GM's Bankruptcy... (6-1-09)
Ok, ok… this morning, several of my friends asked me for “my take” on the General Motors bankruptcy. I was actually going to try to avoid commenting on this, because several of the friends I have had over the years, - have said: “Buy American!”, and… “What are you doing driving a foreign car?” – Ok, I’ll tell you what I think... First, GM should be ashamed of itself. They actually owned the market. How can what was once described as; “the largest, most profitable corporation in the world” – sink to this level of failure.
Know why? -- Here ya go… General Motors started the concept of "planned obsolescence" -- the actual decision to build cars that would fall apart after a few years… thus, FORCING the customer to buy a new one. Now come on, does that actually make sense to you?? GM instituted ‘planned obsolescence’, while at the same time, refusing to build automobiles that the public actually wanted, -- cars that got good gas mileage, were safe at reasonable speeds, were comfortable to drive; - AND... that wouldn't start falling apart after two years. GM stubbornly fought environmental and safety regulations. Its executive management arrogantly ignored the "inferior" Japanese and German cars, (cars which became the gold standard for automobile buyers.) GM was SO short-sighted that it fired its own unionized workforce, getting rid of thousands of workers for no other reason than to "improve" the short-term (per quarter) bottom line; and yet expecting them to continue to be customers, even though they had no job; (that’s weird.)
In the 1980s, when GM was posting record profits, it moved countless jobs to Mexico and elsewhere, thus destroying the lives of tens of thousands of hard-working Americans (not to mention the negative PR-factor to those worker’s extended-families / friends / associates / and acquaintances.) The glaring stupidity of this policy was that, when they eliminated the income of so many middle class families, WHO DID THEY THINK WAS GOING TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO BUY THEIR CARS? -- If GM survives, they should look back on this monumental blunder the same way History writes about the French building the Maginot Line, or how the Romans poisoned their own water-system by using lead in its water pipes.
On the positive side (to be blatantly honest about it,) I find myself with a kind of smirk on my face. To me, GM created this dilemma, and now has to live with it. On the negative side, you and I and the rest of America now own a car company! -- I know, I know -- who on earth wants to run a car company? For that matter, who among us wants $50 billion of our tax dollars thrown down the rat hole of still trying to save GM? – One of the good things about life is: “Out of failure, often comes success – Out of destruction, often comes re-birth.” – I have an idea, how about this… instead of saving ol’ GM, let’s kill it off completely so it can be reborn. Think about it… what America REALLY needs is a new transportation paradigm. Obviously, we DO need to save our industrial infrastructure, and it should be a top priority. But, instead of GM making the next wave of ‘planned-obsolescence’ cars… why not use the new cash/capital, and less-expenses corporation to form a new company? What??, you may ask… Well, America, (and the world,) is rapidly approaching an “alternative-energy” / “alternative-transportation” / even “alternative ‘consumerism’ reality.
That being the case, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the best way to transport ourselves is on ‘light-rail’, ‘bullet-trains’ and cleaner ‘inner-city’ / ‘outer-city’ buses; and LIMITED USE OF CARS! We (the world) are now living in a new kind of society: limited resources, limited waste-capability, more and more people, and a declining world-wide economy. We have been operating in a delusion for a long time… we have ignored our ecosystem, and worse, we have ignored our very own corporate / government leaders who got us into this mess.
This current “emergency” has two fronts. The one in Detroit is built in the factories of GM, Ford and Chrysler and consists of resource-using cars. The things we call "cars" may have been fun to drive, but they are killing the planet. To continue to build them is like digging deeper and deeper into an already too-deep hole… “It’s Stupid,” to put it another way.
The other front is the oil companies, which strangely enough, are against you and me. They are committed to fleecing us whenever they can, and they have been reckless stewards of the finite amount of oil that is located under the surface of the earth. They know they are sucking it bone dry. And like the lumber tycoons of the early 20th century, who didn't give a damn about future generations as they tore down every forest they could get their hands on, -- the oil barons are not telling the public what they know to be true -- that there are only a few more decades of useable oil left on this planet. And as the end-days of oil approach us, get ready for some very desperate people willing to kill and be killed just to get their hands on a gallon can of gasoline.
Now that GM is officially bankrupt, they have a rare opportunity to re-establish their company. What they SHOULD do is convert their factories to new and needed uses immediately. Don't spend any more money building cars; instead, use that money to keep the current workforce employed so they can build the new modes of transportation.
We could have bullet trains criss-crossing this country in the next several years. If you don’t believe me, -- believe this - Japan is celebrating the 45th anniversary of its first bullet train this year. Now they have dozens of them. Average speed: 165 mph. Average time a train is late: under 30 seconds. They have had these high speed trains for nearly five decades -- and we don't even have one! The technology already exists for us to go from New York to L.A. in 17 hours by train. Let's hire the auto-industry unemployed to build the new high speed lines all over the country. Chicago to Detroit in less than two hours / Miami to DC in under 7 hours / Denver to Dallas in five and a half. This CAN actually be done, “off the shelf.”
The auto industry could lead the war for a light-rail mass transit system in all our large and medium-sized cities. Build those trains in the GM factories. And hire local people everywhere to install and run the system. For people in rural areas, not served by the train lines, GM could produce energy-efficient clean buses. For the time being, have some of the factories build hybrid or all-electric cars (and batteries). It will take a few years for consumers to get used to the new ways to transport ourselves, but like the movie, “If you build them, they will come.” GM can be building these next month – the factories are already there… the workforce is already there… the market is already there… We taxpayers are supplying the immediate capital, and even the future capital.
GM could also transform some of their current factories to facilities that build windmills, solar panels and other means of alternate energy. We need tens of millions of cheap solar panels right now. And there is an eager and skilled workforce who can build them. We could even provide tax incentives for those who travel by hybrid car or bus or train. Also, tax-credits for those who convert their home to alternative energy.
MORE?? – ok, to help pay for this, impose a two-dollar tax on every gallon of gasoline. This will get people to switch to more energy-efficient cars or to use the new rail lines and rail cars the former autoworkers have built for them. My point is… don’t save GM so a smaller version of it will simply do nothing more than build Chevys or Cadillacs. This is not a long-term solution. Don't throw good money after bad… to a company whose business model has already failed.
Think about it… 100 years ago, the founders of General Motors convinced the world to give up their horses and saddles and buggy whips to try a new form of transportation – te automobile. Now, it is time for GM to lead the way again and say goodbye to the internal combustion engine. It served us well for a long time. We all enjoyed the car hops at the A&W. We made out in the back seat. We watched movies on large outdoor screens, went to the races at NASCAR tracks across the country, and saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time as we cruised down Hwy. 1. -- But now… it’s time for us to face the music… it’s over! Get used to it… there’s a new day dawning; and more importantly, a new opportunity arising. – GM… the UAW… the Federal Government, the American citizen -- must seize this moment and move forward, not backward. Look for real solutions, not more band-aid bailouts.
This past year, the last surviving person from the Titanic disaster passed away. She escaped certain death that night and went on to live another 97 years. We can survive our own Titanic… we now own 60% of GM --- Let’s do something better with “Government Motors” than just building new, less polluting Cadillacs. (Not to mention Hummers…)
As always, I welcome all comment.
Know why? -- Here ya go… General Motors started the concept of "planned obsolescence" -- the actual decision to build cars that would fall apart after a few years… thus, FORCING the customer to buy a new one. Now come on, does that actually make sense to you?? GM instituted ‘planned obsolescence’, while at the same time, refusing to build automobiles that the public actually wanted, -- cars that got good gas mileage, were safe at reasonable speeds, were comfortable to drive; - AND... that wouldn't start falling apart after two years. GM stubbornly fought environmental and safety regulations. Its executive management arrogantly ignored the "inferior" Japanese and German cars, (cars which became the gold standard for automobile buyers.) GM was SO short-sighted that it fired its own unionized workforce, getting rid of thousands of workers for no other reason than to "improve" the short-term (per quarter) bottom line; and yet expecting them to continue to be customers, even though they had no job; (that’s weird.)
In the 1980s, when GM was posting record profits, it moved countless jobs to Mexico and elsewhere, thus destroying the lives of tens of thousands of hard-working Americans (not to mention the negative PR-factor to those worker’s extended-families / friends / associates / and acquaintances.) The glaring stupidity of this policy was that, when they eliminated the income of so many middle class families, WHO DID THEY THINK WAS GOING TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO BUY THEIR CARS? -- If GM survives, they should look back on this monumental blunder the same way History writes about the French building the Maginot Line, or how the Romans poisoned their own water-system by using lead in its water pipes.
On the positive side (to be blatantly honest about it,) I find myself with a kind of smirk on my face. To me, GM created this dilemma, and now has to live with it. On the negative side, you and I and the rest of America now own a car company! -- I know, I know -- who on earth wants to run a car company? For that matter, who among us wants $50 billion of our tax dollars thrown down the rat hole of still trying to save GM? – One of the good things about life is: “Out of failure, often comes success – Out of destruction, often comes re-birth.” – I have an idea, how about this… instead of saving ol’ GM, let’s kill it off completely so it can be reborn. Think about it… what America REALLY needs is a new transportation paradigm. Obviously, we DO need to save our industrial infrastructure, and it should be a top priority. But, instead of GM making the next wave of ‘planned-obsolescence’ cars… why not use the new cash/capital, and less-expenses corporation to form a new company? What??, you may ask… Well, America, (and the world,) is rapidly approaching an “alternative-energy” / “alternative-transportation” / even “alternative ‘consumerism’ reality.
That being the case, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the best way to transport ourselves is on ‘light-rail’, ‘bullet-trains’ and cleaner ‘inner-city’ / ‘outer-city’ buses; and LIMITED USE OF CARS! We (the world) are now living in a new kind of society: limited resources, limited waste-capability, more and more people, and a declining world-wide economy. We have been operating in a delusion for a long time… we have ignored our ecosystem, and worse, we have ignored our very own corporate / government leaders who got us into this mess.
This current “emergency” has two fronts. The one in Detroit is built in the factories of GM, Ford and Chrysler and consists of resource-using cars. The things we call "cars" may have been fun to drive, but they are killing the planet. To continue to build them is like digging deeper and deeper into an already too-deep hole… “It’s Stupid,” to put it another way.
The other front is the oil companies, which strangely enough, are against you and me. They are committed to fleecing us whenever they can, and they have been reckless stewards of the finite amount of oil that is located under the surface of the earth. They know they are sucking it bone dry. And like the lumber tycoons of the early 20th century, who didn't give a damn about future generations as they tore down every forest they could get their hands on, -- the oil barons are not telling the public what they know to be true -- that there are only a few more decades of useable oil left on this planet. And as the end-days of oil approach us, get ready for some very desperate people willing to kill and be killed just to get their hands on a gallon can of gasoline.
Now that GM is officially bankrupt, they have a rare opportunity to re-establish their company. What they SHOULD do is convert their factories to new and needed uses immediately. Don't spend any more money building cars; instead, use that money to keep the current workforce employed so they can build the new modes of transportation.
We could have bullet trains criss-crossing this country in the next several years. If you don’t believe me, -- believe this - Japan is celebrating the 45th anniversary of its first bullet train this year. Now they have dozens of them. Average speed: 165 mph. Average time a train is late: under 30 seconds. They have had these high speed trains for nearly five decades -- and we don't even have one! The technology already exists for us to go from New York to L.A. in 17 hours by train. Let's hire the auto-industry unemployed to build the new high speed lines all over the country. Chicago to Detroit in less than two hours / Miami to DC in under 7 hours / Denver to Dallas in five and a half. This CAN actually be done, “off the shelf.”
The auto industry could lead the war for a light-rail mass transit system in all our large and medium-sized cities. Build those trains in the GM factories. And hire local people everywhere to install and run the system. For people in rural areas, not served by the train lines, GM could produce energy-efficient clean buses. For the time being, have some of the factories build hybrid or all-electric cars (and batteries). It will take a few years for consumers to get used to the new ways to transport ourselves, but like the movie, “If you build them, they will come.” GM can be building these next month – the factories are already there… the workforce is already there… the market is already there… We taxpayers are supplying the immediate capital, and even the future capital.
GM could also transform some of their current factories to facilities that build windmills, solar panels and other means of alternate energy. We need tens of millions of cheap solar panels right now. And there is an eager and skilled workforce who can build them. We could even provide tax incentives for those who travel by hybrid car or bus or train. Also, tax-credits for those who convert their home to alternative energy.
MORE?? – ok, to help pay for this, impose a two-dollar tax on every gallon of gasoline. This will get people to switch to more energy-efficient cars or to use the new rail lines and rail cars the former autoworkers have built for them. My point is… don’t save GM so a smaller version of it will simply do nothing more than build Chevys or Cadillacs. This is not a long-term solution. Don't throw good money after bad… to a company whose business model has already failed.
Think about it… 100 years ago, the founders of General Motors convinced the world to give up their horses and saddles and buggy whips to try a new form of transportation – te automobile. Now, it is time for GM to lead the way again and say goodbye to the internal combustion engine. It served us well for a long time. We all enjoyed the car hops at the A&W. We made out in the back seat. We watched movies on large outdoor screens, went to the races at NASCAR tracks across the country, and saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time as we cruised down Hwy. 1. -- But now… it’s time for us to face the music… it’s over! Get used to it… there’s a new day dawning; and more importantly, a new opportunity arising. – GM… the UAW… the Federal Government, the American citizen -- must seize this moment and move forward, not backward. Look for real solutions, not more band-aid bailouts.
This past year, the last surviving person from the Titanic disaster passed away. She escaped certain death that night and went on to live another 97 years. We can survive our own Titanic… we now own 60% of GM --- Let’s do something better with “Government Motors” than just building new, less polluting Cadillacs. (Not to mention Hummers…)
As always, I welcome all comment.
