American Automakers Bailout? GET REAL!

Almost one out of every ten jobs in the United States is related to the auto industry. That is a staggering statistic! As of this week, the American Auto Industry CEO's from The Big 3 (GM, Chrysler, Ford) are threatening that if a bailout for their failing corporations is not granted, the country will likely fall into another Depression era. I cannot begin to express how angered I am over this situation, because NOBODY has really spoken about the core issue: what are the true and absolute reasons the American Automakers are in need of being bailed out?! The true and absolute reason can be summed up in one short phrase: decades of greed have lead to shortsighted decisions and actions for which they are now facing consequences. We should heed (and should have heeded) some lessons from the Japanese and from the warnings of the scientific community. Let me explain.

Virtually everyone has been aware for several decades that the reality of fossil fuel is that it is a finite (non-renewable and ultimately limited) energy resource and that fossil fuel causes serious long-term environmental damage (as well as health damage). For at least three decades, the powers that be (including our political leaders and the huge corporate CEO's) have known the dangers and limitations of fossil fuel dependence. Additionally, the automakers in America have known for a long time that foreign car builders - especially the Japanese - were (and still are) building much better quality vehicles that are more efficient and cost-effective to produce. And right now, although even the Japanese automakers remain in large part committed to fossil fuel, the result is that they are not facing immediate financial peril. They are, in fact, expanding and growing.

The news media speaks of corporate jets as an illustration of greed, but does not touch the deeper issues within the previous paragraph. The news media speaks of the autoworkers losing thousands of jobs - and correctly portrays them as victims - but does not relate these job losses to the reasons stated above. Greed is shortsighted and nearly always the enemy of responsibility and long-term accountability. The men in those corporate jets understand the ultimate value of their company is a direct function of its stock value and vice versa. To make a huge and lengthy investment in radical change - even if it's the responsible and ultimately profitable thing to do - cuts into profitability and therefore corporate value. It is (and was) more feasible (in the short run) and simply easier to continue along the same path of greed and corporate complacency. It is always more profitable to avoid the huge investment of proper change. It was simply judged as too expensive to be responsible to the consumer and the health of our planet.

Aside from building quality products, Japanese industry is famous for finding solutions and fixing problems, as opposed to placing blame and identifying scapegoats. Blame is useful only to identify the source of a problem and therefore understand the potential for a solution. The blame for the American Auto Industry failure rests squarely on the shoulders of the decision-makers and big business brokers of the past three decades, including (and especially) the most current ones who have been fully armed with all the necessary information and tools, but have elected to stick with the status quo. Okay, so it does no good to dwell on those responsible, so let's fix the problems! I believe that the first part of fixing the problem is to remove those responsible, not because they are to blame, but because solutions cannot be entrusted to them.

And so what will happen if bailout funds are granted? Without radical changes in business philosophy and the building of responsible, quality products, the carmakers will only delay failure for a short while. Do we trust these CEO's to use the funds wisely and rescue their companies? No! The perceived risks of radical change are too immense to allow for greatness; they cannot be pioneers in a new age because of greed and fear.

What they should do that makes sense today is what they should have done in past years that would have made sense! Imagine an American car company in the 1970's or even the 1980's deciding to copy the best aspects of Japanese production methods while simultaneously taking the absolute lead in researching, developing, and producing alternative fueled vehicles and hybrids! Imagine that same company launching a media marketing / advertising strategy that produced emotional campaigns to explain to the American public what they are doing and why. Imagine that these ads played on the American consumer's sense of patriotic American product purchasing and exciting innovation, coupled with voicing a deep concern for the future of our planet and future generations. Wow. I imagine that such a company would be kicking-butt right now. Or, perhaps it would have spurred the other car companies to follow suit! Okay&is it too late to try this? I don't know for sure, but I hope not.

Sometimes the tail can wag the dog. A strong and innovative American Auto Industry could put intrinsic pressure on American petroleum companies to develop feasible ways to produce necessary alternate fuels and supportive energy strategies for new, responsible vehicles. By making only hybrid and alternative-energy vehicles that are as attractive and affordable as any other vehicle, and by using news and advertising media to explain and influence consumers, American petroleum companies would be forced to change and adapt to this new consumer demand. Further, by using an up-front approach to inform and influence buyers, stock prices and company value might increase, as opposed to slipping, even if short-term profits are impacted by the implementation of change.

It is my opinion that any bailout funds that are given to American Automakers should be used for generous severance packages for the workers as well as re-tooling the skill set of this workforce. Help these valuable workers find jobs in responsible companies! Let the American car companies fix their own problems or fail! Hey, if I start an irresponsible business and it begins to fail, should my company be bailed out? Sorry, but that's not the way of our free enterprise, capitalist system; our system is intended to reward strength, foresight and innovation, not weak, short-term, irresponsible decisions and lack of progressive action. Sorry, but if you snooze, you lose!

Bail out the American Auto Industry? Get real!

Kurt Turrell (www.kissoftruth.com, www.protectiondude.com & www.turrell-enterprises.com)