Over the last several years, any one of us who drives an automobile (regardless of whether it was made in the good ol’ U.S.A., Europe, Asia, or the Congo) has felt the unmistakable pinch of price gouging at the gas pump. And now, in a related story, any one of us not living in a cave in Afghanistan (and probably them, too) has heard about the American automotive industry’s cry to the government for a financial bail out.
I have a few words on this subject.
For the last year or two, oil companies such as Exxon Mobil have reported unearthly record profits… all in the face of consumers who were being asked to pony up an unrealistic amount of cash to support rising oil prices and, hence, this unprecedented rash of record profits. If something smells foul in Denmark, it’s probably oil.
Meanwhile, back in the auto industry, manufacturers who have been challenged for several years to develop more alternative fuel vehicles have stubbornly refused, clinging instead to the earth-draining practice of churning out gas guzzlers. All this in the face of evidence that this is not good for the consumer *or* the planet. Collusion with the oil companies? One might suspect…
And this brings us to now, as Congress debates whether or not to dump a pile of taxpayers’ cash into an industry which, when presented with opportunities to do so, has done nothing to help the taxpayers.
Now, I can’t say that I’m not for bailing the automakers out. I would rather have seen us pass on bailing out the financial industry than to see us let good ol’ Chevrolet go the way of the dinosaurs who have contributed so much to their success. But here’s how I think the bail out for them should work.
Since the oil industry was able to price gouge consumers so heavily to the extent that they could report such extreme record profits, and since they very largely have the auto industry's products to thank for those profits, let’s take a little payback for all that price gouging *and* solve the automakers’ economic crisis all in one swoop.
Insist that the oil companies sponsor the bail out of the automotive industry.
Every one wins. The automotive industry survives. Consumers/tax payers don’t have to get involved. And the oil industry can show us, for a change, that they’re not always just big, heartless, opportunistic leeches, and that for all the profit we’ve given them, they can be -- like all Americans -- good enough to help out and give back when the chips are down.
I have a few words on this subject.
For the last year or two, oil companies such as Exxon Mobil have reported unearthly record profits… all in the face of consumers who were being asked to pony up an unrealistic amount of cash to support rising oil prices and, hence, this unprecedented rash of record profits. If something smells foul in Denmark, it’s probably oil.
Meanwhile, back in the auto industry, manufacturers who have been challenged for several years to develop more alternative fuel vehicles have stubbornly refused, clinging instead to the earth-draining practice of churning out gas guzzlers. All this in the face of evidence that this is not good for the consumer *or* the planet. Collusion with the oil companies? One might suspect…
And this brings us to now, as Congress debates whether or not to dump a pile of taxpayers’ cash into an industry which, when presented with opportunities to do so, has done nothing to help the taxpayers.
Now, I can’t say that I’m not for bailing the automakers out. I would rather have seen us pass on bailing out the financial industry than to see us let good ol’ Chevrolet go the way of the dinosaurs who have contributed so much to their success. But here’s how I think the bail out for them should work.
Since the oil industry was able to price gouge consumers so heavily to the extent that they could report such extreme record profits, and since they very largely have the auto industry's products to thank for those profits, let’s take a little payback for all that price gouging *and* solve the automakers’ economic crisis all in one swoop.
Insist that the oil companies sponsor the bail out of the automotive industry.
Every one wins. The automotive industry survives. Consumers/tax payers don’t have to get involved. And the oil industry can show us, for a change, that they’re not always just big, heartless, opportunistic leeches, and that for all the profit we’ve given them, they can be -- like all Americans -- good enough to help out and give back when the chips are down.
We’ve certainly greased their palms enough over the last few years to expect a little something in return.
The Emerald Quill
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