Excellent note written by my friend Michael. I wanted to repost it on here.
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GM announced that it lost $31 Billion dollars last year. That works out to $84.7 Million dollars a day loss each and everyday! We have already given them billions in bailout funds.
The federal government’s solution is to keep throwing money down the hole instead of plugging the hole. They continue to do NOTHING about our trade policies that favor foreign auto makers. In addition, foreign auto makers get tax breaks from local, state and the federal government.
Instead of constant bailouts we could have changed our trade policies. In addition, we could have instead used stimulus funds to convert American made cars and trucks into cars and trucks powered by clean domestic natural gas. We have plenty of it, it is cheaper than oil and it is cleaner.
I am a big supporter of wind and solar. We need more of it from American companies. But, wind and solar are not going to power an 18-wheeler. And that is what we need to change. We have roads full of big rigs, delivery trucks, tankers, tractors, backhoes, buses, etc. Wind and solar won’t do the trick. Batteries and hybrids won’t quite do the trick. Natural gas will power those vehicles and it will end our dependence on foreign oil.
Wind and solar from U.S. companies should be powering our homes & offices.
T. Boone Pickens has a much better plan than the federal government and Obama should have placed T. Boone Pickens in his cabinet. I would like to see T. Boone Pickens buy a majority share in GM to put this plan in motion.
Converting our American made vehicles to natural gas will create millions of U.S. jobs and they will be lasting jobs. U.S. Plants will need to be converted. U.S. made Cars, Trucks, Buses, etc. will need to be converted. U.S. owned fuel stations will need to be built & U.S. owned gas stations will need to be converted. States taking bailout funds could be required to buy American made vehicles fueled by natural gas when they replace their fleets of cars and trucks.
It is time we get our head out of the sand and get serious. This transfer of wealth to foreign nations cannot continue or we will not continue.
We need to plug the hole and stop killing U.S. manufacturing. America will not be the same without U.S. automakers. We can not only protect the U.S. automakers and U.S. workers, but U.S. automakers can once again be world leaders in sales, technology, fuel efficiency and reliability.
