Boo Hoo for Big Auto

For a whole decade the Big 3 US automakers were raking it in selling giant SUVs to Americans addicted to cheap oil. Now they are begging Congress for help, because nobody wants a monster gas guzzler at $4 a gallon. These are some of the big corporations who advocate deregulation and free market principles. They have always resisted better fuel economy, because hey, it makes good business sense. Now the market is telling them that we don't want what they're selling, and they suddenly want intimate involvement from the government, in the form of billions in cash.

I got sick of the whole big oil game a couple years ago, and have been wary of the many ways corporations influence our country and world since I became old enough to think about it. That is why I decided to get a job close to my home, at an environmentally friendly company, where I could ride my bike to work every day. Well, that and the fact that I cannot stand driving anymore. Unfortunately I probably wiped out more than a year's worth of carbon-footprint-reducing by flying to South America and Vegas this year. Travelling is not earth-friendly. But the minute there is a sustainable airline I will be among the first frequent-flier members.

I've been going back and forth over this whole debate on the evils/merits of the free market lately. I used to be more of a free market guy, but again, that was before I really thought about it. The free market only serves the companies that provide desired products at reasonable prices. This gives us cheap "quality" goods. Getting those things we want at a low price usually comes at the expense of the environment, our health, foreign workers' quality of life, or our own jobs (among many other things). I'm no economic genius, and I can't claim to know very much about these things, but it does not take a genius to realize the truth: when there is money to be made, all you have to do is think about how a given product made it to the store shelf in front of you at its price. It does not take a great stretch of the imagination to realize that a corporation will go to any lengths to get away with selling you their product.

So, should the government allow the US automakers to fail? The arguments against it seem obvious; thousands of jobs lost, increased strength of foreign competitors, a big hit to a weak economy. But the free market theory says we should let that happen. These companies made their bed. They chose to sell us bigger cars rather than offer the selection of small fuel-efficient vehicles available in Europe, Asia, Latin America and everywhere else. They focused on gas-guzzlers while Toyota developed the Prius into a waiting-list must-have. They failed to innovate or even keep up. So they are dying. That is what happens. If they do fold, something better will rise up in their place; new car companies that give consumers what they are looking for will take over.

They say they are learning from their mistakes. But why should we believe their greed won't get the better of them? Their whole strategy has been to choose what to market to Americans and force it upon us. At least it seems that way to me. They attached a stigma to small cars by saying they are less safe (because there are so many big trucks on the highway). They probably said that we don't want hybrids because they aren't as powerful or sleek. Maybe they even had some sort of deal with Big Oil to keep gas cheap in the US so they could sell us the more profitable SUVs. You would think that these giants, who started the industry, who have been in it from the start, would know the best way to do business. It turns out they don't know what they are doing. We can learn from their mistakes, and maybe they can do better in the future. But rather than save these dinosaurs, why not give that money to new industries? Maybe give loans to start-up automakers in the US who start with a green focus, rather than lend to the old guys who promise to do better next time? If we're so worried about job loss, these new companies can give preference to industry veterans for their work force. It would take time for the economy to recover, and this whole recession may be prolonged in order to heal the problems. But maybe the industry would be better for it.

I don't even care that much about the auto industry. I guess I went on this whole rant because I'm sick of the hypocrisy of big business. You could make similar arguments about the airline industry and banking, and I think in the coming decades we will see many of the old industries collapse as we begin to realize that their ways of doing business are wrong. The beauty of the information age is the increasing clarity of everything. Many industries have gotten away with murder for their entire existence. Now that they are beginning to reap what they have sowed, I'm almost happy to see them suffer.

Here is a relevant link to show how things could be different: We Can Solve It.org