Monday, January 26, 2009

Intended Consequences

We've all heard about the "Law of Unintended Consequences." It deals with the easily demonstrable fact that whenever government sticks its hands into the mix with a solution to a problem it inevitably gets worse. The intentions were good, but a few details were overlooked and the net result is things are more screwed up now than ever.

Everyone is aware of the law, but the problem is that it is damnably difficult to identify those outcomes beforehand. That's why they are "unintended." Ooops, I'm sorry. My bad.

So, now we've got the Big Three automakers, having returned from Washington where the successful CEOs of the unsuccessful companies, faced the prosecutorial blockheads of the Congress who hamstrung them in the first place, they've returned to Detroit with large bags of bailout money. Maybe there is hope for a recovery, maybe not. But there's some wiggle room to work on it.

Oh yeah, there are some strings attached. They've got to build a lot more cars that will cost too much, perform too poorly and erode on the dealer's lots. But, they will also be able to leverage some reasonable wage concessions out of the UAW and they will be able to balance the crap they've got to build with the saleable products they want to build and people want to buy.

Now, this:

Ready, Fire, Aim

Is the Messiah serious? We've got a major industry in trouble and we've given them a boatload of money to get out of it, but he can't foresee the consequence of this? Is he not the smartest man on the planet, possibly even exceeding Hillary in his brilliance? Does he not see a linkage; a cause and effect from this action?

Let me spell it out. Jumping CAFE standards from 27 to 35 MPG might be feel-good policy, but government mandates don't equal the necessary technology. If the market wants high efficiency vehicles, the demand will demonstrate that not government fiat. It won't help the situation.

And, if the states--California in the socialist, government-mandating lead--get to establish their own emission standards then the auto-makers who just thought they could go to work again will have to retool for different standards for different states. Certainly if CA does something, it will be de rigeur for other states to join the trend of environmental propriety and set their own standards. Have no doubt that they won't be compatible with each other.

Does it take a Harvard graduate to recognize that now is not the time for this?

I'm thinking impeachable offense already...In less than one week! Manifest incompetence in office.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

If they want national money, then they will have to support the national interest.

Or do we continue the policy of bankrolling (Bush's friends) the Saudis?

(Yes, and we should drill for oil domestically, but that's a separate issue, and, anyway, shouldn't we burn the Arab oil first and then burn our own?)

Anonymous said...

How is this impeachable? Yes, it is a completely idiotic move that will cost us an auto industry not to mention all that bail out money but screaming impeachment seems to lessen your point.

Ed Rasimus said...

Nice to see that ThunderTales has finally reached the big time, so that lunatic lefties can drop in to sing their sound-bites.

For Anonymous #1--the point is that imposing whacko-environmentalist policies that will proliferate manufacturing problems at this time is a mistake. "bankrolling the Saudis" is irrelevant to the point under discussion, even if it were true.

For Anonymous #2--"impeachable" wasn't said in a scream but as a cynical tongue-in-cheek comment which might be construed as casting a brickbat at loons like John Conyers.

But, it is nice to be on the rise.