The Ethanol Papers - Paperturn manuscript - Flipbook - Page 55
is not just the most important business sector in the United States; it’s the most
important in every industrialized country in the world.)
The greater auto industry includes the three U.S. carmakers that are collectively
still known as the “Big Three,” as well as tens of thousands of supportive dealerships, fabricators, service firms, and financial institutions. In all, as the video
points out, millions of Americans earn their living from one part or another of the
auto industry.
However, there is a giant disconnect in the argument presented by the talk show
host, as well as any case presented by Chrysler, General Motors, or Ford that
if we (the American people) don’t ante up the $50 billion to save the U.S. car
companies from bankruptcy that we (the American people) are allowing them
(and the country) to fail.
To begin with, even if the Big Three went bankrupt and eventually ceased to
exist, the automotive industry in America would continue; it’s not like we would
suddenly be stranded on empty highways without any ‘wheels,’ or left with broken down cars and no place to go to get them repaired. There are, after all,
other automakers manufacturing cars and trucks in the U.S. and others that sell
their foreign-built vehicles in this country. These plants and dealerships employ
American workers, who pay taxes to our local and federal government. And
there would still be ample opportunity for service facilities, fabricators, aftermarket products, etc., etc., to prosper. Any vacuum left by the disappearance of Big
Three products would be filled by other manufacturers. If we want to insure the
continuance of a strong domestic assembly-worker base, Congress could
simply mandate that all or most vehicles sold in America be manufactured in
America. The industry would be changed, but far from shuttered.
Secondly, approval of the $50 billion aid package will do nothing to solve the
immediate financial crisis. It will not re-open any closed plants, it will not stimulate vehicle sales, and by shifting the focus of the first $25 billion away from
helping to build alt-fuel vehicles, it will certainly not create a new fleet of desirable new technology cars and trucks. In short, giving the car companies a $50
billion gift is throwing money down the toilet. There would be no reason for the
American public to buy new American vehicles and get themselves further in
debt.
Rejection of a bailout plan that allows GM, Ford and Chrysler to return to business-as-usual is not a matter of the public allowing them to fail. It is the American car companies that have failed the American people. If a sacred debt ever
existed between the U.S. carmakers and the American public, it’s not that the
