Allright I am pleased that the Administration is close to inking a deal for the GM plant. This is good.
However, I see no mention of the UAW being part of the deal.
What does this mean? No more labor union jobs building cars? I suspect not which is why the service industry is being targeted to keep membership high.
To paraphrase an old song, this is not your father’s car company.
Yup… Fisker got a half-billion dollar Federal loan to sell $40K cars (subsidized by Federal tax credits) in a factory subsidized by state tax incentives. Even better, Al Gore is a major shareholder. If you liked Delawind’s loan you are going to love this one.
Go free market capitalism!
Anyway, once we have public health care half the reason for the UAW goes away anyhow.
the service industry is being targeted to keep membership high.
Anyone who says “May I help you?” for a living is badly in need of union representation.
I believe very strongly that it is in America’s best interest to reduce its exposure to foreign oil. The Saudi’s, Russians, Hugo Chavez and others all want us defeated. They have only 1 product — oil. While the Iraq war was not a war for oil, it is highly doubtful that we would have spent almost $1 trillion on the war if there was no oil there (otherwise, why have we not attacked the Sudan?).
The vast majority of oil goes to transportation uses. Imagine if we had taken the approximately $1 trillion that we’ve now spent in Iraq since 2002 and put it into battery & electric motor technology development. OK, so 1/2 of it would have been wasted on big salaries, trade shows, and boondoggles (and we’d still have Saddam Hussein). However, Hussein’s oil would be worth a lot less and his regime might have collapsed.
The United States is the greatest nation in the history of the world. We have saved the world 3 times in the last 100 years — WWI, WWII, and the Cold War. We are now at war with tyrants and religious zealots who are in charge of free cash flow called oil. We can save the world a 4th time by getting our R&D fired-up and and putting the tyrants out-of-business.
A further point — China sells, internally, about 20 million electric bicycles every year. That will clearly lead to battery and motor innovation in China. Delaware has banned the use of most individual-use electric vehicle on public streets. No market… No innovation… China wins… Well done Delaware…
And, for what it’s worth, I think that the Governor and DEDO Secretary have the right to take credit for bringing Fiskers to Delaware. I don’t know what guarantees or tax-breaks that they might have doled out. Nor do I know employment numbers. So, we’ll have to wait for the cost-benefit analysis. But, in this instance, they seem to be doing their job. Good for them.
It really is a coup.
Is Fiskers actualy coming to Delaware? They haven’t announced it yet right? Don’t put the cart before the horse here.
I’m told Fiskers is a done deal. Yet I have to ask will DNREC want a bunch of studies done and from I read what the car they want to make costs a ton of money. Small and affordable is the new normal right?
After all aren’t McMansions passe?
Finally when Charlie announces for Congress (please God) will we all attend his announcement?
My, my. Listen to Charlie Copeland talk international and national politics in speech like tones. And he threw in the “America is the best nation in the world” cliche too. Doesn’t he sound like a man gearing up for a run for US Congress or what?!
Imagine if we had taken the approximately $1 trillion that we’ve now spent in Iraq since 2002 and put it into battery & electric motor technology development.
Nice idea. Too bad it didn’t occur to you in 2000 when Al Gore was running for President.
I am told an operative has been seen sizing up Congress to see how they fit on the Lt. Gov 4 x 4′s.
Imagine if we had taken the approximately $1 trillion that we’ve now spent in Iraq since 2002 and put it into battery & electric motor technology development.
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feh, electicity is still dirty coal. I would like to have spent what we sunk into Iraq into ways to figure out what to do with the toxic waste from nuke power.