The Delusion of Greening Detroit
It takes a special kind of delusion to think that the government will be able to hold Detroit accountable to any sort of ‘green retooling’ provisions once the Big Three get their piece of the Paulson bailout. If you’re optimistic about this ‘historic opportunity to restructure a major industry, I suggest you look at how well we’ve fared thus far with a rescue package for the financial sector (see AIG).
If the Big Three have shown an aptitude for anything in the last 40 years — cause it’s certainly not building innovative vehicles — it’s their ability to manipulate a lethargic, bureaucratic system for their own net gain. In all likelihood, this saga only ends one way, and that’s bankruptcy followed by massive layoffs. With a rapidly-shrinking customer base, I have a hard time believing another $25 billion will do anything more than delay the inevitable.
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