We've received a few e-mails and phone calls concerning the previous post. Most agreed whole heartily with our assessment of the GM honcho but wondered if we still shouldn't be doing something for the company. One person suggested that the American people should vote on the automakers bailout. The thing is...we have. The votes are in and GM is out.
When President Obama or anyone in Congress talk about giving funds away, it is our money they are referring to. The American taxpayer's money. We gave it to them to use on our behalf. But it is still ours. The US Government should not be a tangible entity. It is rather, a collection of representatives who are supposed to do what we say. And how do they know what we say? We vote. Maybe not on a ballot, but it is sometimes easy to know how we feel.
When it comes to the auto industry, each time any of us purchases a vehicle, we are voting. We vote by giving our money to that particular manufacturer of our new car or truck. If it was not a GM product, then haven't we voted for someone else? And who are the employees of the US government to disregard our vote? GM is a company-for-profit. People didn't stop buying cars, just GM cars. The executives and engineers at GM didn't do their jobs, and the result was that the company didn't profit. The citizens of the US have spoken, it is now the President's job to listen to our voice and not interfere with that result.
Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am a sentimental softie when it comes to our American past. But hasn't America always been about the best rising to the top? Wasn't it that credo that established this country as the most desired place to live on earth? Now is not the time throw away our core principles for a temporary fix for a relative few. Perhaps, if GM can only survive through life support, it's time to pull the plug now and let some other auto maker ascend to the #1 slot. A company who has earned it.
A company we have voted for.
'da Hui no ka oi
Big Bad World - Plain White T's
