Auto Bailout
Dec/21/08 10:41 AM
General Motors and Chrysler have officially managed to threaten, beg, and whine enough to bilk taxpayers out of $13 billion to correct their senseless management and operational strategies of the past decades. They have been unfairly rewarded at the expense of struggling taxpayers, the same taxpayers who would never be lucky enough to receive such a bailout on their own. If Joe Schmoe spends like a lunatic and racks up tens of thousands of dollars of debt on the hand-out credit cards that seem to magically appear in the mail, where’s his bailout? He won’t get one. Instead, he’ll pay for the consequences of his actions and end up in bankruptcy court. But the U.S. automakers? Forget it. They have influential lobbyists, a public voice that Joe lacks, and a nice little hostage note threatening layoffs that Joe lacks.
The big three automakers need to be treated like every other person and business in America. Let them pay for the consequences of their own foolishness and irresponsibility by going through a structred bankruptcy if necessary. To do otherwise sets up a danerous precedent and only fosters a backwards culture. This is the first public example of the faults inherent in handing a $700 billion blank check handed to Treasury Secretary Paulson weeks back, which should have never been done in the first place. As promised by those who bravely fought against the bill, the money has indeed begun to be used in ways not originally promised or mentioned. This is just the beginning on that front. On a more micro level, if the auto industry somehow qualifies for a bailout, why not the airline industry? Why not the retail industry? All of these industries play a large role in American employment. By Bush’s thinking, all of these potentially deserve bailouts as well. Does it ever stop? Will our economy begin to look more and more like Venezuela?
The bailout also supports a culture of cushion and complacency so apparent in the industry. Executives hop around the country and the world in plush private jets. Union bosses making millions of dollars per year are allowed to squeeze every penny out of payrolls, allowing workers to receive wages and bonuses most Americans could only dream of- all at the cost of competitiveness. Did you know that each American car carries an extra $2000 on its pricetag compared to its foreign counterparts because of such perks? These counterparts, which I remind you, are similarly made by good, hardworking Americans right here in the USA in states like Tennessee and Kentucky.
While companies like Toyota and Nissan have consistently designed stylish, energy- and cost-efficient vehicles, Ford has knowlingly produced bulky, low quality automobiles that have been ruining its brand name now for years. For example, first there was the highly successful Ford Taurus, America’s number one selling car for a number of years in the 1990s. But then the Taurus disappeared for a while, runing the continuity of the brand name. But wait... its back now. But its a boxy, old-person car instead of the all-around family vehicle it once was. Now, why would any American family buy this car instead of the Toyota Camry, which has consistently existed and performed for over a decade? I can’t think of many reasons why. Also, look at the Ford Flex released earlier this year. This was supposed to be Ford’s saving grace and bring the word “cool” back to the brand name. Are you kidding? Consensus is that the things looks more like a hearse than a hip machine. I don’t know how many twenty-somethings you’ll catch rolling around town in what could be the death-mobile. Of course, sales are dismal. But I’m sure the guy who pushed so hard for that model still has his job, and probably even received a nice bonus this year.
Such a culture in and around the auto industry cannot be sustained or supported any longer. Now is a unique opportunity for taxpayers, drivers, and lawmakers to say “enough is enough”. The companies need to get their acts together and once again prove to Americans that they can get themselves out of the mess they have gotten themselves into and emerge once again as a mighy, proud stalwart of the American economy.
The big three automakers need to be treated like every other person and business in America. Let them pay for the consequences of their own foolishness and irresponsibility by going through a structred bankruptcy if necessary. To do otherwise sets up a danerous precedent and only fosters a backwards culture. This is the first public example of the faults inherent in handing a $700 billion blank check handed to Treasury Secretary Paulson weeks back, which should have never been done in the first place. As promised by those who bravely fought against the bill, the money has indeed begun to be used in ways not originally promised or mentioned. This is just the beginning on that front. On a more micro level, if the auto industry somehow qualifies for a bailout, why not the airline industry? Why not the retail industry? All of these industries play a large role in American employment. By Bush’s thinking, all of these potentially deserve bailouts as well. Does it ever stop? Will our economy begin to look more and more like Venezuela?
The bailout also supports a culture of cushion and complacency so apparent in the industry. Executives hop around the country and the world in plush private jets. Union bosses making millions of dollars per year are allowed to squeeze every penny out of payrolls, allowing workers to receive wages and bonuses most Americans could only dream of- all at the cost of competitiveness. Did you know that each American car carries an extra $2000 on its pricetag compared to its foreign counterparts because of such perks? These counterparts, which I remind you, are similarly made by good, hardworking Americans right here in the USA in states like Tennessee and Kentucky.
While companies like Toyota and Nissan have consistently designed stylish, energy- and cost-efficient vehicles, Ford has knowlingly produced bulky, low quality automobiles that have been ruining its brand name now for years. For example, first there was the highly successful Ford Taurus, America’s number one selling car for a number of years in the 1990s. But then the Taurus disappeared for a while, runing the continuity of the brand name. But wait... its back now. But its a boxy, old-person car instead of the all-around family vehicle it once was. Now, why would any American family buy this car instead of the Toyota Camry, which has consistently existed and performed for over a decade? I can’t think of many reasons why. Also, look at the Ford Flex released earlier this year. This was supposed to be Ford’s saving grace and bring the word “cool” back to the brand name. Are you kidding? Consensus is that the things looks more like a hearse than a hip machine. I don’t know how many twenty-somethings you’ll catch rolling around town in what could be the death-mobile. Of course, sales are dismal. But I’m sure the guy who pushed so hard for that model still has his job, and probably even received a nice bonus this year.
Such a culture in and around the auto industry cannot be sustained or supported any longer. Now is a unique opportunity for taxpayers, drivers, and lawmakers to say “enough is enough”. The companies need to get their acts together and once again prove to Americans that they can get themselves out of the mess they have gotten themselves into and emerge once again as a mighy, proud stalwart of the American economy.
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