The Village Voice: A Hudson Blog Forum

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Opinion: 'Yoyo Economics and the Big Three'


Headlines

-The falling prices of oil deflate the CPI index, it drops almost 1% in October from September. Alberta is out $6,000,000,000 to their projected profit on the oil sands, but CPI prices are still rising.

-there is a 40% increased demand for salvation army assistance in Ontario.

-According to the release of November 21, 2008 1 in 6 Canadian children are now being raised in poverty (2007 numbers, aboriginal families: 1 in 4)
DEFINITION: Campaign 2000.

-according to a study done by the Canadian Council of Social development, during the years of 1990-1995, poverty increased in Quebec a full 4%, from 19% to 23%. There has been no more recent study to quote from, yet.

Then; "The Big Three (I'll take the middle one!)"

Car companies (The Big Three) asking for $25, 000, 000, 000 in support. Divide this by 33,000,000 and you would get $757 per citizen of Canada. So, those of you who bought a car - obviously the price tag wasn't high enough already, those of you who don't have a car...too bad. How many jobs are linked to this industry? 3,000,000 in North America. How many in Canada? At least 17,000 concentrated in Windsor alone. Unemployment is %9.1 in Windsor now, there's just no other jobs to go to so you can count it already. Picture a big red stain over the place where Windsor is on an Economic map, one in ten workers unemployed. The timetable on the plant closure is even ahead of schedule, and there is a forced week off for all employees at new year they'll probably have to file for from EI. At least the Canadian workers have that option.

They're talking May for this closure, pushed back from July 2009. I wonder now if that date might arrive sooner now that congress has denied them their full package, probably still scratching their heads over the Financial Sector bail out. Latest estimates put the possible employment casualties at 400, 000, lost or in peril in Ontario alone because of the threat of bankruptcy in these companies.

So, maybe we need to invest in some oil drilling platforms while we're at it; because in about ten years they won't have any revenue from that either. Our foresight continues to be astounding, pandering to a system that makes children poor as it's collateral failure; even when so little in it's present company structuring can be done about it, it's still a shame to take away a livelihood you gave. Money is required to buy milk and bread, and pay for employees. Hope floats, debt doesn't. The option has always been open to market the technology they already have for 'Green Cars'. The one who introduces it at an affordable price in the industry is going to clean up the floor with the other companies. I'm not sure where the real decisions ahead lie, because we're all on a timetable anyway, but I think it's time to throw the marketing books out the window and write a few new ones.

Lets put this in perspective...as it stands...the companies who build gasoline driven cars want private government funds to bail out their ailing, in-efficient and so far doomed emissions creating market. While taking this money, they will also trim the wages fat around their bellies. Their Revolution: 'Let's slow down our consumption of fossil fuel with Hybrids', thus doubling our valuable time in a high, choking CPI spiral, not to mention still polluting just more slowly. This is not healthier, this is not green. It's a cop out. These car companies need to reach into the next generation of vehicles and be forward looking. If there's one thing the Canadian consumer knows nowadays it's that Change in the Auto Industry is coming, one way or the other.

I wonder if someone couldn't think of it first, before it just lands on them...

Change in the Auto Industry

The Manufacturing Rallies

Debt vs. GDP

Third paper: The Quebec National Assembly passes a Resolution on Poverty in Quebéc...

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