Why the Car Companies?
There has been a lot of complaint the last few days about the disparity between the government's treatment of Wall Street and Detroit.
While it is true that the financial industry has its hooks in Washington far more deeply than any other industry, I do not think that is the whole story.
The collapse of the financial sector is a direct result of Republican deregulation under Reagan and the two Bushes, aided and abetted by such Republican luminaries as Phil Gramm and Newt Gingrich. These characters let the crooks loose to overwhelm honest businesses, and large segments of the public bought into their snake oil, bought off with promises of some pathetic tax cuts. Like it or not, we are all responsible for what the government did in our name, and unfortunately we now all get to share in paying the price.
The American car companies, on the other hand, have been on a self-imposed road to hell since the 1960's. Faced first with the success of Volkswagen, and then the far greater market penetration of the Japanese companies, they steadfastly refused to emerge from their dream world, where they knew everything better than anyone else. They have marketed unattractive, poorly performing, shoddily made vehicles for decades now, and have been paying the price for years. Yet, they remained unwilling to face their real predicament. We all have heard the H. L. Mecken line that "nobody ever lost money underestimating the taste of the American people." Well, I guess G. M. and Chrysler have pretty well proven that's not true any more.
Unfortunately, I think that we cannot afford to allow our nation's carmakers to fall into oblivion, both because of the job losses that would result, and because a viable auto industry is an essential part of our national economy. However, it does not seem unreasonable to me that the captains of this industry should be treated very harshly in the course of our bailout.
While it is true that the financial industry has its hooks in Washington far more deeply than any other industry, I do not think that is the whole story.
The collapse of the financial sector is a direct result of Republican deregulation under Reagan and the two Bushes, aided and abetted by such Republican luminaries as Phil Gramm and Newt Gingrich. These characters let the crooks loose to overwhelm honest businesses, and large segments of the public bought into their snake oil, bought off with promises of some pathetic tax cuts. Like it or not, we are all responsible for what the government did in our name, and unfortunately we now all get to share in paying the price.
The American car companies, on the other hand, have been on a self-imposed road to hell since the 1960's. Faced first with the success of Volkswagen, and then the far greater market penetration of the Japanese companies, they steadfastly refused to emerge from their dream world, where they knew everything better than anyone else. They have marketed unattractive, poorly performing, shoddily made vehicles for decades now, and have been paying the price for years. Yet, they remained unwilling to face their real predicament. We all have heard the H. L. Mecken line that "nobody ever lost money underestimating the taste of the American people." Well, I guess G. M. and Chrysler have pretty well proven that's not true any more.
Unfortunately, I think that we cannot afford to allow our nation's carmakers to fall into oblivion, both because of the job losses that would result, and because a viable auto industry is an essential part of our national economy. However, it does not seem unreasonable to me that the captains of this industry should be treated very harshly in the course of our bailout.
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