Limbaugh called for it recently, and only 42 percent of Americans who own an automobile made by General Motors say they are going to buy one again. All of this, of course, makes the left so gosh darn mad.
As an urbanite, I own a Chinese-made scooter and a bus pass. But if I were to buy a car, GM would be the last place I look, on principle. For anyone who is not keeping score at home, that includes Chevy, Buick, Cadillac, Daewoo, Holden, Saab, Pontiac and Saturn.
Before we know it, we will hear calls that it is our patriotic duty to buy GM cars, just as it’s “patriotic” to pay taxes. Baloney. It’s my “duty” to find the best product at the best price, and reward the company who makes that product with my patronage. That is how I’ve always done it, and that is how I will continue, whether I’m buying a car or a box of tissues to wipe away my non-existent tears for General Motors.
General Motors went the way of the buffalo for a reason. They couldn’t hold their ground against the unions, they produced cars that people didn’t want to buy and then they had the gall to fly into Washington looking for a handout.
Lest we forget, Ford, an “American” company, plays by the same rules and they are doing relatively well. Of course, Ford is in for a long haul. Since GM is being propped up by the government, (first by Bush and now Obama), the administration is not going to allow it to fail. It will tamper with the market to ensure GM does well. At some point, Ford will have to capitulate. Since there is no longer a level playing field, Ford may be swallowed up by the unfair system and, at risk of bankruptcy, may have to seek government intervention.
But of course, that’s all part of the plan, isn’t it? Create a market so rotten that everyone needs government assistance. You bail them out, take control, and push them toward partisan agendas.
Lest we so quickly forget, it was Bush who started this whole thing. Bush bailed out the banks. Bush bailed out the automakers. He set the precedent for all of this.
As Gary Lloyd wrote, “When the government’s boot is on your throat, whether it is a left boot or a right boot is of no consequence.”
There is a boot at our neck, and our watchdogs are snoozing.
Update, from Bryan Garst: Buying GM at this point is an implicit endorsement of government intervention. We are not boycotting for “political gain” as alleged, but to show that we do not accept dangerous interventions into the economy and the destruction of private contracts and the rule of law.
