Michael C. Moynihan | November 17, 2008
Writing in the New York Times, Daniel Sperling and Deborah Gordon, authors of the forthcoming book Two Billion Cars: Driving Toward Sustainability, advocate saving the Detroit auto industry by further taxing those who buy their (already overpriced) products:
One way to [fund the bailout] would be to establish a price floor of $3.50 per gallon on gasoline. If the price drops below that, as it recently has, the federal government would impose a variable tax to bring the price up to $3.50. If the price goes above $3.50, then the tax disappears. The money raised by the variable tax would be used, at least in the short term, to provide loan guarantees to the auto companies. (To ease the burden of higher gasoline prices on low-income taxpayers, some of the revenue would be provided to them as tax credits or vouchers.)
Of course higher gasoline prices would burden low-income Americans in other ways too, by increasing the cost of most consumer goods. And good luck convincing those who have recently purchased a Ford or a Chrysler (there must be someone buying American cars) that an artificial price for gasoline is required, in order to give even more of your money to the selfless members of the United Auto Workers union.
Via Cato, Mark Perry, professor of economics at the Flint campus of the University of Michigan, argues that "Maybe the country would be better off in the long run if we let the Big Three fail, and in the process break the UAW labor monopoly, and then let Toyota, Honda and Volkswagen take over the U.S. auto industry, and restore realistic, competitive, market wages to the industry." He provides this helpful chart (which is further explained here; headline reference explained here):

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I love this whole "if you can't pay the tax we will give you a voucher" bullshit. What that means is that otherwise independent people who can support themselves are through tax policy placed on the government dole. In Sperling and Gordon's world, no one but the highest elite is allowed to make and honest, independent living. Everyone must be on the dole in some way. God I hate those fukcers.
Yeah, wouldn't the poor who get the vouchers continue to buy cheap gas guzzlers since they don't have to pay the tax, anyway? WTF?
[begin flashback]
Waif: You can't treat the working man this way!
One of these days we'll form a union, and get the fair and
equitable treatment we deserve! Then we'll go too far, and become
corrupt and shiftless, and the Japanese will eat us alive!
Burns' Grandfather: The Japanese? Those
sandal-wearing goldfish tenders? Ha ha! Bosh! Flimflaw!
[end flashback]
Mr. Burns: Oh, if only we'd listened to that young
man, instead of walling him up in the abandoned coke oven.
Mark Perry, professor of economics at the Flint campus of the University of Michigan, argues that "Maybe the country would be better off in the long run if we let the Big Three fail, and in the process break the UAW labor monopoly, and then let Toyota, Honda and Volkswagen take over the U.S. auto industry, and restore realistic, competitive, market wages to the industry." He provides this helpful chart (which is further explained here; headline reference explained here)
Of course Brother Perry is right. The trouble is, you can't say it
like that.
A "takeover" by "furriners" ain't going to be popular. Instead you
have to frame it like this:
The fat-cats in Detroit are trying to dine on your tax dollars. They make lousy cars so people don't buy 'em--and now they're trying to stick YOU with the bill.
~
Can you dig it?
Dear incoming president Obama and new democratic Congress,
please please please take Sperling and Gordon's advice and see how
long you maintain your majority status.
Heck, go even further and bump the minimum price all the way to
four or even five dollars a gallon!
I assume the guy is being sarcastic. Almost the last thing these guys need is $3.50 gas.
Shoulda let Hank Ford bust the union. Course we shoulda let
Patton take Moscow too.
;-)
ClubMedSux, I missed that episode, but dam, Simpsons is funny. I know all these youngsters around here think it jumped the shark long ago, but I still think it's hilarious. Except the Simpsons Movie that is.
TWC,
A single bad Simpsons episodes is worth more to me than the entire
output of that Vortex of Suck, Seth MacFarlane.
Telling me when to laugh and then begging when I don't = EPIC
FAIL
The problem with the Simpsons is that there will be an entire episode of absolutely unwatchable crap that includes one gem like the one quoted above.
I "got" the headline right off the bat. Local history is fun no matter where you live.
A single bad Simpsons episodes is worth more to me than the
entire output of that Vortex of Suck, Seth MacFarlane.
Such bitterness. You know that he just recently got a $100-million
advance from Fox, right?
I enjoy his work, but I can appreciate the criticisms of it.
Especially criticisms involving manatees.
I have no interest in subsidizing the salaries of guys and gals
that make more money bolting together crappy cars than a mid-level
engineer makes to design flight critical avionics systems.
Fuck'em all. The sooner the better.
Fox is always two steps forward and three back.
Also, Fox, stop ordering shows from Joss Whedon if you are only
going to show 9 or less of them.
If the price goes above $3.50, then the tax
disappears.
HAHAHAHAHAHAH-HAAAAAAHA....hahahha...ehhh...oooooohhh...that was
funny.
Wait, what?
One way to [fund the bailout] would be to establish a price
floor of $3.50 per gallon on gasoline. If the price drops below
that, as it recently has, the federal government would impose a
variable tax to bring the price up to $3.50. If the price goes
above $3.50, then the tax disappears. The money raised by the
variable tax would be used, at least in the short term, to provide
loan guarantees to the auto companies
Oh dear God that's awful. It's like socialism and protectionism got
together and produced some sort of a horrible mutant offspring
dedicated to crushing the productive.
Oh, good news: Obama was on 60 Minutes proudly announcing he's reading a book that extols FDR's glorious socialist policies. So, you can expect this to become law shortly.
Family Guy is funny in that mindless, pot-smoking, cough-syrup ODing sort of way.
Also, Fox, stop ordering shows from Joss Whedon
Full stop. We need to get that man his own cable channel or at
least have him go completely postal on a senior management meeting
of the idiot SciFi channel.
I mean, do they have a "Director of Cancellation and Ignorance of
Shows with Built-in Audiences" or something?
TallDave,
"Oh dear God that's awful. It's like socialism and protectionism
got together and produced some sort of a horrible mutant offspring
dedicated to crushing the productive."
I understand that Satan-worshippers trying to raise the antichrist
were involved.
We need to get that man his own cable channel or at least
have him go completely postal on a senior management meeting of the
idiot SciFi channel
QFT.
Fox astounds me. "Let's cancel Firefly, but then order
Drive, and then show 4 episodes. That seems like the thing
to do!"
Fucking morons.
The biggest scam about the bailout is the claim that it's
designed to protect the US auto industry.
It's not. The aim of the bailout is to protect Big 3 shareholders,
the UAW's contracts, and Big 3 retirees.
If all 3 of the Big 3 declared bankruptcy tomorrow, they
wouldn't even stop operating. So all the tales of woe about
communities that would be destroyed if the bailout doesn't pass are
BS. The Big 3 should declare bankruptcy tomorrow. Their
shareholders should be wiped out, their UAW contracts voided, the
unfunded portion of their pension plans either lost or turned over
to the feds, and their bondholders and creditors should become the
new company owners. All 3 companies would emerge from bankruptcy in
a position to actually compete in the world marketplace.
We need to get that man his own cable channel or at least
have him go completely postal on a senior management meeting of the
idiot SciFi channel.
SciFi Channel? You mean the Channel That Produces Decent TV Pretty
Much By Blind Luck? Once BG ends I'd be fine with burnin'
that motherfucker to the ground. When 99% or your original
programming can't stand up to the quality of the 5th season of
Sliders, you need to pack up a go the fuck home.
Whedon would be better off sticking to comic books than to get in
bed with those morons.
The central thing to remember about Fox is that Prison Break is still on the air, three years after they broke out of the fucking prison!
Learn to bartend people! Hide your income while you can! Wait . . . I drive a Camaro. Do I pay an added tax or do you guys pay an added tax? Crap!
Economist,
Barack Obama is not fascist or Marxist. He is Peronist. There is a
difference. He is this odd mix of leftist populism combined with
crony capitalism whereby the upper middle class and small
businesses are taxes out of exist to provide bread and circuses to
the lower classes and to pay off the political and connected
industrial elite. That combined with a good dose of personality
cult is Peronism.
The central thing to remember about Fox is that Prison Break
is still on the air, three years after they broke out of the
fucking prison!
It's like Gilligan's Island, only backwards!
Fluffy,
You are exactly right. If it wasn't about shareholders, creditors
and other big wigs and just about the poor workers, the Feds couls
assume the retirement liabilities for a a couple of billion in
order to soften the impact of bankruptcy.
I am opposed to a bailout, but in favor of raising the gas tax
by at least 50 cents or even a dollar a gallon (and straight up, no
gimmicks either with variability or with revenue offsets). The
arguements 6 months ago against the gas tax holiday (i.e. that it
would paradoxically probably raise prices) apply in reverse
now.
And as long as Sci Fi retains their arrangement with the BBC,
they'll always have at least one or two good shows.
"The central thing to remember about Fox is that Prison Break is
still on the air, three years after they broke out of the fucking
prison!
It's like Gilligan's Island, only backwards!"
Or Wagon Train where they just kept Wagon training.
The central thing to remember about Fox is that Prison Break
is still on the air, three years after they broke out of the
fucking prison!
The central thing to remember about Fox is that 24 is
still on. How many times can Bauer save the world, dudes, before it
seems a little ridiculous?
Clearly, a price floor on fuel is the best way to help an
industry selling inefficient vehicles and getting beaten badly by
the maker of the Prius.
There are good arguments for using fuel taxes to replace other
taxes, but I don't see the argument for using fuel taxes to keep
the Big 3 afloat.
John,
I refuse to believe you meant to be that fucking funny. "Wagon
Training"? LMAO!
SciFi Channel? You mean the Channel That Produces Decent TV
Pretty Much By Blind Luck? Once BG ends I'd be fine with burnin'
that motherfucker to the ground.
I did say I wanted him to kill them all.
What? Not liking Sanctuary? I watch it just to hear the
previously endearing Amanda Tapping completely butcher the fake
English accent.
Don't worry. After they cancel Stargate Atlantis this
January, they'll have a new Stargate franchise show where, ready?,
the new cast gets on a Ancient ship that has a pre-programmed route
that they can't change or stop! You never know who'll get left
behind!
Mind you, I *like* Stargate (not the movie...), but this just.
sounds. so. awful. A 3-hour tour....a 3-hour tour....)
The central thing to remember about Fox is that Prison Break
is still on the air, three years after they broke out of the
fucking prison!
The root of the problem is the death of DB Cooper at the end of the
first season. After dying he was resurrected as a zombie. The
zombie ate the writers' brains. So the show continues.
When 99% or your original programming can't stand up to the
quality of the 5th season of Sliders, you need to pack up a go the
fuck home.
In SciFi's defense, while most of their original shit is...well,
shit, they have been very smart about snapping up stuff that others
have passed on. Farscape and Stargate, for
example.
Kolohe,
Raise gas taxes? Making gas more scarce . . . (drifts off into
imagination) . . . "I'm just here for the gas."
"John,
I refuse to believe you meant to be that fucking funny. "Wagon
Training"? LMAO!"
Before someone else busts me out, I will admit I stole that from a
line in Stand By Me. I never liked the movie that much but always
loved that line.
After they cancel Stargate Atlantis this January, they'll
have a new Stargate franchise show where, ready?, the new cast gets
on a Ancient ship that has a pre-programmed route that they can't
change or stop! You never know who'll get left behind!
Please tell me you're just being super funny and this isn't the
real situation.
Naga-
I finally saw the middle movie all the way through for the first
time last weekend.
Better start loading up on football shoulder pads.
Please tell me you're just being super funny and this isn't
the real situation.
Nope. I wish.
Kolohe,
Armor up your car while adding a supercharger and start wearing
lots of leather. Shoulder pads? Optional. Trained dog and empty
sawed off shotgun? Mandatory.
Also, I don't entire fault the news corp decsions wrt
firefly.
yeah the fox execs mismanaged the timing and order of the rollout.
Strong DVD sales indicated they may have had modest success with
better scheduling and less corporate micromanaging.
But the Serenity movie, which wasn't bad, did absolutely terrible
at the box office. Face it, the public was (is?) just not into Star
Trek meets Bonanza.
I will stake out a place as an SF heretic. I do not like:
Doctor Who (twee)
Torchwood (bi-curious twee)
Primeval ("Let's adapt A Sound of Thunder for TV, not the story,
the shitty movie")
Stargate (Atlantis or otherwise)
Fringe (X-Files meets Dawson's Creek)
Sanctuary (The Further Adventures of Joan Constantine)
And Terminator's on the fucking bubble unless it devlops something
resembling a sense of humor.
"Maybe the country would be better off in the long run if we
let the Big Three fail, and in the process break the UAW labor
monopoly, and then let Toyota, Honda and Volkswagen take over the
U.S. auto industry,
What is the big obstacle to starting a car company in America? If
the big 3 fail, why couldn't a few U.S. start-ups buy some of the
assets and make cars?
I'm actually mostly with you, NutraSweet.
Doctor Who (don't find it compelling)
Torchwood (didn't even bother)
Primeval (never even heard of it)
Stargate (SG-1 got really tedious but Atlantis is OK)
Fringe (totally insipid)
Sanctuary (awful; watched 15 minutes of the first one and said
"fuck this")
Terminator I like.
I will stake out a place as an SF heretic.
Burn him! Burn the non-believer!
Add Star Trek: TNG and Star Trek: Voyager to your list.
Dude, it may not be fucking Shakespeare, but Stargate and Dr. Who
have some redeeming qualities. Mind you, on Dr. Who, screaming is
not one of them. And, SG: Atlantis hasn't been all that even for
the past 2 seasons. Getting rid of Torri Higginson and Paul
Whatshisname was plain old stupid. It really is time for
cancellation now the producers have botched the show.
But yeah, most of it I could care less about. I tried to watch
Primeval once and was bored to tears. I was rooting for the
animals. Never watched Torchwood, but never really wanted to
either.
JW,
I don't require Shakespeare, but I do insist on you not insulting
my intelligence (and smirking when I object.) Dr. Who and both
Stargates = FAIL
TNG was OK. It was serviceable SF TV, especially if you didn't try
to apply politics to it. Voyager was boring and DS:9 too obsessed
with its own mythology to both making sense. (Also, in comic book
terms, it went cosmic, and cosmic basically blows. I'm looking at
you, David Brin.)
I am a cranky old fuck. Most of my SF love is from books, and the
TV mostly seems like half-retarded kid's shows in comparison to 99%
SF novels.
Lets not bail them out, the graph shows just how wonky and uncompetitive the big 3 are. they will fail, nothing can stop that. let the free market pick up the pieces and fill the void, yes it will tough for the workers in the short run, but they will find jobs very quickly being skilled workers. maybe in ALA or Tenn or MS where cars are being made now, yes they might have to move, but in the long run it is the right thing to do. no CORP WELEFARE!
Off topic, but since others went SF. I have to say that Primevil, the BBC series is very good, plus that hot little blonde english lass helps, lol. For the rest mentioned, stargate was good in the begining, just got old, the others mee, don't like
"What is the big obstacle to starting a car company in America?
If the big 3 fail, why couldn't a few U.S. start-ups buy some of
the assets and make cars?"
There are several startups that are making electrics. Electric cars
are pretty close to being real usable cars rather than eco penalty
boxes for the followers of the hair shirt religion of global
warming. But instead of letting those companies play out and trying
to be ahead of the curve, lets spend $25 billion to stay behind
it.
One way to [fund the bailout] would be to establish a price
floor of $3.50 per gallon on gasoline.
Big Oil will love that. It basically gives them the option of
collecting the tax and keeping it themselves.
Obama was on 60 Minutes proudly announcing he's reading a
book that extols FDR's glorious socialist policies.
He hasn't reached the end where the country was still in a
depression after electing FDR three times. But we LIKE
depression.
I am a cranky old fuck. Most of my SF love is from books,
and the TV mostly seems like half-retarded kid's shows in
comparison to 99% SF novels.
[smirking]
True 'dat. Which is why I don't apply the standards of books to TV.
I *know* SF TV is going to be substandard compared to SF books,
excepting BSG of course. You have to manage your expectations or
you will be consistently disappointed.
I liked the irreverent humor of SG-1 and to a lesser degree,
Atlantis. But yes, they did (and do) get tedious.
Even though I never really got into Lexx, I do miss the old SciFi
Friday of SG-1, Farscape and Lexx.
FWIW I watched the DVDs of Space: Above and Beyond and it didn't
age very well.
I really wanted to like Fringe. The John Noble character is
awesome, for one thing.
However, it gets pretty tiresome once you realize that the first
person appearing in the show who's not part of the "team" is
inevitably going to be a part of the Pattern conspiracy. I've seen
4 episodes and I've already figured that out.
The problem with the Simpsons is that there will be an
entire episode of absolutely unwatchable crap that includes one gem
like the one quoted above.
The gem quoted above is from one of the all-time great
episodes.
Carl: What do we want?
All: More equitable treatment at the hands of management!
Carl: When do we want it?
All: Soon!
Homer: Hey, what does this job pay?
Carl: Nuthin'.
Homer: D'oh!
Carl: Unless you're crooked.
Homer: Woo-hoo!
I watched the DVDs of Space: Above and Beyond and it didn't
age very well.
Is it all because BSG does the exact same stuff better (and handles
9 other things at the same time)?
Frankly, until BSG I didn't think a "mass" audience had a stomach
for serious SF. Post-BSG? I am even more disappointed in the SF TV
offerings. Once I know it can be done, I find it inexcusable to see
shoes not even try.
Look at them all, through the darkness I'm bringing.
They're not sad at all. They're actually singing!
They sing without juicers.
They sing without blenders.
They sing without flunjers, capdabblers and smendlers!
"to see shoes not even try"
Sigh. "shows" obviously.
But lazy fucking footwear's on the list too.
these braces are invisible, painless, and periodically release a delightful burst of Calvin Klein's Obsession... for Teeth.
How many times can Bauer save the world, dudes, before it
seems a little ridiculous?
You would think that, at least once, they would give him 48 or 72
hours notice.
Is it all because BSG does the exact same stuff better (and
handles 9 other things at the same time)?
I think my own age plays a role as well as the some of the effects.
While I really enjoyed the show when it was on, it just seems very
wooden and stilted now. Good pathos, I liked the McQueen character
when he lightened up and maybe if the show had another season or 2,
it would have hit a better stride, but such is life. The music was
tedious, which I did remember. We only need to hear the martial
drums a few times; not EVERY time.
The AI's makeup and sound effects comes off as ultra-cheesy, but
such is life with TV budgets.
Frankly, until BSG I didn't think a "mass" audience had a
stomach for serious SF. Post-BSG? I am even more disappointed in
the SF TV offerings. Once I know it can be done, I find it
inexcusable to see shoes not even try.
It'll be interesting to see how the Caprica spin-off will
fare.
Big Oil will love that. It basically gives them the option
of collecting the tax and keeping it themselves.
Oh, did we forget to mention that the Feds will be setting the
price of gasoline too?
It'll be interesting to see how the Caprica spin-off will
fare.
[cough]Phantom Menace[cough]
Jack Bauer has returned from the dead more times the Jesus and
Lazarus combined. Twice. But he's no match for Stanley
Tweedle.
[ps- Cleopatra 2025 was never on my radar]
Jack Bauer has returned from the dead more times
the than Jesus and Lazarus
combined.
Cleopatra 2025 was never on my radar
You're lucky. It made Mutant X look like Sunset
Boulevard.
"Yousa saysa peoples gonna die?"
"Yes, you idiot. We're going to blow up Caprica. Can you at least
pay attention at the meetings?"
Cleopatra 2025 was never on my radar
You're lucky. It made Mutant X look like Sunset
Boulevard.
God, that show made even Andromeda look watchable. It took
Firefly to get me to realize that Gina Torres can be a
good performer if given a chance.
You know, I know you're joking, NutraSweet, yet I'm still reflexively insulted that you would even jokingly imply I would watch a show like that.
Andromeda...
You bastard. I had almost expunged that heinous memory from my
mind.
At least you didn't mention Earth: The Final Conflict.
At least you didn't mention Earth: The Final
Conflict.
Ah, the show where Majel Barrett-Roddenberry proved that besides
not even having the acting chops to play Dianna Troi's mother, she
has zero ability to produce good shows.
Earth: The Final Conflict
Pitch Meeting:
"Hey guys, let's remake V but only with really old
Canadian actresses!"
Of course, that's pretty much the entire SciFi Channel
strategy:
"Let's remake [crappy old SF TV show] but only with really old
Candadian actresses!"
BSG was blind fucking luck. They went with a younger, lesbionic
Canadian actress. (And, of course, with the divine Grace
Park.)
Tricia Helfer has terrible hair and man jaw. There. I said it.
that show made even Andromeda look watchable.
I thought for what it was, Hercules in Space, Andomeda wasn't bad.
Yeah, it was a show of limited ambition, but worked with what it
had fairly well.
Speaking of which, what Sci-Fi and (NBC Universal as a whole) is
missing is a show like Xena with its good wholesome saphic fun. The
Rachel Madow Show is simply not the same thing.
Majel Barrett-Roddenberry
She couldn't even do a good impersonal computer voice! A fucking
1985 Mac could do a better acting job than that!
"Yes, you idiot. We're going to blow up Caprica. Can you at
least pay attention at the meetings?"
Meesa get confuused at deses meetings. Yousa all look da same!
Meesa getsa so confuused dat I blowed up da Eart, not dis Caprica!
Ouch time!
Tricia Helfer has terrible hair and man jaw.
Dude. You're actually looking at her hair and jaw? Now I understand
why you drive a CR-V.
Dude. You're actually looking at her hair and jaw? Now I
understand why you drive a CR-V.
Thank you for pwning him so I didn't have to.
JW,
Look. If a woman is going to be created and touted as the ultimate
sex-pot, attractive enough to make hundreds of thousands of copies
of her, the actress should be better looking than the average
washed up catalog model.
Yes, she's got a fairly nice rack. But you can match rack with
looks easy in Hollywood. I have never understood the utterly
average actress playing a role that is suppose to be "beautiful."
Actresses that can act better and look better than Helfer are a
dime a dozen.
Uh, NutraSweet, this isn't rocket science. You can't please
everyone with casting choices, so they decided to go with
"striking"--which can even include ugly--instead. It was to make an
impact during the advertising and whatnot.
You need to think like a scumbag producer, dude. You want to save
the really hot ones for roles where they fail and come to you for
help.
You want to save the really hot ones for roles where they
fail and come to you for help.
Good point. But I remain grumpy.
SugarFree,
Actresses that can act better and look better than Helfer are a
dime a dozen.
But they needed a few hundred thousand, not just a dozen.
robc,
That's only $10,000 per hundred thousand. They spend that much on
pancake make-up for Olmos every episode.
Helfer doesn't do all that much for me, but she does have a
tremendous bod and I think her acting chops are very good for the
role. Not sure if she could pull off a role that made heavier and
more subtle demands, but she nailed the cylon bitch part, as much
as Xena did as #3.
I'm really annoyed at BSG for not going full-frontal with Grace
Park. Stop teasing us! It's basic cable damnit! I'll buy the
uncensored DVD set. Enough!
JW,
Fuck, yes. That scene of a thousand naked Parks when she was
setting the bomb? Bastards. Denying bastards.
I really wanted to like Fringe.
Me, too. I got through two and a half eps, and decided it was too
contrived, predictable, and formulaic to waste another pixel
on.
Stupid creative writing degree...
That's only $10,000 per hundred thousand.
Fucked that math up spectacularly... only $833 per one hundred
thousand.
I'll be in my shame corner.
Me, too. I got through two and a half eps, and decided it
was too contrived, predictable, and formulaic to waste another
pixel on.
But...but....it's JJ Abrams! He's a 1.5 hit wonder!
This does not bode well for the upcoming Star Trek recycling. It is
an odd-numbered film, so the die, evidently, is cast.
I believe I predicted an Obama "fuel price floor tax" before the election on this very blog comments.
economist,
No but it is on record as proposed Democrat public policy.His
opponents should have made him deny it.Energy taxes weren't even
brought up before the election.I thought about them anytime the
"tax cut" was promised.
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