Moore is Right. And Wrong
You just knew the media was going to have to probe the wisdom of the creator of Roger and Me on the auto industry bailout. But, surprisingly, Moore actually says something right! Yeah, I know you don’t believe it. Here it is:
I’ll tell you, it was hilarious just watching these CEOs there (Tuesday) and (Wednesday) testifying in Congress, saying that, you know, that the problem wasn’t theirs, you know, the cars they were building. It was the financial situation that we’re in now.
The problem is the cars they’ve been building. They’ve never listened to the consumers. They’ve just gone about it their own wrong way. I’ll tell you, you know, I’m of mixed mind about this bailout, Larry, because I don’t think these companies, with these management people, should be given a dime, because that’s just going to be money going up in smoke or off to other countries.
GM is currently building a $300 million factory in Russia right now to build SUVs, right outside of St. Petersburg. That’s where your money’s going to go, no matter what they say.
Now, granted, he thinks their big problem is building cars overseas rather than here. He makes no mention of American companies paying 50% more per hour than other companies thanks to union benefits and featherbedding. And his cure is, if anything, worse than the disease:
President-Elect Obama has to say to them, yes, we’re going to use this money to save these jobs, but we’re not going to build these gas-guzzling, unsafe vehicles any longer.
We’re going to put the companies into some sort of receivership and we, the government, are going to hold the reigns on these companies. They’re to build mass transit. They’re to build hybrid cars. They’re to build cars that use little or no gasoline.
We’re facing a national crisis, not just an economic crisis, but a crisis of the polar ice caps are melting. There’s only so much oil left under the Earth. We’re going to run out of that, if not in our children’s time, our grandchildren’s time.
There’s got to be a plan set out to find other ways to transport ourselves in other ways than using fossil fuels.
Yes, Barack Obama, who drives an SUV, certainly has the expertise to turn around a flailing industry. With his degrees in Business Management, Engineering and Chemistry, he’s the perfect man to run this industry. One day, we can look forward to the auto industry being run with the same skill and efficiency with which the government runs Amtrak.
But let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth. Mikey said something right. He was due to say something right at some point this year as one correct statement per year is his established performance level. And we, at Moorewatch, are nothing if not fair.
Comments
Mikey said something right. He was due to say something right at some point this year as one correct statement per year is his established performance level.
Well, like my granddaddy used to say, the sun shines on a dog’s ass some days.
Or even better:
Hell, a broken clock is right TWICE a day.
Personally, I liked how Mikey was on Myspace immediately after the elections taking credit for helping Obama win.
Yeah.....OK Mikey......
Well, what Moore wants to happen to the auto making industry is simply nothing more than government control, and we all know how well that ends. I’m on his mailing list, so I manage to get his latest diatribes, including the one concerning “saving the big 3.” I wrote a comprehensive rebuttal which can be viewed here:
http://tinyurl.com/6m8ulw
And also, the ice caps were growing back last I heard. But far be it from Moore to let the facts stand in the way of a good crisis. I’d hate for him to change now.
"He makes no mention of American companies paying 50% more per hour than other companies”
It is always odd to me that a site like this rail against the average worker making a decent living.
“thanks to union benefits” Yeah… health care and sick days. Wallstreet “benefits” are.... don’t want to bring them up!
Ya got Wallstreet folks making millions… and lying everyday.... and the ‘bad’ folks are working 9/5. Odd.
dvdguy, I think you polemics are standing in the way of understanding: MikeS’s “companies paying 50% more per hour” statement is flat-out SAYING that the average worker makes a decent living.
And aren’t you a bit off—aren’t the Wall Street folks the evil bad guys, whereas the 9-to-5 folks are the decent hardworking guys? Isn’t that the way that old black-and-white cartoon plays out?
Honestly, it must be hard to keep the energy up to be negative…
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- Michael Moore is 100% correct on the auto bailout issue
Moore is sometimes a bit over the top, but on this issue he is right: I’ll tell you, it was hilarious just watching these CEOs there (Tuesday) and (Wednesday) testifying in Congress, saying that, you know, that the problem wasn’t theirs, you know,...Tracked on: A Couple Things (67.205.36.215) at 2008 11 20 21:34:45
I heard a report on the radio yesterday that 25 years ago the two companies with the worst track record for investing their capital was GM at number one and Ford at number two. Today GM and Ford still hold the same spots that they did 25 years ago. Yes, making poor products that weren’t attractive to the masses was poor decision making, but so were the poor investments that they made and continue to make. The Fords run the Detroit Lions, for crying out loud…