Big Three try new lineup

The high cost of gas this past year has seriously destroyed every budget from the average family to the largest of municipalities.The average family went broke at the pump alone, then added to the misery the higher cost of manufacturing and shipping was passed on to us at the checkout for every consumer product. School districts went broke keeping the busses on the road.One police dept in my area required officers to park their car for 15 minutes of every hour just to conserve .Lower prices are not here to stay.OPEC just announced another production cut.With all these bailouts in the billions why doesn't our nation see the need to bail us out of our dependence on foreign oil? I just read a really interesting new book called The Manhattan Project of 2009 Energy Independence Now by Jeff Wilson.I never realized it would only cost the equivalent of 60 cents per gallon to charge and drive an electric car. Also,The electricity to charge the car could come from solar or wind generated electricity. If all gasoline cars, trucks, and suv’s instead had plug-in electric drive trains, the amount of electricity needed to replace gasoline is about equal to the estimated wind energy potential of the state of North Dakota.What powerful resources we have been neglected. The last economic stimulus package cost 168 BILLION and did absolutely nothing to stimulate our economy or create jobs.Bail America out of its dependence on foreign oil. Wouldn't that make more sense? Oil is finite, we are using it globally at the rate of 2x faster than new oil is being discovered.

We cannot produce enough electric to charge all those cars you suggest. Also the pollution would be worse if we did. Russia blooms while we fall because they are drilling and selling. Oil replenishes itself after it is drilled over time. The pollution thing is not going to hurt the "planet" but it sure hurts the people breathing the air.

The UAW cannot argue that their auto workers are producing 50% more than their non-union counterparts in similar jobs in Alabama and Tennessee. Transportation costs do not favor any one part of the country over another in this market, so to become competitive, Detroit blue collar workers must have comparable wages to their peers here in the US. One can argue about not being competitive across a national border like Mexico, but despite what some liberals and UAW activists might think, you don’t need a passport to go from Detroit, Michigan to Smyrna, Tennessee. We all want more money and perks. I think it is crazy that rock stars get better compensation than doctors, policemen and firefighters. Supply and demand drives compensation, not my wishes or theirs. Costs are all relative, so lower compensation to UAW workers in the Detroit area means lower prices for housing (less demand) and for the cars they themselves buy at discounts from their employers. Union job rules need to be focused less on job preservation for its own sake, and more on being able to say once again that a union employee means a quality employee. The company dynamics will change with customers planning on buying fewer cars that last longer, something that affects engineering as much as marketing as total possible sales volumes continue to dwindle. The UAW is playing chicken with the American Taxpayer, and seems to be determined to make the same mistakes as previous tyrants like a Pope who threatened to excommunicate an English King who said “sure, go ahead”. The process will be painful, but if unionized auto workers are to remain a part of the American landscape, they must be employees of companies that can compete successfully with good products against the companies who “don’t enjoy the benefits” of unionized employees.