Where do you stop? You don’t. You start fixing the real problems:
Of course, $25 billion to the car companies isn’t going to change
the fact that the roads they drive on are crumbling, that the people
who drive them are barely making the payments and that the people who
make them aren’t paid a fraction of what their CEOs presently pleading
poverty can boast.
President-elect Barack Obama called on Saturday for the type of
massive public works program that would in the long term solve the
kinds of problems that lead to economic collapse. “We’ll put people
back to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, modernizing
schools that are failing our children, and building wind farms and
solar panels; fuel-efficient cars and the alternative energy
technologies that can free us from our dependence on foreign oil and
keep our economy competitive in the years ahead.”
In the meantime, if we’re going to be bailing out those in trouble,
I really could use a nice new American-made hybrid car. One with those
heated mirrors that defrost automatically, really plushy seats and snow
tires. From the size of the squirrels in my neighborhood, it’s gonna be
a long, cold winter.
A.
Exactly – breakout that $700B to each of us taxpayers and watch this sh*t improve. Like whosoever proffered that as a solution said: Folks could pay off the houses they were about to lose, others could BUY houses and stop renting, or buy safer/more efficient cars, pay off debts…not to mention the (I forget the dollar amount) sum each of us got would have had tax paid on it so that there was still $$$ coming back to gov’t in addition to our benefitting personally.
But no – the auto industry gets the wagging finger of financial fate and the “Financial Sector” that knowingly perpetrated this sh*t gets money thrown at them and do what? Go on high $$$ retreats…while the rest of us squirm to make ends meet.
!?!??!?
Elspeth
I really like what I’ve heard from even the currently tight-lipped Obama. Road infrasturcture repair will serve us well; it can take fairly unskilled workers and train them in useable and marketable skills.
Likewise with trained workers for industries such as solar panels.
At the same time, I don’t see how you can do a public works program for designing fuel efficient and non-petrol energy vehicles. Can’t wait to see how he is going to accomplish that.
and heated seats for my skinny ass!
“Just replace the cigarette lighter with a USB port or electrical outlet already. I don’t know a single person, even the smokers of my acquaintance, who use that thing.”
There’s a whole raft of electronics that plug into that cigarette lighter thingie. In fact, in a lot of newer cars, they don’t even contain an actual lighter. (Hell, older cars, too — like my ’93 Volvo.) Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Regarding that USB port, that gives me a wild idea: How much would it cost to build wifi into cars?
Update:Google is your friend.