As America’s economic stability stands on the precipice of disaster, the automobile industry has withered and crawled before Congress asking for their own $25 billion welfare check.
The Big Three — General Motors, Ford and Chrysler — are doubtful as to whether they can stay in business much longer than the second half of 2009 without government assistance.
The auto industry is hurting right now, and it’s a little more serious than a skinned knee. It’s more comparable to having two broken legs.
The Big Three reported massive sale declines in October — Ford was down 30 percent, Chrysler was down 36 percent and GM was off a staggering 45 percent.
On Oct. 21, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that Michigan’s unemployment rate had ballooned to 8.7 percent, the second- worst in the country.
The message from the auto industry and the people who depend on it is clear: HELP!
Help won’t come easy from Congress, though, as the auto bailout has very little support from Republicans. Congressional Republicans are concerned about spending that amount of money.
After all, Republicans have acted with the utmost concern for the national budget deficit in the recent past. Just six weeks ago, Congress took relatively little time to approve a $700 billion bailout for Wall Street.
I believe that the livelihood of the Republican Party lies in the financial district, so by supporting this, they were simply protecting their own business interests. As far as the war in Iraq, we spend about $12 billion a month as if it’s Monopoly money.
The auto industry is asking for the same amount of money that it takes to stay in Iraq for two months. The critical difference, though, is that bailing out the auto industry is truly a concern of national security.
According to the Ann Arbor-based Center for Automotive Research, one in 10 jobs in the country are directly or indirectly affected by the auto industry. That amounts to 30 million jobs nationwide.
The failure of the Big Three could result in 3 million lost jobs in the first year alone. The unemployment rate could realistically reach 10 percent, the second highest rate since World War II. Can you spell mayhem?
What’s more, forget about the effect on the auto industry and the companies that manufacture only auto parts. The failure of the Big Three would send a shockwave through the manufacturing industry as a whole.
A defunct auto industry means that the demand for steel, glass, rubber, plastics and computer chips — all vital components to the construction of automobiles — will sharply decline. Pop goes the unemployment rate.
One can only imagine how the demise of the auto industry will affect our own Wayne State University. A hefty portion of tuition payments to WSU depend on wages earned in the auto industry.
If those wages no longer exist, it will be agonizing to see how much the enrollment rate will decline and how many employees will be let go.
Go ahead, wave your white flags.
Be the first to comment on this article!