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Pogue_mahone
Posted on Thursday, December 24, 2009 - 05:35 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

from my previous quick read,is HD in dire danger of going belly up?
i read of layoffs
and of the credit difficulties
the bad loans
and offing buell.
it is a lot of info for me and i dont really know which info could be of help.
if the economy doesnt pick up and sales start popping i dont see how they can stay alive.i am sure most of the life saving tweaks they could do have been done, and what will they do with overwhelming debt and dead sales?
stick to what they do best ?lmao
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Court
Posted on Thursday, December 24, 2009 - 07:01 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I doubt they are at risk of "going belly up".

The economy is going to take a while to rebound. No amount of positive "spin" with unemployment pushing 20% in some areas and a congress distracted with health care and bogus global warming.

Last month . . . in stark contrast to rosy predictions and a claimed "start of a recovery" based off the November BLS stats . . real estate sales recorded one of the worst numbers in recorded history. The numbers, unlike the politicians, don't lie.

The economy is a ways off and we're not just waiting for a positive change in the economy we are currently (very likely) experiencing a bit of a sea change in that we are changing our perception of what our economy is.

The target is moving.

While unemployment soars in the real world job creation and hiring in Washington, DC and in the federal government has just reached record numbers.

Take a look at a couple things. Be mindful that this can't be hung on either Bush or Obama. They share EQUALLY in this as do the Republicans and Democrats. The guilt party are an American citizenry that's grown simultaneously lazy, complacent and who, in greater numbers, seek the protection of a "government job".

Don't get me wrong. Most government workers are great and talented folks. Unfortunately government itself has become a bit of a welfare system. Check out, if you ever decide to entertain yourself, some of the qualifications for folks at the highest range of the federal wage scales.

Contacts . . . not content . . is the new criteria.


From USA TODAY (12-11-09) . .


quote:

The highest-paid federal employees are doing best of all on salary increases. Defense Department civilian employees earning $150,000 or more increased from 1,868 in December 2007 to 10,100 in June 2009, the most recent figure available.

When the recession started, the Transportation Department had only one person earning a salary of $170,000 or more. Eighteen months later, 1,690 employees had salaries above $170,000.




From the CATO Institute . . . .


quote:


Cauchon finds that since the economy fell into recession, the number of federal workers earning more than $150,000 has more than doubled. The federal government has become extremely bloated and top heavy, even as families and businesses across the nation have had to tighten their belts. With 383,000 workers earning six-figure salaries, the government has become an elite island of overcompensated administrators immune from the competitive job realities of average families.
There are a remarkable 22,000 federal civilians earning salaries of over $170,000, illustrating that Big Government works for the benefit of well-off insiders, not average Americans. And Cauchon only looks at salaries and wages. Average annual federal benefits are more than $41,000, which pushes total federal compensation even further ahead of the private sector average.




Harley-Davidson sells VERY EXPENSIVE consumer goods. Their products, in terms of quality, are the best they have ever been. Problem is . . . there is less differentiation. When I bought all my Harley-Davidsons, . . I'd have paid anything for them. Nothing else was even under consideration. I'd have owned nothing before I'd have owned anything other than a Harley-Davidson.

Those times were good. They were good for Harley-Davidson and they were good for me.

Those times are over, they've changed.

The problem is that Harley-Davidson has a group of folks who fall into the old "when you are a hammer, every problem looks like a nail" category. They are in deep shit and rather than really STUDY their potential market . . they have blindly been led (arguably by a small enough number of people they could all ride in the same minivan) into believing that their "cheese" is where they last saw it.

They have no plan and that, in many ways, is worse than having a "bad" plan. Even a General can get his troops to charge headlong to defeat if he is motivated and has even a plan.

Harley-Davidson has not done a great job of "leading their troops". Folks won't admit it publicly but the greatest motivator, it seems, is a burning desire to keep one's head down and not get caught in the next wave of lay offs.

Frankly . . if two boats were leaving . . a Buell and a Harley-Davidson . . at this point I'd rather be on the Buell.

I'm hoping someone wises up, fires some folks and puts someone like Flick in charge. Harley-Davidson deserves a leader and to survive.

Just a construction workers opinion. . . . .
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Mpolans
Posted on Thursday, December 24, 2009 - 08:25 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Quick comment about the growth in the number of DoD employees earning $150k+. I'm guessing the driving factors behind this are a growth in the number of Senior Executive Service (SES) positions and a growing number of DoD civilian employees who are deploying to combat zones. When DoD civilians deploy to a combat zone, they get certain benefits and allowances that are set by the Department of State. The cumulative total of all these allowances and benefits often result in the doubling of a DoD civilian's salary.
However, unlike military personnel and contractors, U.S. federal government civilian employees (DoD, DoS, etc) do not get their pay tax free.
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Augustus74
Posted on Thursday, December 24, 2009 - 11:31 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Not what I expected from Court? Didn't realize you had a soft spot for HD?? (i like Harleys, just not the management)
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Court
Posted on Thursday, December 24, 2009 - 11:53 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I'm fine with HD . . . disappointed to see what a couple near sighted folks are doing to the company.

Fact check . .


quote:

What the Recruiter Never Told You

Part 5 - - Military Pay

By Rod Powers

First the good news: Military pay is not really all that bad. Now, the bad news: It also ain't all that great, either. What I mean by that is that for a brand new high school recruit, with little or not work experience, it would be hard to find a better starting wage. However, for an enlisted member with years of experience, trained in a critical technical specialty, it's not all that great when compared to wages for a similar civilian job.

After four months in the military, the brand new E-1 will be receiving about $29,959.80 per year in annual salary (Note: This figure includes the value of free housing, free food, and income-tax advantage). On the other hand, the E-6 with four kids, who has 10 years experience in the military will only be making about $54,952,86. If the person came into the military as a commissioned officer, an O-1 would be making an average starting salary of $45,969.67, and an O-4 with 10 years of experience would be taking home an average of $94,313.54.

Base Pay. Everyone gets base pay, and it's the same regardless of what military service you are in. It's based on an individual's rank, and the number of years you've been in the service. The past five years have been pretty good for military pay raises. Up until then, lagged about 13 percent behind comparable civilian pay. This gap however, has narrowed within the past few years (6.5 percent in FY 2005), and -- according to Congress and our President, will narrow even more in the coming years.

Using the Fiscal Year 2006 pay charts, an E-1 (the lowest enlisted grade), after four months of service makes $1273.50 every month for basic pay. If you have a two/four year college degree, or high school ROTC, or you enlist for six years instead of four (Air Force, only), it's possible to enlist in the military as an E-2, or even an E-3. The Army will give E-4 to someone who has a 4-year bachelor's degree. In these cases, the new recruit would be making $1427.40, $1501.20 and $1662.90 per month in basic pay, respectively. In some instances (Academy graduate/4-year degree with OTS/OCS, College ROTC Graduate), you can come in as a commissioned officer. A brand-new O-1 (The lowest officer rank) makes $2416.20 per month in basic pay (about twice as much as the brand-new E-1 enlisted member).

Regardless of what your Great Uncle Herbert, who served in W.W.II says, Basic Pay IS taxable (unless you are actively serving in a designated tax-free combat zone). You'll pay Federal Income Tax, Social Security, Medicare, and State Taxes on your basic pay. Some states do not tax military pay, while a few others won't tax it unless you are stationed within the state. The state in which you list with military finance as your "official residence" will determine the state tax rules you fall under.

Guard and Reserves. During basic training and job school, or any other time performing full-time duty (such as the two-weeks every year active duty training, or if mobilized), Guard and Reserve members receive the same pay as active duty members. During weekend drills, however, the pay scale is different. Guard/Reserve members receive four days worth of pay for each weekend drill. See Guard/Reserve Pay Chart.

Annual Pay Raises. Each year, Congress passes the Defense Appropriations Act and the Defense Authorization Act which contain pay raises for military personnel. For several years, military pay raises were below average pay raises for civilian jobs. This resulted in a "pay gap" between military and average civilian pay.


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Augustus74
Posted on Friday, December 25, 2009 - 12:12 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Just lots of Harley hating going around lately...surprised to see someone stand up for them is all.
Hope your feeling better!
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Keith_mahoney
Posted on Friday, December 25, 2009 - 05:30 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Court I'm pretty sure you just agreed with Mpolans statement.

I like the part where is says an E1 makes about 29,000. What they don't mention is your "housing" is living in a closet with a roommate. I came in at 22 years old and remember not even making enough money to cover the truck payment I had when I came in (I was in construction so I needed a truck for work. I had to sell my plasma every week for money to make ends meet. My total cash money paycheck after taxes and GI bill payments came to just over $400 a month. The job I left I was making more than that a week.

Ten years later though and I have no complaints. But man was that a rough start.
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Wolfridgerider
Posted on Friday, December 25, 2009 - 06:12 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

how about a squad bay with 30 or 40 or MORE people.... or better yet a berthing area on a LST for 8 months...
now thats some good housing
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Mpolans
Posted on Friday, December 25, 2009 - 11:59 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Court, I was speaking specifically toward pay while in deployed environments, i.e., combat zones. In that instance, active duty military and contractors (providing they're out of the U.S. for about 11 months and up to about $90k for the latter) do not pay taxes on money earned while in the combat zone. DoD civilians pay the same taxes regardless of whether they're in a combat zone or not.
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Captcaz
Posted on Saturday, December 26, 2009 - 12:09 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Mpolans - Agree ... I work on Navy owned ships as a DOD Civilian, and the military personnel assigned to the ship get tax free in the war zone, yet the civilians don't (and we live and work within 700 feet of each other).
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Union_man
Posted on Saturday, December 26, 2009 - 09:40 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Backfire Board...please.

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