Let me begin by explaining the immense importance of the company from which you buy your automobile. Aside from a house, a car is the most expensive item a consumer buys in his or her lifetime. The funds put forth to buy a house remain in the domestic economy and support the local and national market; unfortunately, many Americans inadvertently chose to send their money overseas when purchasing a car. Many people rationalize their decisions to purchase foreign cars by claiming that American cars are of inferior quality, or even that much of the un-American car was built in the United States. In this entry I will not be tackling the misconceptions held regarding foreign versus domestic product quality, but I will explore and expose the false advertising and propaganda many Americans believe regarding foreign cars built on domestic soil. Despite what many Americans think, there is no substitute for buying a real American car.
This past year our economy has been in a state of turmoil; in 2008 alone 2,590,000 jobs were lost, raising unemployment to 7.2%. This is the highest yearly job-loss since 1945, the year in which WWII ended. This is a serious problem that Americans must address before it becomes worse or even unrecoverable. In 2005, the American auto industry had 300,000 employees and by 2008 had 250,800 employees, a 16% decrease in jobs per year. These 300,000 employees are only accounting for workers who are directly employed by the Big Three, while an additional 569,000 jobs supply auto parts to the manufactures. Auto part supply jobs are decreasing at a similar annual percent. Each job associated with the auto industry supports 4.7 other American jobs ranging from doctors to garbage men. This means that on average, one million jobs are lost each year as the auto industry downsizes. The shrinking auto industry effect won't be confined to Detroit. The auto industry is a top five industrial employer in 18 states, which is nearly a fifth of all states in the US. Thus, the auto industry directly or indirectly has a major effect over the well being of our national economy.
On average a Big Three car comprises of 74% domestically produced parts, while a foreign car built on domestic soil has a average of 34% of its parts from US parts manufacturers, and domestically built Kias only have 3% domestic parts. If the Big Three reduced its domestic parts count to 34%, America would lose $49 billion in revenue and 189,000 jobs. A Big Three car uses on average twice the number of domestically produced car parts as a domestically built foreign car. If that's not enough, GM alone employs as many American workers as all foreign companies combined and Ford employs as many Americans as Hyundai, VW, Subaru, Mercedes, and Mitsubishi at only a single plant.
Marijuana ranked fourth out of all United States cash crops in 1997, amassing a greater value to farmers than tobacco, wheat, or cotton. In several states -- Alabama, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia -- marijuana stands as the largest revenue producing crop. Marijuana ranks as one of the top five cash crops in 29 others. Nationally, marijuana growers reaped an estimated $15.1 billion on the wholesale market.
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, marijuana is actually illegal. Strangely, it also makes a profit. If the American car companies made goods that people wanted to buy and if UAW didn't refuse to back down and stop overpaying undereducated workers too many benefits, then it too, would make a profit.
Everyone in America always raves about how horrible Communism is. But the thing about capitalism is that there are losers as well. Make a better product and we'll pay for it. Stop whining about how many people you hire or what a huge part of the GDP you constitute.
This is a good argument for why American cars are better, but most Americans simply don't care to buy American. If these American cars are really getting better, then I'm sure in the future more people will buy American cars, but there's no way to get people to feel an obligation to buy American cars.
ReplyDeleteWhoever made that coment above is retarded. The reason this country is going to hell is becaue people are unloyal and sinners.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with joymadecomplete. Since I experienced a conversion while living on the street, the Lord has led me to find true happiness. We are in an economic turmoil because Americans have let the devil into their homes. Today, Americans allow sodomy, let women mindlessly murder their children, pervert God's image to save the crippled and even permit some Americans to worship a God other than the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Savior. We must eradicate those who offend the face of our Lord if we wish to survive. Americans must pay their tithes and allow God into our homes and the government. There is only one true Way. Free will is only the permission to Americans to stray from the one true Path. Americans must renounce their heathen religions and buy only American cars. Do not fall to the illusion of getting more from your money!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous obviously has no idea how this country functions. There is a reason why the First Amendment was ratified. Our country was founded on the principles of individual freedoms, our economy based in the enlightened principles of Lassiez-Faire economics. American car companies are not the victims of an angry god - they are finally feeling the effects of the crappy cars they produced in the last two decades. Auto-veracity was good to mention that American hybrids were ranked top 3, but fails to realize that a company's image is not made overnight but is a product of years of development. For years, American companies made millions of terrible products at high prices, mostly due to UAW's inability to see more than one paycheck into the future. UAW still exists, and maintains its ludicrous demands. American companies are doomed even without a larger American market, because profits now will only encourage a return to previous failing practices. You can't reward an alcoholic's first week of sobriety with a glass of wine. Quite frankly, alleging that Americans have an obligation to buy American cars is both completely ignorant of the realities of American values and also fatally idealistic. I worry for the fate of our country if our patriotism demanded, not earned. Citizens like anonymous and auto-veracity endanger our nation's safety more than any informed consumer who purchases a BMW. American car companies are simply the victims of the days when buying a Ford meant Falling Off the Road and Dying.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with your comment that "many Americans inadvertently chose to send their money overseas when purchasing a car." Many Americans consciously choose to buy a foreign car, knowing full well that their money will go abroad. They choose to buy brands that have lasting resale value and a good reputation for reliability, because as you said, this is a major investment. Though American cars have become better in the past few years, it is much too soon to change the way many Americans think of brands such as Ford, GM, and Chrysler because such car manufacturers have ruined their reputation in the past by building inferior cars. It takes a long time to change the prevailing opinion Americans have of American made cars, maybe longer than American car manufacturers can endure.
ReplyDeleteUnderstandably, our economy is hurting from Americans buying foreign cars, but the loss of jobs related to the car industry alone will not "irrevocably" ruin America. We are suffering from a multitude of problems, and what got us into this recession in the first place and exacerbated the auto industry's problem, was the bursting of the housing bubble. Furthermore, other industries besides the auto industry are hurting as well from our capitalistic tendencies, specifically our race to globalization to reduce costs and increase profits in every area of the market.
It is not fair for the burden of the government bailout of GM and Chrysler to fall upon American taxpayers, when such an infusion of money into such companies will be (mis)handled by the very same people who mishandled the companies before and drove them to bankruptcy. The money would be better spent on reforming our health care system, where the money might actually make a difference. Ronaldo was on the mark about patriotism. Patriotism shouldn't mean blind and ignorant following, based upon the fear of how the collapse of the auto industry will affect the US. We are not unpatriotic if we refuse to support the American automakers, we are simply being practical.
This fine chap who commented prior to me is absolutely correct. However, one small detail must not be overlooked. The greatest motivator behind the fall of US Auto is one company: Ford. Ford set off this crash by increasing its production of one model alone: the Mustang. The day of the Mustang has passed. Here in the U of K one car stands alone: the Aston Martin. Or it did, until Ford took it over and started producing it with the same sullied machines as the Mustang is produced with. Demolition to Mustangs I say! Buy yourselves a nice cup of Earl Grey and an M3.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous #1-
ReplyDeleteFirstly, the UAW is certainly hindering American car manufactures from performing to their full potential, but that isn't the root cause. It is Americans who refuse to buy American, if people aren't buying your product, regardless of inhibitors, you cannot possibly turn a profit. Unfortunately much of the media has an underlying anti-American tone giving false pretenses regarding the quality of American vehicles, however, rankings and statistics remain true. I encourage you to look at the US News rankings for Midsize cars:
http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/rankings/Affordable-Midsize-Cars/
Ford Fusion Hybrid #1
Chevrolet Malibu #2
Ford Fusion #3
It would appear that a more than acceptable product is being offered but misinformed and falsely guided Americans refuse to educate themselves.
Ronaldo and Anonymous #3-
Although American car companies were not always at the peak of quality, they are presently, and Americans must take present rankings into account-- not the past. When Kia and Hyundai first came to the world market their quality was so inferior to that of any other car manufacturer, yet when their product just barely passed the “drivable” standard, Americans ran wild to purchase them. Additionally regarding “obligation” I would like to point out that American car companies aren’t even allowed to sell their product in Japan because the Japanese fear that their domestic car manufacturers would take a major hit. The quality rankings I presented were not for hybrids; they were for all midsize vehicles.
Our country spends more money as a percent of GDP than any other country, yet despite incredibly high spending, our life expectancy is lower than that of 28 countries. Japan, France, Italy, Canada, Australia, Israel and Spain all stand out as spending a much lower percentage of their GDP on health-care while having higher life expectancies and providing a national health-care system for all citizens. Additionally, 27% of Medicare's spending is during the final year of life; when we as a society invest the same for health problems, regardless of age, we are refusing to face the reality of death, and are spending unwisely. We are not spending our money for health care nearly as efficiently as possible and simply putting more money into a dysfunctional system that doesn’t add any value to our nation in the world marketplace is senseless.