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Monday, March 9, 2009

Stupidity reigns

Like a life long smoker who goes cold turkey on this death bed, the CAW has come to terms with GM over concessions meant to make the giant zombie corporation viable, ROTFLMAO!!!!! Not bloody likely! GM's burn rate will eat up the new money in 2 quarters (at best) and sales are still falling.

Even if the CAW ratifies these changes what right does the Federal and Provincial governments have to subsidize a failed corporation that is unable or unwilling to make a quality or environmentally sound product and one that is not even Canadian?

What sense is there in perpetuating bad business models? GM has shown it's incapable of judging or meeting the needs of the market. Unable to take emissions or fuel economy seriously until they are regulated.

GM has been losing market share and money for years, why fund a proven loser?

Why try to maintain jobs in an industry destined contract not only because of over capacity, recession/depression but also peak oil?

Our governments are so eager to appear useful and buy votes that they are throwing away our hard earned money on a company that is destined to fail. It's doubtfull that any level of concessions could make a company as far in debt as GM profitable and yet these concessions still don't make them competative with Japanese car makers let alone the Korean and soon to arrive Chinese cars.

Now I’m not anti labour(I'm unionized) but I am pro reality. The best way to save manufacturing jobs is not pay them to be inefficient. 3 N.A. auto makers are at least 1 too many and unless they agree to merge and drastically contract we must let one go under. GM would appear to be in the worst shape and it should be let to die that the others might live. If one gets money they all will demand it perpetuating the fallacy that the market can sustain 3 large bloated, inefficient car makers.

If you must spend money to look like your doing something why not give it to Zenn to make a highway capable electric car?

To Rail Power to build hybrid train engines?

To Bombardier and CN/CP/Via/Go to build efficient rail links?

All things that look to the future rather than supporting the Myth that things will return to normal.

Things are not normal folks,Recommend this Post

3 comments:

CoCargoRider said...

This drives me nuts to no end. GM is failing and we throw money at them, same with citibank, etc, but when the working people fail, to hell with them and the idea of "bailing" them out. I mean come on, who really is the lifeblood of this country, the bank, insurance, etc. CEO's right?
Arrgh

Theresa said...

I wholeheartedly agree. We just can't keep doing the same old same old and expect the results to be any different. People in general just don't seem to get this though, I'm not sure what it will take to have the delusion finally dissipate.

Sebastian Ernst Ronin said...

Re "Why try to maintain jobs in an industry destined contract not only because of over capacity, recession/depression but also peak oil?"

1. Economically, the percentage of the economy/GDP that is directly tied to the automobile industry is staggering (you may have the actual numbers, I don't). Let's say the ratio is 1:3, i.e. gas stations, parts suppliers, auto body shops, Canadian Tire, etc. etc. That's a lot of money flowing through the system, ergo a lot of tax payments, as long as those positions are "employed."

2. Also economically, the "system" is attempting to correct itself, no matter how dire that would be if it was allowed to play out. One can't have it both ways, i.e. capitalism doesn't work, but neither will be allow it to work.

3. Politically, under our current federal system, all parties must cater to the Ontario rust bucket. Relative to the era which we enter, the insanity of this dynamic escapes the folds of political spin and actually becomes evident and visible.

4. Also politically, any kind of realistic corrections as we enter the down slope of post-peak oil are nullified by the existing democratic process, i.e. the electorate begs to have sunshine blown up its asshole and the pols readily comply. Some would call this "denial."

5. All of the above (and much more) taken together equal a great many false social, political and economic band-aids in a futile attempt to keep it all from cascading out of control, i.e. correction. This is delusional. The correction, if we like it or not or agree with it or not, will happen. Such is the nature of systemic dynamics, i.e. entropy, positive feedback, cybernetics. To ATTEMPT to delay it with such false initiatives as the GM bailout only delays a day of reckoning and its scope.