With billions and billions of dollars already sunk into the auto industry to, ostensibly, save it, the EPA figures it is time to make the auto industry meet yet higher standards regarding emissions. That’s just what they need now. The ‘economist’ in Obama is showing.
Moving on down the list of contributors, it must be the EPA’s turn to raise costs, and to justify it by citing ‘man made global warming.’ But this is what President Obama said he would do. That’s what is expected of him, by me and all that voted for him.
As Chairman of the Board of General Motors, Barack Obama should be speaking against higher standards now, at a time when they need to figure out how to stay in business by dropping product lines, closing plants, and probably declaring bankruptcy in order to reorganize. Without all the legacy costs. So far, nothing from Chairman Obama. Ordinarily, a conflict of interest like this would be noticed.
U.S. automakers are in a tough bind, though. After recently being rescued by the federal government, they are hardly in a position to be dictating proposals. The fuel economy standard that was laid out in 2007 demands a fleet-wide average of 35 mpg by 2020 and is estimated to cost automakers $85 billion. Raising it beyond 35 mpg will place too heavy of a burden on the struggling auto industry, officials say.
He has done it in under 100 days. Gotta give him credit for a takeover well done. He runs the board, and The White House. Now any new laws on the auto industry will get no industry input and no opposition. And we didn’t have to vote on it for all that to happen. Or to put it another way, we were never asked to choose between free-market capitalism and socialism when he was running for President. He never said that he wouldn’t one day also run General Motors. What we got instead was ‘trust me.’
For all intents and purposes, General Motors is not General Motors any more. It is now Barack Motors. BM, change he believes in.
links: U.S. automakers unhappy about higher CAFE standards | Lawmakers Set Deal on Raising Fuel Efficiency
