Wow, As disgusted as I am with the American Automakers - the reality of the bailout bill not passing again is frightening. Is it time to let them fail and see what and who comes up with new ideas and new industries? (see previous post).
I was a new driver during the last energy crisis in the 70's and remember all the talk of creating more fuel efficient cars, looking at alternative ways to design cars - well 30 years and a few bailouts later the automakers are in the same place. While foreign automakers have created a better product, better efficiency, leading in the hybrid market and not having to pull on the heart strings of buy American to sell their products. When in reality most foreign cars are made on American soil with American workers. So what do we do?
Through my adult years many industries have faded and or revamped their business to keep up with technology and or changes in lifestyle. A few that come to mind..... typewriters, 10 key cash registers, slide rules (for those of you who haven't heard of this - it is what we used before calculators), hair dryers, wall telephones, long distance, phone cards, cell phones, cooking appliances and how we prepare food, remote controls, cassette tapes, 8 tracks, cds, dvds, energy efficient appliances and windows, music systems, hand written letters, email, instant messaging, twitter, Internet shopping. Seth Godin is an agent of change his book Tribes gives great direction on thinking outside the box and creating change with passion.
This list is just in the last 30 years and I literally thought for less than 3 minutes. Where have the brilliant minds of the Auto Industry been while all this was going on? My concern is all the millions of individuals who once again went to work and did their job only to be the ones hurt by the greed and short sightedness of their leaders
Stay tuned.........
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2 comments:
I'm pretty sure this same thing happened to the Steel Industry a couple of decades ago and that the Federal Government let the industry fail. I could be wrong, but I remember reading about this in an article the other day.
Maybe the government should focus on the workers rather than the companies/executives.
Perhaps a plan that gives money directly to the workers who are laid off or fired and a certain amount of money will go to a fund for training in a new field or help in finding a new job/relocation costs?
Even with the set up of a new office to handle this, it would cost less than the bailout and would actually help the workers and the economy.
I am sure there are flaws in my idea, but it seems there should be a better way than throwing money at the corporate office and rewarding short term planning by the executives.
Just my .02
Vicki
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