Teh Hell wit teh Big Three

I hate the US automakers. I have my reasons, never mind the ugly, inept products they 'engineer' on a regular basis and the fact that they destroyed public transportation.

I was actually gleeful to hear that they were in trouble again. What I thought was "Die, die, die!"

Here is what David Brooks, Thomas Friedman and Paul Krugman have to say about it.

I would like to add a different point to ponder. I make things. I get industry magazines targeted towards people (companies) that make things. A large percentage of people and companies that make things, do jobs for the big three.

Most people that fear the crash of the US automakers are concerned for these Tiered suppliers as they employ more people than the big three themselves.

I have to say from reading many articles about them, that they will be fine. This may sound like a ridiculous proposition but bear with me for a moment.

Who invested in the latest technology? They did. Who faced, and met, relentless downward price pressure from the automakers? They did. Who adopted lean manufacturing techniques? They did. Who realized that having all your eggs in one basket was a bad idea and diversified their customer base. They did.

Who are the most productive people in America? They are. The most modern? They are. Who could be making the parts for Americas new infrastructure? They can and will.

Who needs GM, Ford, and Chrysler? Noooooo one. Their only skill is squeezing money and concessions out of the federal government.

Let the empty shells be shed and incentivize mass transit, and anything our best thinkers can come up with, and the real soul of American productivity and innovation will absolutely step up to the plate and supply all the heart and parts we need.

Money is things, tangible things. A car, a bicycle, a big fat steak. The tradgedy of our economy is that we have somehow created a parity in our minds between tangibles and intangibles. They are not the same. The idea of a company that makes things is somehow more valueable than an actual company that makes things. How can that be? I am willing to buy a thing and I am willing to invest in the idea of a thing. I cannot however lose sight of the the thing. Trading advanced concepts of the idea of a thing is pure malakey. I do not believe that it should be be stopped, but how did it become the center of the universe?

Gamble on the stock market if you want to, but do not ask my government to share your folly or hold your hand when you lose a round of high stakes doper.

I want my government to buy durable goods. They can print money out of whole cloth if they will only buy infrastructure. Stuff that will last a long time. Rails, bridges, highways, rolling stock. Universties. Libraries.

Do you hear me? Disposable got us where we are and durable gets us out. It's stupid to burn things and spend a million dollars on something you can only use once.

That is what investment really means.