Shorters

I finally picked up a copy of Atlas Shrugged. I changed my mind and bought a copy, so that I can mark it up and burn it when we're done. Our reading for Friday will be the first chapter, unless I decide to stop halfway through it. Anyway, on to our muse's output today.

Sears on my mind:

Megan was inconvenienced. You know what that means; several thousand words on the topic. I'm neither kidding nor being hyperbolic. She describes, in minute detail, visits by a Sears technician to fix her washing machine and her experience using their automated phone system. She suffered, so her readers have to as well. Besides, there's nothing people like better than rich white people complaining, who wouldn't want to read all that?

I invite you to guess how many days I have now spent at home waiting for the man from Sears customer service to come fix my washer. Answer below the fold, for anyone who is willing to wade into yet another rant about the appalling state of American corporate relations.
The answer, my little chickadees, is "eight". But I am accepting nine. Or ten. Thats' because I lost count. I have waited at home for Sears for so many days that I actually cannot remember how many times I have pined out the window for the heroic, nay, mythic figure, who never materialized.

Except, apparently, for the days in that period when he did show up, because she then goes on to talk about each of the repairman's visits, noting whether they were late or not. It goes on and on and on and on and on and on like this for years, and by the end Megan is yelling at GM. I don't know why and I don't care to find out. But she closes with

[GM] Management took the easy short term path of cutting corners rather than take ugly and radical action that would have resulted in a strike and a major one-time loss. And now they want $34 billion for a do-over. I don't want to give them one. And I'm sure as hell not planning to give Sears another opportunity to cost me 8 work days, nearly $200 in laundry charges, and my temper.

This folks, is a moment when I dust off the word bitch and call Megan one. The UAW renegotiated their contract in the middle of it, entirely of their own volition, to help their industry, and Megan is blaming GM's woes entirely on that union. Not the executives who FUCKED UP, the workers who did what they were told and had the temerity to expect payment for their labor. She even said

Management had terrible choices to make. It's all very well to talk about finding "innovative ways to make a better car", but what that ultimately means is "finding a way to make cars with fewer people", which was exactly what Gettlefinger et. al. were trying to prevent. They were hamstrung by state legislatures from finding innovative ways to distribute a better car, and they couldn't even get very far on purchasing, because there was the UAW at their parts suppliers, resisting any price pressure that threatened their jobs or wages.

Asshole. She also claims that she was unable to work while waiting for the repairman, because she had to keep the tv volume low or muted to hear her phone. Not kidding.
Also, didn't she move? How is this an ongoing story?
(This was still a shorter, btw. Her post's length cannot be overstated.)

The Atlantic explains it all to you:

Megan thinks she's funny. She isn't.

Harvard's endowment loses the GDP of a small country in 5 months:

According to the Journal, it's dropped 22% since June 30. I assume this puts the kibosh on their plans to offer free tuition to everyone except the very affluent.

Thank god. Poor people should not be allowed to learn about finance or business. They might realize how badly they're being exploited.

GM goes nuclear:

The following is an open letter from Megan McArdle to auto workers and their dependents.

Dear "you people",

Fuck you. You are not me, I do not know you, and you have no capacity to affect my career. You are, therefore, insignificant. In fact, I blame any problems you suffer from on you, because if you did not exist I wouldn't have to hear about it. You are to blame for the business decisions of your employers, because you are not rich and therefore, once again, insignificant. Do you realize Sears isn't treating me like I'm special? Fuck you, that's your fault for existing, somehow, auto workers. Go away and stop troubling my precious mind.

I am very important,
Megan McArdle

It's sad, but I'm actively hoping for The Atlantic to go under. It's the only way Megan will lose her job, and she truly deserves it. Her family is rich, she won't go hungry, she'll just feel as useless as she actually is.