Go, Economy!

[PaCrappa]

I haven't since 1990. It's a great way to throw away money.

[Yoshi]

maybe if american car companies weren't held hostage by corrupt unions they'd be better off right now

Fixed.

[burgundy]

american car companies make cars outside of the country and foreign ones makes ones here

unions can suck my cock but blaming them for everything is just oversimplifying

[Bojack]

american car companies make cars outside of the country and foreign ones makes ones here

unions can suck my cock but blaming them for everything is just oversimplifying

Oversimplifying indeed. But please make sure you say "Domestics build SOME cars outside the US and the imports make SOME cars in the US." The imports do NOT build 100% of their US sales in the US. They probably never will, this is not economically sound. They build just enough to keep Joe Sixpack and co. saying "It's ok to buy a Camry because they employ SOME Americans to build a few of their cars".

Pretty much every one is to blame. Morons in management, UAW on the factory floor, shitty parts suppliers, asshole dealers protected by stupid ass franchise laws, Japanese/Korean protection of home markets, our shitty government that refuses to set progressive health care and/or retirement systems in motion, hateful public that would rather buy cheap Asian built shit and complain about lost jobs than accept lower wages, the stock market in all it's horrible glory, complacent shareholders and b.o.d.'s, slick Japanese politicians and businessmen who played our government and public for the fools most of them are. This is an issue that cannot be explained by any one thing. If anything blame the government.

It's all been downhill since the imports showed up. But hey, the American car had a good run it outlasted most of our electronics industry, our steel industry I believe, our textiles industry, our toy industry, dominance of the appliance industry, fuck even our Tech support industry is battling India. Some can consider the Auto industry the Canary in the economic coal mine.

[Yoshi]

unions can suck my cock but blaming them for everything is just oversimplifying

I agree, but they are a huge factor in our lack of competitiveness. And I don't know how to fix the big problem with them still in place.

[Bojack]

I agree, but they are a huge factor in our lack of competitiveness. And I don't know how to fix the big problem with them still in place.

Unions are no where NEAR the sizable factor that our shitty health care system is. We need a universal health care system. If it's ok for states to mandate auto insurance for legal drivers why can't we force health care? Most likely it would drive prices down.

[Yoshi]

I want a source on that, because I think it's bullshit. Universal health care would be a disaster. The companies may pay less in premiums, but that would be more than off-set by the exploding corporate taxes that would be needed to pay for universal health care and the increased sick days that would come from the care heading south.

[FirstBlood]

the increased sick days that would come from the care heading south.

You mean reduced sick days when people actually get preventative care?

oh right that preventative care will suck so bad that it won't prevent anything, right-o.

[Yoshi]

Union workers aren't the ones uninsured, slugger.

[Bojack]

I want a source on that, because I think it's bullshit. Universal health care would be a disaster. The companies may pay less in premiums, but that would be more than off-set by the exploding corporate taxes that would be needed to pay for universal health care and the increased sick days that would come from the care heading south.

Notice I said UNIVERSAL not socialized or single payer health care. We need something similar to what Japan has not what England or Canada has. I'll go dig up the sources as I haven't looked at them in a few months but the data is there, the corporate taxes wouldn't explode. A small increase in taxes for all citizens should cover the handful that couldn't pay their wherewithal into the system.

But I will get sources later.