HoHo Goes the Way of the DoDo

I’m sure you’ve heard Hostess is going under. An American icon is no more. Say goodbye to Twinkies, Ho Hos, Snoballs and many other forms of affordable plastic wrapped processed pseudo-pastries.

Of course the possible silver lining here is that they really had a pretty good run when you think about it. Had I been there 90 years ago when Mr. Hostess (if that’s his REAL name) came up with the idea to try and sell sugarcoated styrofoam I probably would have tried to dissuade him. I would have said something like “nobody will ever BUY this, this is the kind of thing an astronaut eats in an emergency after being stranded in the space station for 17 months.”

Then he probably would have said something like “what’s an astronaut?” and things would have gotten awkward pretty quickly.

But then again I also would have told the guy who invented Mountain Dew that nobody would ever spend actual money to purchase sweetened carbonated goat urine. So basically what the hell do I know?

Anyway, this is all of little consolation to the 18,500 people now out of work. 18,500 people out of work because of 6,600 union workers and 1 wealthy union boss.

Here’s the count if you’re keeping score: 6,600 union workers go on strike and now 6,600 union workers have no job to strike about, as well as an additional 12 thousand people or so who weren’t in a union and never went on strike but now have to suffer the consequences of choices they didn’t make. Oh and meanwhile the president of that union is still getting paid and doing very well for himself.

Unions. Empowering workers by putting them out of work.

Oh and not that I’m keeping track but here is an updated list of companies that have announced massive layoffs just since Obama was reelected. I won’t put Hostess on Obama because that’s more the fault of the unions that own him than him individually. But these are businesses cutting workers because of regulations, taxes and the enormous expenses resulting from Obamacare:

Applebees

Papa Johns

Dennys

Energizer

Exide Technologies

Westinghouse

Research in Motion Limited

Lightyear Network Solutions

Hawker Beechcraft

Boeing (30% of their management staff)

CVPH Medical Center

US Cellular

Momentive Performance Materials

Rocketdyne

Brake Parts

Vestas Wind Systems

Husqvarna

Center for Hospice New York

Bristol-Meyers

OCE North America

Darden Restaurants

West Ridge Mine

United Blood Services Gulf

But on the plus side, more people can now get their “fair share” of foodstamps!

It’s just too bad I can’t buy Twinkies with mine anymore.