A Worthy Point to Consider About the Canadian Auto Industry...
Regardless of your views on his political ideology, it is hard to debate Sam Gindin’s arguement and suggestion from a November 26th article:
“First, as absolutely essential as the bailout is, it won’t end the crisis in the auto industry even if the Detroit-based companies adjust their models. That’s because the industry has so much excess capacity and slow growth will characterize at least the next few years, if not beyond. This means that even as the union lobbies to achieve the bailout, it needs to raise its perspective beyond auto. It needs to start thinking about the application of existing facilities and skills to a larger set of products. Here, the environment re-enters, but rather than being a threat to jobs it holds out the potential of adding jobs. If the environment is going to be seriously addressed in this century, it will mean changing not just the kind of cars we drive and how they are powered, but everything about how we work, consume, travel, live. To that end, auto’s assembly, component and tool and die shops, along with its body of skilled and committed workers, are an asset that can be converted into producing wind turbines, solar panels, parts for mass transit vehicles, more energy-sensitive industrial machinery and more energy efficient home appliances.”
U.S/ British stimulus packages feel like attempts at a “quick fix”. With the large amounts of money that have already been spent (or proposed to be spent), any money that cannot be tied to a long-term objective is essentially wasted cash.
We can only hope that the ‘break” in parliament will allow politicians to better determine how the government should react to the current economic conditions. Band-aid solutions are never useful, and could be particularly damaging when dealing with the declining auto industry in Canada. The Conservatives made a foolish error but have the ability to rectify the situation in January. We shall wait and see how it all unfolds.
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Tags: auto industry, bailout, canada, Environment
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