It’s become commonplace to say we’re in an economic crisis. Not simply a downturn but a full-fledged disaster, complete with melting stock markets, bankruptcies and rising unemployment. There’s even talk that events will force a sea change in our attitudes – that North Americans will become less profligate, that we will embrace strong public oversight of markets, and that we will question “trickle-down economics” with all their attendant inequalities.
Please.
Running out of [Continued]
December 22nd, 2008
As usual, I’m late with my photos. From the pro-coalition rally at Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto, on December 7, 2008:
This slideshow is better watched large.
I didn’t [Continued]
December 17th, 2008
As we’ve all heard, the auto bailout (in the US, Canada, and soon, Mexico) is going through. This is a bad move – and a very expensive one at that. You see, we’re being threatened with major economic repercussions should GM or Chrysler collapse, but we’ve not received any assurances that the money we’re doling out actually prevents this. Yes, imminent bankruptcy is staved off, but the poor fundamentals – massive legacy costs, inflexible and expensive labor agreements, overweight distribution chain, and a proliferation of nameplates – these remain, and our cash infusion prevents stakeholders from addressing them. A crisis concentrates the mind, and lack of cash is a crisis that would have wonderfully concentrated the minds of management, unions and dealers. Instead, all will trumpet that “everything is fine,” and blame the economic turmoil for their current predicament. Funny – I don’t see foreign nameplates demanding billions . . .
It’s not that I [Continued]
December 14th, 2008
