Catchy title huh? Okay, maybe we won’t save the world, but our kids might. And when my kids leave their mark on the world you can bet I’ll be standing next to them going, “yeah! That’s my son/daughter.”
Today I got about as ticked off as a woman can be. I was watching the big three auto makers (weren’t there five when I was a kid?) re-approach Washington and ask for a bailout. Why re-approaching? Because they were shunned by the Senate, who thought it fiscally irresponsible to bail them out of a mess they’d created for themselves.
Now they’re asking the President.
Screech
Here’s where my head begins to spin. W doesn’t give a shit, he never has and he never will. W has no sense of fiscal propriety, he’s a poor little rich kid who couldn’t find oil in the Great State of Texas and managed to lose money with a baseball team. He’s going to hand these fools the money too. He’s going to shake their hands and say, “aw gee, shucks, try again men.”
Mothers of America I’m going to ask you to stop for a moment and really think about how we got into this situation. Why are our businesses failing? Why isn’t America the fiscal powerhouse we once were and what can we do?
The Automobile Industry: With massive subsidies (tax credits) and a (moronic) dive into home mortage the big three have lost their way. There’s been no innovation because they’ve relied on the American People to “buy American”. The world is flat and we love our auto workers, bless their souls, Honda and Toyota are employing them now. I’m sorry big three, we’ve got to buy the best product at the best price and many of us are willing to spend a little more for a product that’s respectful of the Earth and our wallets (Prius waitlist anyone?).
Automobile Leasing: Since when is it more cost effective to not own your car? When did America decide that even the very poor should have new cars every three years? Must our cars be disposable? If the big three fail, I’m not sure that every manufacturing plant would close, how about keeping a car just a few years longer than your last hairstyle? You can’t convince me that every new car needs to be on the market.
Attacking the ocean with a teaspoon: Do automakers need subsidies/bailouts or do they need to stop, restructure and have a plan? I am vehemently opposed to a bailout for Chrylser and GM who don’t seem to have a plan in place. On twitter I was told that the lack of a plan by GM is a “red herring”.
What has happened to us America? Since when do we lack foresight and planning? Why do we feel a need to react emotionally and “buy American” when Japanese car makers have plants here anyhow? Tell me why we rescue brands that ruin our cities, borrow against retirement and fail their workers?
Tell me when we started thinking so little of our fellow Americans that we believe they won’t survive without a corporation that refuses to adapt?
Moms. Teach your children to balance their checkbooks. Teach your children to buy what they need. Show your children that they can innovate and work at jobs that bring them joy. Model social mobility for your kids. Let’s not leverage their future once again to save a failed industry in the short term.
I believe with my heart and soul that our country’s fiscal failure is a direct result of a bunch of spoiled kids running big corporations.
Stop the gluttony.
Stop the handouts.
Have a little shame.
Can we all commit to raising children who don’t feel entitled to shiny new toys they can’t afford?
[This post was written by Jessica Gottlieb.]
Wait…where’s the story on what Bush said? I can’t find his reaction anywhere, you said he gave them the money but I can’t find the story.
OK, I agree with about 90% of what you said, BUT I believe the auto industry should be given a hand. I live in Michigan, kinda ground zero. The automakers are asking for loans, not bailouts with no oversight or strings attached (like the huge one the financial industry got) They are willing to work within guidelines and with oversight.
And that ripple effect you may have heard of is very real – what affects the auto industry also affects thousands of other companies, big and small – all the companies that supply parts, package those parts, ship those parts – you get the picture. Not to mention all the companies that depend on what auto workers spend their paychecks on – food, utilities, taxes, clothing, etc.
All I can say on the eve of this season of shiny new things is “Amen” – and why stop at shiny things you can’t afford – how about “teach your children to ask themselves, ‘do I really need that shiny new thing? Really? When I can use my brain to imagine/make/improvise my own?'” There is the spirit that will make us into the America we were!
The Senate’s response is ridiculous. If they think that, why the hell did they bail out Wall Street, which was way more financially irresponsible than bailing out the auto industry.
I also live in Michigan, in Flint. Everyone keeps talking about Detroit, blah, it’s Flint that is suffering. A majority of the factories are here and so many have already lost their jobs. Many will be laid off indefinitely at the end of this week.
Christmas lights are not twinkling very bright this year because people don’t have the money to power them, the energy to put them up or a majority of the houses that used to be homes to happy families now sit empty.
Yes the auto industry is STUPID. They shouldn’t have built all those factories in India and Mexico and expected Americans, that no longer had jobs, to still be able to afford their cars. Do they deserve a bail out? No, but the workers do. The economy does. Here in Michigan, especially Flint it will be massive chaos if they don’t get something.It’s bad already. I really don’t want to see it get any worse.