Listen to how Neo-Conservative Shill and Glen “I’m a Libertarian, but I agree with the Neo-Cons” Reynolds sit and ignore what is caused the Republican Party to get taken the woodshed.
Immediate support is needed to shore up our automotive manufacturing sector and to preserve the more than 2.5 million jobs directly and indirectly linked to the U.S. auto industry. This morning, I testified in front of the House Financial Services Committee to emphasize the need for Congress to take swift action on behalf of our nation’s automakers. Standing idly by as the financial crisis decimates our domestic manufacturing capabilities and pulls our fragile economy further into recession is unacceptable.
Throughout the world, the dire financial crisis continues to spur governments to provide assistance to their manufacturing industries, which are not able to obtain the credit they so vitally need to continue operations. Both Germany and the European Union are studying the possibility of providing support for their automotive industries. Australia has provided more than $4 billion in funding for its vehicle manufacturers. Automotive manufacturers in China are already voicing their expectation of financial assistance from their government as well. “The Chinese government will undoubtedly support us,” says She Cairong, general manager of JAC Motors, a Chinese automobile manufacturer. This quote appeared in a New York Times article this morning, highlighting China’s consideration of a plan to provide assistance to its domestic automobile companies.
The spotlight is now focused on Congress, which is considering the possibility of rescuing the industry from an economic downturn not of its own making. President-elect Obama has called the U.S. auto industry “the backbone of American manufacturing” and said that the failure of our domestic automakers would be “a disaster” for our economy. President Bush, Speaker Pelosi, and both the Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate agree that bridge loans for our domestic automakers are necessary at this time. I will continue to work with my colleagues in the Senate and the Congressional Leadership to come up with a plan that would provide auto manufacturers with the bridge loans they need to weather this financial storm.
]. During these difficult times, I am doing everything within my power to convince the Congress to provide the bridge loans for the domestic auto industry that the President, the President-elect and the leaders from both houses of Congress support.
It’s hard to know whether it was the real John McCain who lost or whether the person Barack Obama defeated was a fake, created to motivate the narrow slice of the electorate mistakenly thought to be the Republican “base” (see Palin, “country first”, Joe the Plumber).
Obama might have won in any case, but the McCain campaign was an amateur affair, unable to settle on a consistent presentation of the candidate’s message or identity. At times (e.g., the proposal to cancel a debate, put the campaign on hold, and race theatrically back to Washington), he appeared foolish.
McCain started the campaign as an admired and independent-minded combination of war hero and experienced legislator, weighed down by the unpopularity of his party and the president. By the time the campaign was over, it was not George Bush but McCain himself who had been rejected.
But the inventory glut in Long Beach is not limited to imported cars. There has also been a sharp drop in demand for the port’s single largest export: recycled cardboard and paper products.
This material typically goes to China, where it is used to make boxes for new electronics and other products that are sent back to the United States. But Chinese factories reacting to sharply falling demand are slowing production, so they need less cardboard. Tons of paper are piling up recycling businesses around the port, the detritus of economies on hold.
Long Beach is an important port, particularly for the West. It is where imported products arrive and filter through the tributary of trucks, trains and retailers into the hands of consumers. But now, products are just sitting.
“We’re supposed to move things, not store them,” Mr. Wong said.
Roughly 20 percent of the nation’s container imports last year came through Long Beach, putting it close behind the largest container port, Los Angeles. This year, shipping volume at Long Beach is down 10 percent from 2007, and nearly all major ports around the country have seen similar declines. Veteran port workers say the slowdown since mid-October is like nothing they have ever seen. And it is having a cascading impact on other businesses and workers. – Read the rest
Go read the rest of the story. But it’s not only cars, it’s everything. I think Obama might just come; too little, too late. 🙁
