Bailing Out The Auto Industry...

I find this to be a really interesting topic, because on one hand you have politicians attempting to take responsibility for economic collapse, but simultaneously exercising complete misjudgment of this industry's marketability in the future.

While the jobs of Canadians in these manufacturing jobs are absolutely essential to the well being of all Canadians in the short-term, I think it is important that we look at what exactly it is we're trying to save. Obviously, this recession hasn't left many survivors, but out of all of the industries to "bail out", it seems like this is one that has done the least to adapt in terms of its concern for the environment or increase its efficiency. (That is, north-American auto makers). Should this uncooperative and often ignorant behaviour deserve fiscal stimulus from the Federal Government?

It is evident that our entire economic system is in need of reform. As Paul Hawken outlines in his book "The Ecology of Commerce", we've failed to make the connection between our relationship to profit and the environment around us. I think regardless of how many of these necessary changes we are able to make in the future (and hopefully near future), certain market principles are almost assumed to exist for as long as the global economy is in place. In the United States and Canada (The U.S. more so), one of these remaining principles will certainly be the free market. Granted, this entire term and concept is loaded with a whole bunch of meanings, but when I say this, I am making reference to our basic economic platform of allowing businesses to compete to provide better products and services for consumers. In this case, the bail-out of the auto industry is an evasion of this fundamental principle, and regardless of how much money that the Government of Canada, or the United States government pours into it, this will not make the auto-industry any more competitive. In other words, and make this very clear--though the bail-outs of the auto-industry will protect short-term employment, it will do absolutely nothing to ensure that the demand for these largely inefficient automobiles and irresponsible organizations that manufacture them will be there when the economy recovers.
As our leader Elizabeth May mentioned in her blog recently, in great challenge there is also great opportunity. In the case of the manufacturing sector and particularly the auto-industry in Canada; I think it is very, very important that the Government is carefully selective as to what industries they invest in, and put the long term interests of this country ahead of the inevitable progression where jobs of antiquity quickly become obsolete.