{"id":1059,"date":"2008-11-26T14:44:08","date_gmt":"2008-11-26T19:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/?p=1059"},"modified":"2008-11-26T14:44:08","modified_gmt":"2008-11-26T19:44:08","slug":"the-25-billion-question","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/26\/the-25-billion-question\/","title":{"rendered":"The $25 Billion Question"},"content":{"rendered":"

Holman W. Jenkins Jr. has an excellent Op Ed piece<\/a> in today’s Wall Street Journal. Mr. Jenkins ask the one question that no one Congress dares ask… Why is it Ford and GM can build viable auto businesses all over the world but not in North America?<\/p>\n

\n

A Car Wreck Made in Washington<\/h3>\n

Can Democrats afford to let Detroit succeed?<\/h4>\n

By Holman W. Jenkins Jr., Wall Street Journal, November 26, 2008<\/p>\n

The wrong folks were in the witness chairs in last week’s congressional hearings on auto doom. A fantastic moment was Massachusetts Rep. Stephen Lynch assailing Rick Wagoner about whether GM was asking China for a bailout too. The implication seemed to be that GM can’t afford its inflated UAW pay packages because it’s squandering money to build cars in China.<\/p>\n

Mr. Wagoner mildly answered that GM’s China operations are profitable. They actually help to underwrite the massive losses in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Mr. Lynch showed no sign he was actually listening, having illustrated his disapproval of foreigners. He didn’t ask the obvious question: If GM can make cars profitably in China, why doesn’t GM import them to the U.S.?<\/p>\n

For that matter, any of the brainpans on the Hill might have asked why Ford and GM managed to build viable auto businesses all over the world but not in North America.<\/p>\n

You don’t need the Hubble telescope to tell the answer: The UAW is present only in the U.S., not all over the world. Read the rest…<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s high time we faced the reality: Washington is the problem. Ronald Reagan summed it up pretty well when he said “Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it.\u00a0 If it keeps moving, regulate it.\u00a0 And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Holman W. Jenkins Jr. has an excellent Op Ed piece in today’s Wall Street Journal. Mr. Jenkins ask the one question that no one Congress dares ask… Why is it Ford and GM can build viable auto businesses all over the world but not in North America? A Car Wreck Made in Washington Can Democrats […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[26,20,7],"tags":[166,315,323,349],"class_list":["post-1059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-economy","category-money-and-investing","category-politics","tag-bailout","tag-ford","tag-gm","tag-uaw","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfpI7-h5","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1088,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2008\/12\/11\/will-the-auto-industry-bailout-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":1059,"position":0},"title":"Will The Auto Industry Bailout Work?","author":"Jeff","date":"December 11, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been so focused on finishing up the projects I'm working before the holidays I've only been half attention to the news recently. I completely missed Holman W. Jenkins Jr. latest Wall Street Journal column: The Bailout That Won't Would you buy a car from Congress? By Holman W. Jenkins\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Money & Investing"","block_context":{"text":"Money & Investing","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/money-and-investing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1292,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/01\/04\/wsj-let-detroit-build-profitable-cars\/","url_meta":{"origin":1059,"position":1},"title":"WSJ: Let Detroit Build Profitable Cars","author":"Jeff","date":"January 4, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm doing a little catching up this weekend and trying to read all the two dozen or so articles I bookmarked over the past couple of weeks. One of the items I bookmarked was Holman W. Jenkins Jr. December 31st Op Ed piece in the Wall Street Journal \"Let Detroit\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Economy"","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/economy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1026,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/19\/mitt-romney-let-detroit-go-bankrupt\/","url_meta":{"origin":1059,"position":2},"title":"Mitt Romney: Let Detroit Go Bankrupt","author":"Jeff","date":"November 19, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has a must read Op Ed on troubles facing Chrysler, Ford and GM in today's New York Times. Let Detroit Go Bankrupt By Mitt Romney, New York Times Op-Ed, Wednesday, November 18, 2008 Boston IF General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Education"","block_context":{"text":"Education","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1015,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/18\/cnsnewscom-union-workers-at-big-three-automakers-average-73-an-hour\/","url_meta":{"origin":1059,"position":3},"title":"CNSNews.com: Union Workers at Big Three Automakers Average $73 an Hour","author":"Jeff","date":"November 18, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The headline may be a little misleading but the article is worth reading: Union Workers at Big Three Automakers Average $73 an Hour By Pete Winn, Senior Writer\/Editor, CNSNews.com, Tuesday, November 18, 2008 Economists in Michigan, the long-time home of the auto industry, say they don\u2019t support the proposed multi-billion\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Economy"","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/economy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1008,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/17\/wall-street-journal-why-bankruptcy-is-the-best-option-for-gm\/","url_meta":{"origin":1059,"position":4},"title":"Wall Street Journal: Why Bankruptcy Is the Best Option for GM","author":"Jeff","date":"November 17, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Today's Wall Street Journal has a must read Op Ed column by Michael Levine. Levine examines the problems faced by GM and explains why seeking chapter 11 bankruptcy protection may GM's best chance for survival. Why Bankruptcy Is the Best Option for GM Chapter 11 would better preserve the valuable\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Economy"","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/economy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":997,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/15\/wall-street-journal-just-say-no-to-detroit\/","url_meta":{"origin":1059,"position":5},"title":"Wall Street Journal: Just Say No to Detroit","author":"Jeff","date":"November 15, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"There's an interesting essay by New York University finance professor David Yermack in today's Wall Street Journal. Just Say No to Detroit Given the abysmal performance by Detroit's Big Three, it would be better to send each employee a check than to waste it on a bailout, says David Yermack.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Economy"","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/economy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}