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The Untold Story of Detroit's Collapse |
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Written by LNC
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Thursday, 30 July 2009 |
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The following article appeared in CounterPunch last month and makes for interesting reading. The author, Eamonn Fingleton, is the author of In Praise of Hard Industries: Why Manufacturing, Not the Information Economy, Is the Key to Future Prosperity (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999) and In the Jaws of the Dragon: America’s Fate in the Coming Chinese Hegemony (Thomas Dunne Books, 2008).
The Untold Story of Detroit’s Collapse: How the U.S. Press Helped Destroy the Auto Industry
For decades, East Asian competition has played a huge and bitterly disputed role in the decline of the American car industry. Both Japan and Korea have long been accused of unfair trade and closed markets. For their part, Japanese and Korean officials have argued that their markets are open and that an incompetent and heedless Detroit doesn’t make the sort of cars their consumers want.
In all the charges and counter-charges, little of the remarkable truth of Detroit’s trade problems has come out. To see how well – or, rather, how badly – you understand the background, try this quiz:
1. What was the Detroit companies’ share of the Japanese market in 1930? (a) About 90 per cent. (b) About 20 per cent. (c) Less than 4 per cent.
2. How many models do the Detroit corporations currently make with the steering wheel on the right (the standard configuration for Japan)? (a) More than 40. (b) 12. (c) 3.
3. What was the combined share of all foreign makers – American, European, and Japanese – in the Korean car market in the last decade? (a) Less than 2 per cent. (b) Around 15 per cent. (c) More than 70 per cent.
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Watching Greed Murder the Economy |
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Written by LNC
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Thursday, 30 July 2009 |
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The following article was written by Paul Craig Roberts, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. It appeared in CounterPunch earlier this month and be found here.
The collapse of world socialism, the rise of the high speed Internet, a bought-and-paid-for US government, and a million dollar cap on executive pay that is not performance related are permitting greedy and disloyal corporate executives, Wall Street, and large retailers to dismantle the ladders of upward mobility that made America an “opportunity society.” In the 21st century the US economy has been able to create net new jobs only in nontradable domestic services, such as waitresses, bartenders, government workers, hospital orderlies, and retail clerks. (Nontradable services are “hands on” services that cannot be sold as exports, such as haircuts, waiting a table, fixing a drink.)
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"Fair Trade Starts With You Taking Action" |
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Written by LNC
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Tuesday, 28 July 2009 |
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The 2009 Fall Conference hosted by the American Mold Builders Association is entitled, "Fair Trade Starts With You Taking Action!". Get the details here.
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Chu Warns China On Emissions |
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Written by LNC
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Monday, 27 July 2009 |
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The following article appeared in the Wall Street Journal on July 15, 2009.
BEIJING -- China's greenhouse-gas emissions growth is on course to wipe out gains from Western conservation efforts unless it intensifies clean-up efforts, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu told audiences in China Wednesday.
In meetings with senior Chinese energy officials and in a speech at prestigious Tsinghua University, Mr. Chu continued the Obama administration's efforts to push for greater action on climate change. China recently surpassed the U.S. as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases.
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U.S. Trade Chief Says "Buy American" In Line With WTO |
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Written by LNC
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Monday, 27 July 2009 |
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The following article from Reuters appeared on July 22, 2009.
SINGAPORE - The United States wants a robust trade policy that is in the interest of its people and the "Buy American" campaign will not violate World Trade Organization commitments, Trade Representative Ron Kirk said on Wednesday.
Kirk was speaking after Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries agreed in a two-day trade discussion in Singapore to shun protectionist measures, saying it would be a setback for the global economy.
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