Economic Decline Accelerates
The economic situation in America has deteriorated further and at a much faster pace. General Motors just lost 2.5 billion and Ford lost 129 million. Ford has announced that it will cut more than 2200 white collar jobs in an effort to stay alive. GM has now issued a statement saying that it could run out of money in 2009. So what does any of this mean? Well, if our auto industry goes down for the count, this threatens not only the jobs of the people employed directly by the companies, but also the companies and jobs that are tied into the automakers; that is, companies that supply everything from metal to paper towels. Then there are the businesses around the various auto plants and offices that depend on customers from the auto companies; restaurants/diners, for example. I've heard estimates that more than two million people could be added to the unemployment rolls if Ford and GM go down.***
Like the banks and real estate markets, the automakers made some very bad choices. The free market philosophy says that companies or individuals make choices in business, and that they then either get to profit immensely, if they are a big success, or they fail and go out of business. That all sounds real nice on paper, and as an idealism, but in reality, people suffer the consequences, and in the case of the automakers, hundreds of thousands, if not a couple of million or more could suffer. Add to that those caught up in the real estate mess, including the banks, and the carnage is just incredible, AND it isn't over yet. In fact, no one seems to know if we are closer to the beginning of the overall downturn, in the middle, or nearing an end; although I don't hear many votes for it being near the end.
My point is, the Bush Administration let things go with little or no regulation. The "you're on your own" philosophy was their mantra. They did little to encourage automakers to make more fuel efficient vehicles, even though gasoline costs were escalating at an alarming rate over virtually the entire Bush presidency. Folks, this is pre 1930s; that is, pre-Depression philosophy. They didn't learn ANYTHING from history.
The public was asked to bailout private companies in the finance industry or, we were told, we faced The Great Depression, Part Two, as "they were too big to fail." (So much for the "fail" part of the free market system!) The government actually took a stake in several companies, and then the McCain campaign and "Joe the Plumber" had the nerve to call Obama a socialist!!! Folks, government ownership is like THE classic definition of socialism. Bush and his people have tried to put asterisks next to this socialism, saying like the government is only taking a thirty percent interest in the companies, and that it may only last for a few years, etc. etc. What it comes down to is, they're saying, "We're just a little bit pregnant." (Or maybe "We"re just a little bit socialist.") Now the automakers are essentially in the same predicament, and so is the public. Do we try to keep them afloat with tax money (actually borrowed money), or do we let them go down, and bring misery perhaps to millions, and even bring the whole economy into a state of collapse?
Further, in more bad news, unemployment surged to 6.5% in October, with another 240,000 people losing their jobs.
*** Mentioned a couple of times on CNBC, a cable business channel. (Word history follow)
Word History:
Seethe-This goes back to Indo European "seut," which meant "to boil." This was passed down to Germanic as "seuthanan/seuth," and the various Germanic dialects continued with a form of the word, including Old English "seothan," which also meant "to boil." This word remained the English word for "cook a liquid at high temperature" until French import "boil" began, ever so slowly, to replace it as the word for "to cook a liquid," but this was during the Middle Ages. In the 16th Century, it took on more of the meaning "to be very angry, agitated," and that's what we still use today. Interestingly, also at some point, it took on a secondary meaning of "soak," which still survives in the "seethe's" past participle "sodden," (German has [ge]sotten) although it is not commonly used in America. Germanic relatives of the English word include German "sied(en)," to boil, or be very angry," and Dutch "zied(en)." By the way, it seems that "seethe" also gave us "suds," that is, "foam that arises from a boiling liquid."
Like the banks and real estate markets, the automakers made some very bad choices. The free market philosophy says that companies or individuals make choices in business, and that they then either get to profit immensely, if they are a big success, or they fail and go out of business. That all sounds real nice on paper, and as an idealism, but in reality, people suffer the consequences, and in the case of the automakers, hundreds of thousands, if not a couple of million or more could suffer. Add to that those caught up in the real estate mess, including the banks, and the carnage is just incredible, AND it isn't over yet. In fact, no one seems to know if we are closer to the beginning of the overall downturn, in the middle, or nearing an end; although I don't hear many votes for it being near the end.
My point is, the Bush Administration let things go with little or no regulation. The "you're on your own" philosophy was their mantra. They did little to encourage automakers to make more fuel efficient vehicles, even though gasoline costs were escalating at an alarming rate over virtually the entire Bush presidency. Folks, this is pre 1930s; that is, pre-Depression philosophy. They didn't learn ANYTHING from history.
The public was asked to bailout private companies in the finance industry or, we were told, we faced The Great Depression, Part Two, as "they were too big to fail." (So much for the "fail" part of the free market system!) The government actually took a stake in several companies, and then the McCain campaign and "Joe the Plumber" had the nerve to call Obama a socialist!!! Folks, government ownership is like THE classic definition of socialism. Bush and his people have tried to put asterisks next to this socialism, saying like the government is only taking a thirty percent interest in the companies, and that it may only last for a few years, etc. etc. What it comes down to is, they're saying, "We're just a little bit pregnant." (Or maybe "We"re just a little bit socialist.") Now the automakers are essentially in the same predicament, and so is the public. Do we try to keep them afloat with tax money (actually borrowed money), or do we let them go down, and bring misery perhaps to millions, and even bring the whole economy into a state of collapse?
Further, in more bad news, unemployment surged to 6.5% in October, with another 240,000 people losing their jobs.
*** Mentioned a couple of times on CNBC, a cable business channel. (Word history follow)
Word History:
Seethe-This goes back to Indo European "seut," which meant "to boil." This was passed down to Germanic as "seuthanan/seuth," and the various Germanic dialects continued with a form of the word, including Old English "seothan," which also meant "to boil." This word remained the English word for "cook a liquid at high temperature" until French import "boil" began, ever so slowly, to replace it as the word for "to cook a liquid," but this was during the Middle Ages. In the 16th Century, it took on more of the meaning "to be very angry, agitated," and that's what we still use today. Interestingly, also at some point, it took on a secondary meaning of "soak," which still survives in the "seethe's" past participle "sodden," (German has [ge]sotten) although it is not commonly used in America. Germanic relatives of the English word include German "sied(en)," to boil, or be very angry," and Dutch "zied(en)." By the way, it seems that "seethe" also gave us "suds," that is, "foam that arises from a boiling liquid."
Labels: auto industry, bank failures, economy, English, etymology, Germanic languages, unemployment
posted by Randy at 12:24 PM
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