This article by Jake Brewer, GM Goes Grassroots. A Son is Torn. deserves wide readership.
It pretty well describes — but much more personally and passionately — how I and lots of folks feel about the auto companies: From my point of view they've been screwing up routinely since about 1965
Remember 'Unsafe at Any Speed'? 'Safety Doesn't Sell'? The campaign against pollution control? Against fuel efficiency? Against small cars? The lack of interest in alternate engines? The inbred nature of the automobile bureaucracies? The bailouts of the past? I remember it all. And I don't see why I should spend a dime to benefit auto executives. I do get why there may be strategic reasons to protect the auto companies — defense industries, US workers, supply chains, pension funds, danger of foreign vulture funds buying hard assets at bargain prices, and more.
If we do a bailout, there needs to be some consequences for a generation of failure in the management suites. And I wouldn't exempt the shareholders either.
Excellent michael! You are improving your ability to represent the Party!
“*If* we do a bailout, there needs to be…”
Excellent job of avoiding any commitment. Exactly as the Mighty O and Rahm Emanuel have done. Note that even in his weekly address on the economy, the Mighty O avoids the auto industry issue:
http://www.change.gov/page/s/economy
I see you also return to demonizing wall street and mutual funds, great work:
“And I wouldnt exempt the shareholders either.”
This rings of your recent post indicating implicit support of criminal charges against Cheney because of attenuated ties to his mutual fund holdings. While us in the Party know that any American with a 401k is an indirect shareholder of the auto industry, the rabble doesn’t know this. If we can break the investment funds we will be that much closer to destroying the mutual fund industry that the Evil One Bush suggested could replace or supplement the Party’s beloved and hallowed Social Security.
I also applaud you for avoiding any discussion of the role that unreasonable union demands might have played in the debacle, as we know the Party strongly supports unionism (workers uniting) and draws a great many votes from the unions. Your writing is much improved of late, and you are serving the Party well.
All Hail the Mighty O!
If we do a bailout, none of this “increase fuel efficiency by 10% by 2050” nonsense. The auto industry is just one piece of the energy puzzle and to isolate this industry with bandaid measures is insane. I don’t understand why we’re not building solar arrays in the southwest (Arizona, New Mexico), where the federal government owns 90% of the land and there would be no eminent domain issues. Then cars could be plugged in. Too onerous for manufacturers to implement such radical design changes? I don’t buy it.
40,000 people die a year in car accidents. Thats 10 times the number of people died on 911. Every year.
911 was used to justify Homeland Security, PATRIOT Act, warrantless wiretaps…
Foreign terrorists look good in the news, but seriously: why don’t we re-organize our society to address the threat of automobiles? Why isn’t effective mass transit a national security priority?
I think we best be getting on with the promise of making America energy independent.Iran just asked OPEC to reduce production by yet another 1.5 million barrels per day.This past year and the record gas prices played a huge part in our economic meltdown and seriously damaged our society.We keep planning to spend BILLIONS on bailouts and stimulus plans.Bail us out of our dependence on foreign oil. Make electric plug in car technology more affordable. It cost the equivalent of 60 cents a gallon to drive an electric plug in car. The electric could be generated from wind or solar. Get with it! Utilize free sources such as wind and solar. Stop throwing away money on things that don’t work. Invest in America and it’s energy independence. Create cheap clean energy, create millions of badly needed green collar jobs. Put America back to work. It is a win-win situation. We have to become more proactive citizens, educate ourselves and demand our elected officials move this country forward into the era of energy independence. Jeff Wilson’s new book The Manhattan Project of 2009 Energy Independence NOW outlines a plan for America to wean itself off oil. We need a plan and we need it now! http://www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com
I think we best be getting on with the promise of making America energy independent.Iran just asked OPEC to reduce production by yet another 1.5 million barrels per day.This past year and the record gas prices played a huge part in our economic meltdown and seriously damaged our society.We keep planning to spend BILLIONS on bailouts and stimulus plans.Bail us out of our dependence on foreign oil. Make electric plug in car technology more affordable. It cost the equivalent of 60 cents a gallon to drive an electric plug in car. The electric could be generated from wind or solar. Get with it! Utilize free sources such as wind and solar. Stop throwing away money on things that don’t work. Invest in America and it’s energy independence. Create cheap clean energy, create millions of badly needed green collar jobs. Put America back to work. It is a win-win situation. We have to become more proactive citizens, educate ourselves and demand our elected officials move this country forward into the era of energy independence. Jeff Wilson’s new book The Manhattan Project of 2009 Energy Independence NOW outlines a plan for America to wean itself off oil. We need a plan and we need it now! http://www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com