their “civil” invectives Hostess and the unions are being sent back into mediation.
Of course, this does not stop the crippling strike or put people back to work. Hostess and its investors will still continue to lose money.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324307204578129282170898870.html
Thomas Sowell takes a look —
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324307204578129282170898870.html
WSJ (locked article link) reports the court ordered mediation went nowhere and Hostess is proceeding with liquidation.
I smell a federal worker unions Twinkie Defense on the horizon.
http://nationaljournal.com/congress-legacy/federal-workers-to-congress-leave-us-out-of-deficit-deal-20121120
For the record the above comment regarding the definition of rape was mine. For some reason our software doesn’t always log me out. If I post a comment again after using the editing page my comments are attributed to Post Scripts (Jack).
Oh Pie that is just perfect…they say they have “already paid” their “fair share”…so who hasn’t “already paid” their fair share” of the “folks” that are being targeted for tax hikes (and maligned as greedy inn the process).
See that’s the trouble with all of the cute catch phrases that Dems use…some how it always bites them in the butt even if most people don’t notice.
Wouldn’t an honest conversation be nice for a change? I was watching FOX business this AM and the Dem suggestion that we go back to the Clinton rates was discussed. I wish I knew who it was that suggested Republicans should retort, “Fine! As long as we go back to the Clinton budget and get rid of Obama-care like we did Hillary-care. He had a similar retort for those high rates in the fifties that led to extraordinary growth…good, but to be truly comparative we’d have to get rid of all the entitlements to reflect the times as well. (It may have been Steve Forbes) Anyway, I thought it was a good point. Dems always cherry pick the stats when making comparisons.
First I want to say that yes, Daily Kos is a liberal blog, but the guy posting there about his work experience at Hostess has been confirmed as being an employee and was interviewed by CNBC.
His claims about the pensions that employees contributed to being looted are also true as proven by this letter from Hostess about their temporarily using the funds and it not affecting their pensions.
http://s1307.beta.photobucket.com/user/MikeHummell/media/hostessletter.jpg.html#/user/MikeHummell/media/hostessletter.jpg.html?&_suid=135352838356608242769316303851
If we refuse to hear what people are saying, and only limit our information from sources that tell us what we want to hear (why Pie wants to hate on a guy that has worked for Hostess for years and is lamenting that his pay is cut year after year while they sell over a billion dollars in product is beyond me but OK).
I want to hear what is really going on not what I want to be true. Pie is one of the people who railed on me for not being a Romney supporter and claimed I wasn’t a real conservative because I didn’t want to accept the crap sandwich the RNC was feeding me.
Sorry, but I don’t care about Republican/Democrat, I care that the good paying jobs are going away and the people who work at Wal Mart qualify for food stamps. That is no way to sustain a country of greatness. Hostess had plenty of money to pay bonuses and huge salaries. They wanted to pay bonuses as part of the bankruptcy and for once the Obama DOJ stepped in and did something worthwhile.
If being a Pie-approved Republican means supporting corporate pension looting while the workers who contributed $3 an hour to their own pensions for years get that money stolen then no thanks. Conservatives are supposed to be for the working person, not for the banksters who steal from us.
Re Princess’s Gobbledegook “Pie wants to hate on a guy that has worked for Hostess for years”
“To hate on”? Does that mean I hate union Hostess employees or heap hate upon them? Where the heck do you get that crap from and where the heck do you off get of defining me with such crap? I protest vigorously and in your face with that garbage.
What is YOUR problem, Princess? I have never “railed” on you non-support of Romney, all I have did was to point out that you spend most of your time clearly pushing left wing, progressive, Democrat party talking points while attempting to pose as a Republican. Reflecting what your posts have been is “railing”? Damn, I am some bastard. I suppose you could be a liberal Republican, but then you would have not been so anti-Romney. In any case I suggest you change to a political party you are more comfortable with even though I doubt you are a registered Republican or have ever even voted Republican.
Princess, you heaped your hatred for Romney on many occasions, mostly with left wing canards and DNC talking point garbage. So, of course, you necessarily must slur me with your own habit of “to hate on”.
Princess’ KOS link and citation (i.e. her personal “friend”) is nothing more than heavily prejudiced anecdotal evidence presented in as extreme and unapologetic Marxist forum as you can get. I usually do not rely on such sources for my own analyses and opinions. I guess that is because I “hate”, right? (Man, am I ever sick of hearing that sort of insulting, obnoxious junk from liberals who disagree with me. Screw you.)
Also, Princess, your questionable assertion “Hostess had plenty of money to pay bonuses and huge salaries” implies that the bonuses were uncalled for, the salaries were “huge”, and both made a significant difference in the financial viability of the company. Could be, but I am not buying it.
By contrast, I found what Thomas Sowell noted with regards to the union drivers in his analysis piece revealing —
“The work rules imposed in union contracts required Hostess, which makes Twinkies and Wonder Bread, to deliver these two products to stores in separate trucks. Moreover, truck drivers were not allowed to load either of these products into their trucks. And the people who did load Twinkies into trucks were not allowed to load Wonder Bread, and vice versa.
All of this was obviously intended to create more jobs for the unions’ members. But the needless additional costs that these make-work rules created ended up driving the company into bankruptcy, which can cost 18,500 jobs.”
But even Sowell’s view is not the whole story. There is a growing compendium of analyses and opinions as to why Hostess failed, much of which you may find referenced here —
http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2012/11/21/why-hostess-had-to-die/
So you see Princess, this “hater” is more interested in the broad spectrum than the extremely narrow, politically motivated garbage spewed by progressives and liberals on a mission.
Ultimately it was the strike, the timing of the strike, and the loggerheads of management and unions that drove the stake into the heart of Hostess, but there were many more factors that led up to the liquidation.
I still maintain the unions screwed themselves, but they were not the only screws in the coffin.
“Conservatives are supposed to be for the working person, not for the banksters who steal from us.”
Cute turn of phrase that, “banksters”. Where did you pick it up from? Mouthpieces from the Obama administration whose “bankster” bailouts that have exceeded TARP? Well, yes, Barry did say he “hated it”. That makes all the difference, right? I have already made my opinion on bank bailouts clear — let the market correct itself.
“Sorry, but I don’t care about Republican/Democrat.”
*Whew* At least that transparent fraud of yours Princess is now officially over. Please refrain from the phony qualification that you are a Republican in the future, OK? I DO care, by the way, but only in this sense — Republicans should not be Democrats. It doesn’t always work out that way, but in my humble opinion they should be not.
“If being a Pie-approved Republican means supporting corporate pension looting … ”
Why would you even think and post that? (I know why, the question is merely rhetorical, I have your obnoxious game exact.) Where have I ever made the statement, assertion, claim, or implication that I (or Republicans for whom I do not presume to speak) support looting in any form?
As far as “Pie-approved” goes, I have nothing to do with who gets approved as a Republican or not and have simply assumed that anyone who registers Republican is Republican. If you and the garbage you spout posing as a Republican, Princess, is Republican (which it is not) then I am no Republican and should change my voter registration.
I believe Republicans, as a party and a political force, are for good paying jobs, a healthy economy, and liberty and justice for all (more than merely that, but no need to go on in detail here). But, given Republican politician lip service in the past, sometimes the best I can say about Republicans is that at least they are not Democrats.
And, at least, for the most part, they are not Princesses posing as Republicans.
Pie … I’m gone for a couple days and you turn on your own?
We must hope that “turning” is not all there is to you.
Or … go with Cain. You are the third party if every there was one, because you must know, the monied Repugs are with Princess, not with you.
Libby, that post is one of your funniest yet. What other forums do you frequent? Please let me know, I would love to follow your insights.