The USA is in danger because of cowardly, horrendously bad judgment that decades of congressional legislators have engaged in. Their failure has led to an out of control national debt, skyrocketing gasoline prices and the collapsing of the USA Automobile industry.
I'm not talking about just this 110th Dem Congress. I'm talking about decades of congresses that have all failed to do their jobs protecting America. Yes. When it comes to energy use, we're talking about protecting America.
And I call what we are going through now a disaster.
First, we are facing a situation where one of our few remaining massive industries-- automobile manufacturing-- is in dire danger. This danger is partly their fault but also, substantially the fault of legislators.
Of course, lobbyists for the automobile companies went to legislators and pushed for them to relent on requirements for more fuel-efficient cars. And of course, the legislators gave them what they wanted. The current congress recently raised the cafe standards to what amounts to a joke, it's so insignificant, with such abysmally low long-term goals..
The problem was, our weak, spineless legislators, (for god's sake, spineless-legislators is almost becoming the hyphenated, complete form of the word describing elected representatives to congress) for the past several decades, didn't see the failure to raise mileage capabilities of automobiles as a way to cut our need for oil imports, to cut our production of pollutants, to cut our leakage of dollars and to reduce the worsening of our balance of trade.
The legislators cut the automobile manufacturers some slack. Bush made it even worse, encouraging building of bigger, more gas-guzzling vehicles with tax breaks for them. Talk about insanity!
But that slack was no favor to these auto-makers. If the legislators had been tough on GM, FORD, Chrysler, etc., if they'd demanded that they make better cars and trucks-- vehicles that burned a lot less gas, or none at all, if they'd rewarded energy innovation, even offered tax breaks to buyers who bought new, more energy efficient technologies, then we might not be in as bad a situation as we are in now.
If the legislators had stood up to lobbyists and told them that the lobbyists requests were endangering the US by weakening us through increased dependency upon foreign oil, we wouldn't be in nearly as bad a situation as we are now.
If the legislators had stood up to the lobbyists and told them that their requests were going to bode ill for the auto companies, because they would become less competitive than foreign companies that were shooting for better performance, we'd all be better off now.
But the legislators didn't do the right thing, didn't stand tough. They did their predictable, spineless performance that has earned congress single digit ratings.
Now, the Republicans and the most sellout, cowardly Democrats are calling for drilling in offshore waters-- a transparent, dishonest solution that will not bear results for years. It is highly likely that the current crop of democrats will, fearing criticism by the Republicans, fail to block these bad ideas.
It's time for legislators to get tough on Auto Manufacturers. They MUST raise their targets dramatically, not so they'll be able to sell more cars, but so the cars they sell no longer drain the USA's coffers and ruin our balance of trade.
It's time for legislators to think of automobile manufacturing as a key strategic element in defending the US economy.
GM, Ford, Chrysler-- they may fold. If they do it's because they were partly to blame, but since the congress failed so badly to see what was really needed to keep those industries strong, perhaps they can help bail the companies out by setting up a program so people will get help buying new cars, or retrofitting existing cars. We need to get the worst gas burners off the roads, or retrofit them so they perform much better.
GM alone has over 280,000 employees, representing probably tens of billions on salaries. If we invest, not in giving the companies money, but in giving consumers rebates for buying new US made cars that have drastically improved mileage, that will help the auto manufacturers, help consumers and help our balance of trade.
Rob Kall is executive editor and publisher of OpEdNews.com, President of Futurehealth, Inc, inventor . He is also published regularly on the Huffingtonpost.com and is a columnist with Northstarwriters.com. He is a frequent Speaker on Politics, Impeachment, The art, science and power of story, heroes and the hero's journey, Positive Psychology, Stress, Biofeedback and a wide range of subjects. He is a campaign consultant specializing in tapping the power of stories for issue positioning, stump speeches and debates. He recently retired as organizer of several conferences, including StoryCon, the Summit Meeting on the Art, Science and Application of Story and The Winter Brain Meeting on neurofeedback, biofeedback, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology. See more of his articles here and, older ones, here.
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A few declarations.
-While I'm registered as a Democrat, I consider myself to be a dynamic critic of the Democratic party, just as, well, not quite as much, but almost as much as I am a critic of republicans.
-My articles express my personal opinion, not the opinion of this website.
ROB I DON'T THINK WE CAN BLAME CONGRESS, YOU NEED TO GO TO THE HORSE MOUTH MR CHENEY, WHERE THIS ALL STARTED. CONGRESS IS NOT DOING THEIR JOB NOW, BECAUSE THE NEOCONS PUT A CLOUD OVER THEIR HEADS, OR WORST, BUT THERE ARE MANY IN CONGRESS GETTING RICH OFF THE PRICE OF OIL.
by
RICH SHA (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 106 comments)
on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at 2:42:25 AM
While our Congress has been and is to blame for a great deal of our current mess we really cannot place the blame entirely on them. Our government is supposed to have 3 branches that balance against each other and all 3 have to share in the blame. All of them have allowed the Bush fiasco to come to fruition and none of them has raised a finger to stop or reverse the Bush/Cheney mess. I hate to be the barer of bad tidings but We, the People have contributed also with our dumb voting and ignorance of our rights and the attendant responsibilities that come with them. Shame on all of us! Now it is time to spread the Clearasil on our government and remove a great many zits!
by
Hayesml47 (5 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 502 comments)
on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at 10:19:09 AM
Maybe the once big 3 ought to follow Toyota's Example and make cars that the people actually want.
I believe that the biggest problems were that instead of making autos that the people wanted, the companies made autos that the big 3 wanted to make and sell namely those which were cheap to make, easy to advertise and would make the most short term profit.
1. Quality was poor. When I was growing up, it was "do not buy" products from Japan because of poor quality. When Japan made superior quality products, it was then unpatriotic to not buy USA (forget quality). Examples: Paint that did not last, Diesel Engines that failed, bodies that rusted out, power train failures. The Big 3 thought that shorter life vehicles would mean more sales in the future.
2. Failure to make what the people wanted. The Big 3 never wanted to make small cars (less profit) and when then did, the cars did not remain small. They all had size creep and soon were large and dropped from production.
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Anton Grambihler (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 297 comments)
on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at 10:24:17 PM
Anton, You hit the nail on the automakers heads. They lived for designed obsolesence. They also thought they were the fashion police. What they made we had to like. I always prefered Studebakers and then AMC's. Once Honda showed up I was hooked on them and many others there after. It appears that the small three still have not learned how to survive in the car business. It is fortunate for us that the foreign car makers are building cars over here so our workers can still have some jobs left.
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Hayesml47 (5 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 502 comments)
on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at 10:51:07 PM
I missed bush a couple of days back, but saw clips later on various news sources. I was so impressed when he stated that we can help conserve energy by turning off our air conditioners. WOWEEE. Good idea, except I don't have one. What to do now?
My favorite car was the Peugeot I had for a few years, back in the 80s. Looked like a baby Mercedes, ran on Diesel, got way good mileage, and was so comfortable to ride in, that you could do 500 miles a day, and not be worn out. Unfortunately those cars were banned from the U.S. I'd buy another in a heartbeat.
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Pat Herrick (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 165 comments)
on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 11:09:26 AM
I agree with the title and the first paragraph ....
Government intrusion into markets and debasement of the currency made the coming Depression inevitable.
GM saw this coming at least a decade ago and began transferring assets out of the reach of the U.S. government and the UAW. You may expect them to declare bankruptcy and walk away from the entire mess, leaving you only the empty hulks of factories to tax, regulate, and strike against.
It is hubris to think that you or your spineless congressmen know more about any market than the buyers and sellers in that market. Command - and - control bureaucratic markets don't work. They destroy the market itself and bankrupt the participants in it. It has happened every time in history that it has been tried. Manufacturers are fleeing to Communist countries where there are lower taxes and fewer regulations than here in the Land Of The Free and the Home Of The Brave.
The spoils you get from your political victory over smokestack industries is that the industries are gone, and now you get to live under the government that you have granted this unconstitutional power to. YOUR source of livelihood will be next to go, under the same reasoning that you used to destroy the manufacturing sector.
The underlying principle of CAFE regulations, and you may pick any principle you want, applies equally well to whatever your source of income is. The people who cheer this on are going to get what they asked for -- good and hard.
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John Danforth (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 98 comments)
on Friday, July 18, 2008 at 8:24:34 AM
We have known since 1949 that the fossil fuel era would be brief. In 1973, we saw the danger of foreign oil dependence when the embargo by OPEC threw our country into chaos. The Department of Energy was born in 1977 to create an energy policy. To date, there is no energy policy.
As far as producing cars that get better mileage, we must remember that only 18% of U.S. oil use is consumed by autos.
We cannot continue to experience growth in America as the foundation of our very existence. Oil is only the first of the earths natural resources that will fail should we continue this insane economic basis.
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Mike Folkerth (120 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 566 comments)
on Sunday, July 20, 2008 at 9:02:08 AM
America needs to stay FOCUSED, AWARE and EDUCATED.Focus: History reminds us that every time oil prices peak and the North American market/consumers start to discuss alternative energy sources, the oil exporting countries start to trim down their prices. History also tells us that the oil exporting nations have been very successful in the past and in fact, we have lost our enthusiasm and dropped many of our alternative energy initiatives after oil prices are reduced. WE need to stay focused this time.1) Al Gore and his energy initiative is on course.2) T. Boone Pickens and his wind power initiative is on course.3) The BG Automotive Group mass production electric vehicle program is on course along with renewable solar energy charging option.4) Richard Branson from the UK is on course w/his environmental programs..5) The Gas Reduction Act of 2008 might not be the most environmentally sound solution, but yet it shows that Congress has finally realized that we have an energy crisis (again), and a real threat to our national security. The continued dependence on foreign oil is a threat to our long term democratic values. We must become an energy independent nation, and with this, some sacrifices will have to be made by the American consumer.Be aware!!We are exporting approximately USD $700 Billion dollars per year of U.S. currency. The majority of this money is being transferred to the Trillion dollar “sovereign wealth funds”. This is USD $700 Billion not being spent on America’s educational system, health care and security.The “sovereign wealth funds” are directly buying major interests (large blocks of stock) in U.S. companies, including most of the major banks. Also, billions of dollars of “sovereign wealth fund” money is being invested in our hedge funds, private equity firms, and the investment banking industry. A few of these firms are directly and indirectly investing large sums of money into our “gas combustion” automobile industry. Do we want our auto industry in the direct or indirect control of the firms that are supplying us oil?This is an interesting topic for an investigative reporter.There are automotive consulting companies in Michigan (heart of our auto industry), lobbying States and our Federal Government, NOT to subsidize the Electric Vehicle industry. The latter seems to be contradictory to what the American public would like to see from our automobile industry. After the billions (excess of $20 billion) the automotive companies have lost in the past 6 months producing gas combustion vehicles, you would think they too would change course. Changing course is not adding 2-4 miles per gallon w/Hybrids. Drastic measures in our auto industry must take place and NOW!Do not let the temporary reduction in oil prices push us off course….AGAIN.Educated: Read, Read- Stay on top of the issues. Let’s not be fooled again.STAY FOCUSED, AWARE and EDUCATED!
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Barry Bernsten (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments)
on Sunday, July 27, 2008 at 1:20:20 PM
8 comments
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