2006 Election Topics

This might seem a bit premature, but speculation is fun and I respect the opinion of the boys over at AutoExtremist enough to post this on my blog.

If you have read my blog lately, you'll plainly see that I bash GM on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis. I suspect a fair amount comes from the patriot anger brewing inside of me. I would love to see GM be #1, and it kind of stings to see them falling off the horse. A lot of what you will hear me say is "poor quality" this and "high incentive" that. And a fair amount of these topics are related to the demise of this once great beast. But there is more to the story.

I missed it, but GM CEO Rick Wagoneer wrote a piece for The Wall Street Journal last week entitled "A Portrait of My Industry." In it, he delves into several different problems plaguing the US auto industry. Unfair trade, global competition, health care and legacy costs are a fair amount of what he believes are putting GM in it's current situation. And he is right. These things certainly play a role.

But this isn't why I brought this topic up. Peter DeLorenzo and the AutoExtremist staff think Wagoneer and Bill Ford will be in the ears of politicians next year for assistance in fighting these matters so these manufacturers don't flop. If two of the big three, wait, scratch that... if even ONE(probably GM) of the big three come tumbling down, the whole American economy might as well follow.

I realize that I am contradicting myself, especially when you consider where my product originates from. I am in a conundrum if you will. I can't sell something I don't believe in, and I don't believe in domestic product. Tough spot, but no one likes car salesmen anyway. But I do believe that it is vital to make this an issue now, and agree that the best way to do it is put it on the political platform in the next round of elections. An ignored problem does not go away, it gets bigger. And when that problem rears it's ugly head, it is going to be big trouble for all of us.

To read the article, click on this link here and scroll to the second set of green arrows. A must read for a lot of you politically based bloggers out there, especially considering that these will be topics of interest in the political arena soon.