Government exerting control over auto industry
For those of you who thought bailing out the auto industry (or anything for that matter) was a good idea, take a look at this.
“General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner will step down immediately at the request of the White House, administration officials said Sunday. The news comes as President Obama prepares to unveil additional restructuring efforts designed to save the domestic auto industry.”
For anyone who thinks America stands for freedom, this news should be chilling. It’s not that Rick Wagoner did a good job. To the contrary, he did a horrible job and should be fired. But notice that I said “fired”. The board of directors and the shareholders of GM should fire him. This is how a free market economy works. However, the fact the White House has called for him to step down and he is complying with their will, is flat out scary. The government has no business exerting control of private of publicly held companies. Beyond that, the White House has absolutely no business making such “requests” (demands) without involvement from congress. This is blatant abuse of power.
If you think the government can’t do any worse than GM, think again. To err is human, but to really screw up requires government involvement. The government has a larger and longer track record for failed programs than any private industry ever has. Need I only mention social security as one of the many examples? The auto industry needs to become small and agile to meet market demands; the US government is the absolute antithesis of that.
Pop quiz. What do you call it when government controls privately owned businesses? It’s not communism or socialism. That’s when government owns and controls business. With all the bailouts and stimulus talk, people have been quick to say we are heading towards socialism. However, this may not be an accurate description. If you said fascism, you answered right. It’s rather disturbing to see the government of the United States of America practicing fascist policies.
This is dangerous territory we are heading into and a huge step away from the freedom this country was founded on!
Update: Want a government controlled warranty on your car? Getting your car fixed will be as hassle free as a trip to the DMV!
Congratulations… now you and I are paying for repairs on other people’s cars because they chose to buy from what should be a bankrupt and out of business company. Ah yes, change we can believe in.
