On Thu, Dec 11, 2008 at 3:54 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > Rather than producing and > selling 17 1/2 million new vehicles, as was the case for most of the past > decade, only 10 1/2 million new vehicles will be sold in 2008. The world > industry is off - depressed, by roughly 30% everywhere. This includes > Toyota, Nissan and Daimler America. So what is the solution to this? At least for environmental reasons, it is highly desirable that the automobile sector should shrink worldwide. How can we accommodate this along with maintaining a large workforce? It seems shortsighted to keep propping up a destructive industry just for the sake of preserving jobs. Comment Seems to me that capital is solving the problem of shrinking the workforce. For me, the increase in the productivity of the America producers, from the time I was hired (1971) until retirement (2001) is mind boggling. And yes Toyota does make a good product and remain much of the benchmark, although the historic America company products are pretty good and light years better than the products made in the 1970s and 1980's. My support for the bridge loan or "propping up a destructive industry," is because the Congress of America will not provide basic housing, food, basic transportation,clothing or what is understood in our society as basic socially necessary means of life, to the increasing section of unemployed workers and under employed workers. Demanding that none of the American producers be allowed to go bankrupt is a compromise, due to the fact that the American working class has not developed a conscious that allows it to demand socially necessary means of life as a sovereign birth right. The issue of automotive production, consumption and driving and its total impact on the environment, is only marginally related to wages, employment levels, retiree benefits and health cost. Strategically, it seems to me that consuming 17 million new vehicles a year in the American market is totally insane. Most people use their vehicle to go to work and shopping. When the character and purpose of work is changed then auto production, consumption and use will change. On the issue of the auto bridge loan(s) one can always look around them and see whose company they are in based on their support or non-support of the bailout. The recently reelected Senator from Georgia took the lead on opposing the bridge loan. In the sense of history and continuity, this Senator is an ideological fascist and harkens back to the old slave oligarchy mentality. He opposes government aid in the form of tax dollars as bridge loan - "on principle," but apparently support government aid in the form of tax credits (millions of dollars) to the non-union automotive producers in the Southern states. Waistline **************Make your life easier with all your friends, email, and favorite sites in one place. Try it now. (http://www.aol.com/?optin=new-dp&icid=aolcom40vanity&ncid=emlcntaolcom00000010)
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