Monday, November 17, 2008

Welcome To The SocioPolitical Soapbox

A wise man once told me to never let my blog define myself. Taking that advice to heart, I now introduce to you, yet another category of blog postings to this supposed science and book blog of mine: The SocioPolitical Soapbox.

As a citizen of the global wide intrawebs, it is my right, nay... my duty to spout my opinions as I see fit, demanding that they be heard and understood as FACT! **

So, on that note, I feel the need to inform you of why we must save the "Big Three" auto manufactures from their worthless selves.

Now to be fair, I am not a socialist (yet), and I truly believe that the free market should dictate the rise and fall of the businesses of our great nation. Foibles or brilliance aside however, in this case, I am firmly recommending a government "bailout" of GM, Chrysler & Ford, in one form or another. In what manner this should occur (purchase of stock, direct loans, etc...) I feel no need to suggest. Certainly some restrictions should be put in place, but I am NOT a economist, nor do I desire to be one either. Numbers and dollars do not interest me in the slightest. Leave that to the "professionals". On the other hand, I am a blue collar citizen of our nation and I know that if these three companies were to fail, it would have disastrous consequences for the American people, not to mention the world at large (as our economy so directly impacts the rest of the nations).

First off, I'm not defending the douche-baggery management of these companies. Clearly, they were idiots. A blind man could have seen the change in markets, what with oil prices and green activism abounding, the fall in demand of the SUV's they so marketed down our throats was inevitable. What I am defending though, is the stability of our country as a whole. Some estimates place a full 10% of our nations workforce in the hands of these employers. It's not just the U.A.W. that is at risk of loosing work, it encompasses a whole host of other businesses and employees across the country. From steel manufactures, to parts suppliers, to silicon valley tech-ies, to miners, to dealership sales peoples, to glass manufactures, to the plastics industry, to mechanics... to heck, even the $7 car wash and $35 quickie lube joints. The fact of the matter is, the big three are the largest consumers of steel and plastics and electronics in the nation. For them to fail, would be a catastrophe.

So write your senators, plead your congressmen, tug on your governor's sleeve and say "Hey! What the heck are you going to do to save these dolts?!? Spank them later, but throw them a bone now. We all need it."

"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." - Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

**I beg that you recognize the sarcasm of this paragraph. I know that it is hard without vocal cues, but if you can't... please direct your browser elsewhere.

1 comment:

Jason Jasperse said...

Hey, I like this new direction! Two new posts in a week, that's pretty awesome!

I do agree with the bailout idea. As much as I hate to give more of our federal deficit (let's face it, it's far beyond just our tax dollars) to companies who put themselves into their present situation, I do not want to begin to imagine what life would be like if we had to pick up the pieces of their demise. Though I'm sure Toyota and Honda would love a go at it.

I read an op-ed piece in the Journal (I feel smarter just saying that), and the gentleman who wrote it whose name escapes me at the moment suggested as a condition of the inevitable bailout, that the current boards and senior management get tossed for throwing the company to the wolves, and that all current union contracts be torn up and harshly renegotiated.

That is just a start on the laundry list of actions that need to be taken in order to bring these companies back from the edge.

I mean, lets face it. These enormously generous union contracts need to go.

Massive SUVs that most people wanted before this summer when gas was cheap are no longer profitable. And it's way too soon to tell if $4.30 a gallon was a perfect storm of market conditions, not to be repeated soon, or if our current $1.85 situation is going to boomerang back up north of $3 and $4.

Unfortunately, keeping up with the changing winds of consumer demand would require factories to be down as long as six weeks in order to re-tool and begin producing different automobiles. It's easier just to continue making what you're making, and focus more on advertising and limited "alternative" fueled vehicles.

Now that my comment is as long as your post, I think I should go to bed!

It's good to have you back out here!


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