Lawmaker takes on Terminator, he's battling against what he calls

It wouldn't be a job killer if they did the R&D to produce a car people wanted to buy. They could meet OR EXCEED the standards at the same time.

Biggest problem with the Big 3 is they're only interested in maintaining the status quo. That doesn't cut it anymore.

Evolution teaches: adapt or die.

They're not adapting.

 

Drop Dead? "Waaahh, we wana keep makin' Gas Guzzlin - Gross Poluters" . . . the big smog 3 used to claim they couldn't make less poluting autos . . . then along came hybrids. It hurts to get caught with your pants down.

 

They have had over 30 years to build "lean and mean" - guess it's just too hard to do.

It's folly to think you can have a cartel forever.

- Columbus discovered the Americas because the rest of Europe did not want to pay Venice so much for trade thru them
- Our dependance on oil is in part because the coal unions ran their asking price too high - oil was cheaper.
- Railroads in the late 1800s got comfortable - then truckers took away a lot of their business

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Mar 11 2007, 08:56 PM) [snapback]403997[/snapback]</div>

love it - less union jobs. drive em all out of business and then reboot minus the unions and they would be ok


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Delta Flyer @ Mar 12 2007, 09:42 AM) [snapback]404194[/snapback]</div>

actually columbus might have been Jewish and left for survival reasons
oil was easier to use and was distillable to other combustible products including gasoline
railroads could not compete becuase they could not ship to end user

 

dbermanmd,

Railroads could have transitioned themselves into trucking, but like Detroit they got fat and happy...and I think they were also unionized.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Delta Flyer @ Mar 12 2007, 11:14 AM) [snapback]404211[/snapback]</div>

The pesky government broke up the robber baron monopolies with the Sherman Antitrust Act. I don't think you can say Cornelius Vanderbilt got fat and happy. He did his best to squash competition and minimize expenses.

I seem to remember seeing Sante Fe and Penn Central trucks (or maybe just trailers?) on the road a very long time ago.

Unions form when the employees feel the company is taking unfair advantage. IMO without unions in our history we'd be just like India or China. Is everyone really better off if 1% of the population owns 90% of the wealth? If so, better make sure you're part of the 1%.

 

JimN,

You're right - Sherman anti trust was a big part of railroad history.

Railroads were much more powerful even after Sherman and had the power to transition themselves beyond rails.

 

The funniest part of the article is that this politician wants GM and cronies to continue to foot the bill for the mean spirited billboard. As if GM isn't wasting enough money on dumb gas guzzler ads already?