Of Note

Just a little item across the bottom of the screen on MSNBC this morning----Hershey is going to make the Peppermint Patty into the Peppermint Pastelillo.  The company is shutting down the P.P. production facility in PA and moving the operation to Mexico.  Oh well, what the hell, it's only 300 additional jobs lost in PA.  Just the type of responsible corporate behavior that will assist in lessening the pain of the current recession.  So let's keep saving the banks and other corporations with taxpayer dollars.  I'm not naive enough to argue that businesses shouldn't make decisions based on the interests of their shareholders and in the interest of maximising profits.  But a little social responsibility must enter into the calculations.  WE really DO NOT need more layoffs!!!!  Let's nationalize the banks, set up a couple of "bad banks" to dispose of the toxic assets, then return the banks to the marketplace where they must sink or swim.  Same with the auto industry---let them present a viable survival plan or let them sink.  The President is working very hard---too bad a bunch of politicians and corporate executives think this is still a game.  And the middle class is the loser.