What's Good for GM...and the Nation

6 December 2008 - 1:00pm

Michael Moore writes that the only bailout of the Big 3 automakers that makes any sense is a government takeover that re-tools the industry to build sustainable transportation modes including trains, buses, subways and light rail.

"Let me just state the obvious: Every single dollar Congress gives these three companies will be flushed right down the toilet. There is nothing the management teams of the Big 3 are going to do to convince people to go out during a recession and buy their big, gas-guzzling, inferior products.

You might assume from this that I couldn't give a rat's ass about these miserably inept crapmobile makers down the road in Detroit city. But I do care. I care about the millions whose lives and livelihoods depend on these car companies. I care about the security and defense of this country because the world is running out of oil. And I care about what happens with the Big 3 because they are more responsible than almost anyone for the destruction of our fragile atmosphere and the daily melting of our polar ice caps.

Congress must save the industrial infrastructure that these companies control and the jobs they create. And it must save the world from the internal combustion engine. This great, vast manufacturing network can redeem itself by building mass transit and electric/hybrid cars, and the kind of transportation we need for the 21st century."

Source: michaelmoore.com, December 5, 2008

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The blind leading the blind...

If there is one entity that has proved itself effective and competent at managing finances, winning consumer trust, and developing good products less than the Big 3 automakers, it is the Federal Government.

What America needs is clear, realistic, bipartisan direction and change. Empty, simplistic, idyllic fantasies are unhelpful.

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Sustainability, local economy, and community are three pillars of the path not-yet taken in Detroit. A path that moves beyond downtown development, beyond ‘cool cities.’