I've spent the last few months of my life living in the cave that is Wilson 2w, the microfilm room in Western Washington University's library. Full of primary source documents and the means to access them, it lacks a reliable internet connection and any computers that can be used to figure out what's going on outside of my little history bubble. A shortage of time forced me to forgo my daily edition of the New York Times. All this to say, I have no idea what's going on in this world. As I get back in the loop, I grow increasingly more frustrated with the times of the day.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/business/31auto.html?_r=1&hp
This article really got me fired up. For years, we've mostly clung to the capitalist market. Competition is good. It keeps prices somewhat low, and keeps the manufacturers responsible for the quality of goods. When a company can no longer remain competitive, it dies off, and makes room for others to enter the market. However, if this last step fails to occur, the system is shaken up and no longer ceases to function as it should.
However, this last step is precisely what is NOT being allowed to happen. The Obama administration is continuing to prop up dying businesses. That's not what fired me up about this article though. The source of this proverbial "riled-up-ness" is this: Obama is quoted as saying that leadership from Washington is what caused the current failure of the American auto industry.
Here's the deal: The American auto industry shouldn't need the leadership of the American government. What it does need is the ability to DIE. I love my Chevy to death, and I really hope that the Feds will allow me to continue driving it in spite of it's emissions problems, but I would rather see GM die than give it more money so that the CEO can keep their summer home. People buy more foreign cars anyway. Cause' they're better.
I'll try to keep more on top of this thing this quarter, as I document the downfall of the American economy. Clinch your buttocks folks: we're going socialist.
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1 comment:
Whoa - you go, boy!! I look forward to reading your commentary over the next few months. For the record, I do not want the US to be a socialist country, but it does indeed appear that we're headed squarely in that direction. . .
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