Ok, so here's the next topic of discussion for me... The auto-industry bailout...
I'd find it very interesting to see the government tell the auto-industry to get bent. Really. We all saw how the "insurance bailout" went. The companies didn't even so much as thank the citizens who would be footing the bill and proceeded to spend grossly and without conscience. Do we really believe that hundred year old companies could have put themselves into these dire situations simply through the greed of a few men? Henry Ford would be rolling in his grave if he could.
The idea of capitalism is something that we all have been programmed to love. Open, free market where the best product wins. Unfortunately, the companies that provide the bulk of the products we were purchasing created sub-par devices in countries other than ours and then shipped the parts/completed items back to the US to sell. Don't believe that? Go do some research on where Ford's vehicles are put together. You'll see it all too clearly.
If we believe in capitalism so much, WHY are we bailing out companies that aren't surviving the Survival of the Fittest mentality that IS capitalism? WHY are we giving tens and hundreds of BILLIONS of dollars to the large corporations that have raped our people of their money for hundreds of combined years? I say let them fall. Let them fall and let us get new companies (remember when Saturn first started? No one would buy their cars and they had to give incentives to the first few generations of owners such as replacing the older car with a newer one for VERY cheap... now they sell as normal. The same idea with Kia, though they used different tactics.) that actually give a shit about what we think, what we want and what we need.
Don't believe in that? Then you don't believe in capitalism and free trade/market. The "Mom-n-Pop" stores have stayed open because they have a loyal following of regular customers as well as (mostly) honesty, friendliness and most importantly CUSTOMER APPRECIATION. They APPRECIATE their customers. They are not numbers. They are not "just another face." They are customers that the owners, and the employees as a whole, treat as though they were regulars in their store SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY APPRECIATE THEM. Why not go and ask around about how many people felt important the last time they were approached by a car salesman. Or the last time they went to a corporate office for their insurance company and didn't feel out of place. I don't mean that large corporations do not treat their customers well... They just do NOT appreciate that the 16,000 dollars the young couple spent on their new bottom of the line car was a HUGE investment to that person. That they took a risk on the company in trusting that their product would be GOOD for them and in THEIR best interest. Unfortunately that isn't the case.
I say let the Ford and Chrystler companies figure their financial problems out on their own. They have spent the last hundred years (slightly less, I know) gouging the rest of us for products that we HAVE to have in order to live (ever try walking 2-4 miles to work each day? or perhaps taking the bus in a large, crowded city? Very few public transit systems are as efficient as the NY subway system.). It used to be that you could get a decent car for 16k. Now you are looking at getting financed for 40k for the same damned car model with accessories. I know, I know, "inflation." Inflation doesn't triple the cost of a product within 10 years as a whole from what I can tell (of course, I'm not an economist... I'm just calling it like I see it.).
Anyways, just thought that I'd touch that topic as it is something that I'm sure many of us are thinking but don't want to say aloud. I say stop being afraid of talking. Talking is simply conveying opinion and belief... We shouldn't be afraid to talk. And we shouldn't be afraid of others talking... but that's a topic for another day.
Take Care.
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