Total Disgust Rising
Congress is set to take a recess from November 21 to December 8–a two-week escape from grim reality. Meanwhile, the stock market goes down another 200-400 points each day, more layoffs are announced, and businesses seem to be crumbling everywhere.
While Americans may well wonder if their Thanksgiving turkey will be the last good, big meal they eat until June 2009, our elected representatives will flee to their home districts. U.S. workers, on the other hand, are not getting two weeks off, and indeed, most are scrambling to finish up all their year-end projects to meet 2008 budgets and deadlines for their employers.
If I were president, I would order Congress to stay in session until it passes some kind of temporary relief, bridge loan–albeit with many strings attached–for the auto industry.
Talk about fiddling while Rome burns!
Here’s an idea for financing the “bailout”: why not use the nearly $18 billion that the MMS just returned to the U.S. Treasury from oil and gas royalties and lease bonuses in fiscal 2008? After all, if there is no robust U.S. auto industry in two years, how much oil will we need by then?
–Leslie Haines, Editor-in-chief, Oil and Gas Investor
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December 16th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Perhaps automakers should be converting vehicles to natural gas (CNG or LPG).
Gov’t can use th emoney to help build infrastructure for gas dispensing and this would create jobs in many sectors.
Seems US auto industry just copying already laid out template fro electric car. What about battery disposal and environmental factors?
Given the gas bubble and US gas reserves, semms to me conversion to gas as transportation fuel is long overdue.
I was recently in Peu and their LIMA taxi fleet was for the most part running on liquid propane.
December 16th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Perhaps automakers should be converting vehicles to natural gas (CNG or LPG).
Gov’t can use the money to help build infrastructure for gas dispensing and this would create jobs in many sectors.
Seems US auto industry just copying already laid out template for electric cars. What about battery disposal and environmental factors?
Given the gas bubble and US gas reserves, semms to me conversion to gas as transportation fuel is long overdue.
I was recently in Peru and their LIMA taxi fleet was for the most part running on liquid propane.
December 16th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Leslie, good job. Very pointed and direct. Keep up the good work, Dennis