Thursday, September 17, 2009

Auto Sales A Disaster This Month

That according to an industry official.  Just as we said was likely to happen with the government cash for clunkers program.  Just a month ago government and the main stream media were giddy at their supposed brilliance.  I actually saw someone remark at the time that auto sales were within months of returning to 14 million units.  Where do these people come from?

Not only did this program likely have the shortcomings we said it would but there is surely another enormous cost that cannot be easily quantified until we see financial results for coming months.  Manufacturers brought back laid off employees, ramped up their inventory builds and production.  If sales continue to tank, this will have been a very expensive program only realized after the fact.  Manufacturers could be saddled with high carrying costs, excess inventory and paying rehired workers to make cars that aren't selling.

If politicians were brilliant at business, they would be in the private sector making their own money instead of sitting in taxpayer-funded towers spending our money.  There's a never-ending slew of stupid ass ideas a politician can come up with to spend someone else's money.  Max Baucus proved that in spades yesterday with the worst health care proposal to date.  One that sounds like the former Soviet plan.

Government needs to set rules for competition and productive capital formation in our economy, enforce the rules and get the hell out of the way and let people earn a living.  Our economy is in shambles because of constant meddling with or removal of the rules courtesy of corporate lobbyists paying off politicians.  Government can help the economy get out of this crisis but NOT the type of government we have today.  Our government today has little semblance of anything remotely benefiting the economy or its people.  A key to getting out of this crisis is a transformed government that actually works for the people of this country.

Story link here.
posted by TimingLogic at 8:06 AM