Friday
Apr032009
My Own (Surely) Unoriginal Ideas Concerning the US Auto Industry
Friday, April 3, 2009 at 2:53PM
I can't help it any longer...I just have to get some of this off my chest or it'll stew in my head for the foreseeable future.
There are plenty of aspects to our current dire economic situation that raise the ire of citizens around the country. Different folks are angered by different things depending on different political and social philosophies. Whether it's taxes, regulations, or the role of government in general, we have representatives from all sides rendering opinions and solutions. I often get myself into trouble attempting to render anything other than fat out of bacon, but whatever. The title indicates unoriginal ideas because, to me, what I'm going to say is something so basic and obvious to me that I cannot possibly be even the 100th person to think these thoughts.
I think we should just let GM and Chrysler (and Ford, if it comes to that) fail without federal intervention. That's my over-simplified thought. Now for the over-long details.
REGARDING OUR NATION'S AUTO INDUSTRY:
We don't need one. It doesn't mean we can't have one, but surely we shouldn't mourn the loss of the current incarnation of our automobile industry. Our country was not founded on the manufacture of automobiles, and it's foolish to think the future of our country depends on the manufacture of automobiles. They are not our identity. So giving the current manufacturers money out of a sense of saving iconic American brands is a silly form of misplaced nationalism.
Worse still, these companies have been struggling for many years now. Sales were plummeting long before the economy was in the tank, so what will propping them up accomplish? We'll end up with companies continuing to manufacture cars that nobody will buy, or perhaps simply paying employees to sit around. Maybe the US Government can give some money to Tesla Motors or spend money developing a hydrogen/electric power infrastructure instead.
Or perhaps...
REGARDING THE EMPLOYEES OF OUR NATION'S AUTO INDUSTRY
Look, I understand there are potentially millions of jobs depending on the survival of the big three US auto makers. I don't want to see more people out of work, so I think our government should instead spend some dough on helping these workers transition into other industries. Retrain, relocate, and find ways to (as gently as possible) dismantle the ailing automobile giants.
I'm sure some folks won't want to move. Just as many Katrina survivors continue to call New Orleans home, there would be those Midwesterners who could not fathom leaving their communities. You know what? That's fine. But if you're going to stick around you must find another way to make due as the population continues to thin or as you wait for revitalization.
I'm sure some folks would chafe at the idea of retraining, and rightly so. For any auto worker with more than a few years under his or her belt this would likely feel like starting all over again at the bottom, and in our pro-business labor climate, they'd likely be without their union protection (I'll not discuss unions here - especially the UAW - too much of its own topic). You know what? Transition is hard. And starting at or near the bottom is better than a breadline. I don't think that's lacking in sympathy, I just believe that reality in this situation is too hard-edged to state otherwise.
***
Essentially I think its wrong-headed for our government to try to save these car companies. But I do think it's right to help the people. That requires looking beyond the short term, of course, which doesn't seem to be humanity's strength these days.
There are plenty of aspects to our current dire economic situation that raise the ire of citizens around the country. Different folks are angered by different things depending on different political and social philosophies. Whether it's taxes, regulations, or the role of government in general, we have representatives from all sides rendering opinions and solutions. I often get myself into trouble attempting to render anything other than fat out of bacon, but whatever. The title indicates unoriginal ideas because, to me, what I'm going to say is something so basic and obvious to me that I cannot possibly be even the 100th person to think these thoughts.
I think we should just let GM and Chrysler (and Ford, if it comes to that) fail without federal intervention. That's my over-simplified thought. Now for the over-long details.
REGARDING OUR NATION'S AUTO INDUSTRY:
We don't need one. It doesn't mean we can't have one, but surely we shouldn't mourn the loss of the current incarnation of our automobile industry. Our country was not founded on the manufacture of automobiles, and it's foolish to think the future of our country depends on the manufacture of automobiles. They are not our identity. So giving the current manufacturers money out of a sense of saving iconic American brands is a silly form of misplaced nationalism.
Worse still, these companies have been struggling for many years now. Sales were plummeting long before the economy was in the tank, so what will propping them up accomplish? We'll end up with companies continuing to manufacture cars that nobody will buy, or perhaps simply paying employees to sit around. Maybe the US Government can give some money to Tesla Motors or spend money developing a hydrogen/electric power infrastructure instead.
Or perhaps...
REGARDING THE EMPLOYEES OF OUR NATION'S AUTO INDUSTRY
Look, I understand there are potentially millions of jobs depending on the survival of the big three US auto makers. I don't want to see more people out of work, so I think our government should instead spend some dough on helping these workers transition into other industries. Retrain, relocate, and find ways to (as gently as possible) dismantle the ailing automobile giants.
I'm sure some folks won't want to move. Just as many Katrina survivors continue to call New Orleans home, there would be those Midwesterners who could not fathom leaving their communities. You know what? That's fine. But if you're going to stick around you must find another way to make due as the population continues to thin or as you wait for revitalization.
I'm sure some folks would chafe at the idea of retraining, and rightly so. For any auto worker with more than a few years under his or her belt this would likely feel like starting all over again at the bottom, and in our pro-business labor climate, they'd likely be without their union protection (I'll not discuss unions here - especially the UAW - too much of its own topic). You know what? Transition is hard. And starting at or near the bottom is better than a breadline. I don't think that's lacking in sympathy, I just believe that reality in this situation is too hard-edged to state otherwise.
***
Essentially I think its wrong-headed for our government to try to save these car companies. But I do think it's right to help the people. That requires looking beyond the short term, of course, which doesn't seem to be humanity's strength these days.
tagged Business, Philosophy
Business, Philosophy
Reader Comments (5)
Here, here. I work for big pharma, and because of a merger going on I have a 1 in 8 chance or so of getting laid off in the next couple years. Honestly that's better odds than alot of people right now, but anyways, if I loose my job, That's life. I'll be forced to move on, and sell my hours to someone else. I'll do what it takes. And I'd make concessions to keep my job, because I have no sense of entitlement. I'm blessed to have what I have, but the Lord giveth and he taketh too. I find the UAW, while it serves a good purpose, along with the insanely incapable leaders within the big 3's organizations all played a role in the demise of those companies, and let's face it, their greed did them in. All of them. They've already failed. And the money we're spending is as they say "throwing good money after bad". I agree with Dan's sentiment.
On the other hand, I do believe that if the auto industry does admit it's mistakes and goes through the difficul process of bankruptcy that we, as AMERICANS, should BUY AMERICAN, provided there is a continued march towards quality within the big 3. I'm not the patriotic/nationalistic type, but then again these people are my neighbors. They make things like I do. They work hard, and I don't want them to loose their jobs. But the UAW and the Big 3 leadership both need a major shake up. Besides that, I believe we need a manufacturing base in this country.
One last comment. Something MUST be done about the Chinese and Russian governments. By their actions, they make themselves enemies to the civilized world. We, as Americans should boycott all Chinese products. Let's face it, their government oversite is pitiful, and most of their companies seem willing to poison/ cheat/ etc. to make a Yuan. Their human rights record is far worse than ours (albeit after Bush, not so far off). They are overinvested in our dollar, they support people like North Korea etc...I'm not a protectionist, but I certainly wouldn't buy detergent from a crack dealer just because it was cheap.
Rant complete.
Jake, you sure ran through a full length of issues in that diatribe :-)
I think you covered a lot of stuff that I wasn't even concerned with. But I'll add this:
I'm fine with us having a manufacturing base in this country, but it doesn't have to be cars.
Also, give me good economic reasons why we actually need that. You say it a lot, but you never offer justification. I'm not saying you don't have any, but I think you have to explain that in economic terms.
It's really as simple as diversification, or in layman's terms. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Put it this way. If china makes all our crap. And then suddenly we do something to piss of the chinese enough that they stop sending us their crap, crap that we need, then we are in dire straights. We should have at least some minimal capabilities to be self sufficient. It frees us up to do the "Right" thing, instead of the great many necessary evils, we all ready do, to maintain our way of life. Alot of this depends on how much faith you put in other nations, and their own self interest as well.
Another good example is the current debacle in our financial sector. Such a thing can send an economy into a tailspin, being diversified in manufacturing, tech, etc...helps us survive such economic instances.
I agree; it doesn't have to be cars. But, on the other hand, we already have the infrastructure in place, and let's face it that moronic americans are not likely to become much more "green" than they already are, short of a siesmic shift in our thinking. Additionally, Toyota etc. had a loosing year as well. The only "in the black" car company I know of this year has been Hyundai, seeing something like a 14% increase in U.S. sales and flat elswhere I believe. Yes, the industry leadership and unions need to face up to the challenges and from my perspective a constructive bankruptcy might not be a bad idea. BUT, as a nation we have alot of reasons historically to believe this is a viable sector which CAN, and I believe will again be profitable. We just can't let it become the idiocy that the airlines already are.
Obviously I understand that people are upset, and are failing to believe in the auto industry. Allowing that infrastructure and those profit centers, and those cultural places to crumble, really, really, needs to be thought out in an unemotional way.
Secondary diatribe complete.
Also, we do, need real solutions to the fuel crisis. Now would be a great time for GM etc...to look at a real "future state" for this county and think beyond just the fuel source, to alternative means of transport all together. Just my opinion.
Alright, you're still a little all over the place...try to take it one thing at a time, homie :-)
You make a few serious errors in your main comment...
1. You're assuming that China does and would continue to make all our crap. They certainly make lots of it now, but there's nothing written in stone about who the U.S. trades with.
2. Not manufacturing industrial products doesn't mean we're not diversified, or that we're putting all our eggs in one basket. We could have farming, tradesmen, artisans, doctors, bakers, repairmen, et cetera.
3. We are already one of the largest manufacturing nations in the world, and the financial sector still threw the economy in a tailspin. The problem with the financial sector was not a lack of diversity in the sources of GDP, it was that everybody in every sector, from manufacturing to services to hospitality, and so on, put THEIR eggs in one weak basket.
***
As for having the infrastructure in place for manufacturing cars, I seriously disagree. The infrastructure is crumbling because the infrastructure is the big three US automakers. That's not something on which to base an industry. I don't simply want new management or employees working the same companies, because their plants, operational systems, and very methodology of designing, testing, and building cars is so outmoded compared to even South Korea.
We could replace every body at GM, Ford, and Chrysler with top notch employees from executives all the way down to the factory floor and they'd still be hamstrung by the rapidly failing supply chain and assembly models on which they depend. The cost to retrofit three mammoth industrial corporations to simply catch up with their foreign competitors would put them under if they had the cash reserves of Microsoft.
If they turn around, I'd be happy to be wrong. But I think we're more likely to see a slow and painful fading from existence, helped along by absurd amounts of federal money.