Good-bye, GM

Here is Michael Moore's take on the "new" GM. Moore's landmark documentary "Roger and Me'" warned of the unforseen, destructive consequences of the path GM & other Am. Corp. were taking. Like when you let all of us go to produce elsewhere, who the heck do you think is going to buy your product? When you put most of your efforts into short-term profits, what happenes to the long term? Henry Ford, after all, "got it" when he doubled his worker's pay & decreased working hours.

I drive a light truck Escalade. I really didn't want such a large vehicle, but I needed something. The feds in an effort to help GM offered generous tax credits for the purchase of this & other like vehicles. Alas, nothing for anything smaller or gas efficient. Uncle Sam in his wisdom, wanted me to buy this vehicle & rewarded me with tax incentives for doing so. Heck, my mother didn't raise any fools. Ahhh, short term profits. Who then anticipated a major gas shortage? Who cared?

Moore is proposing retooling car manufacturing plants to build a light rail system crossing the U.S. in five years. He also calls for a $2 tax on each gallon of gasoline to convince Americans to use rail and new, efficient busses. Read other suggestions- like tax incentives for those converting their homes to alternative energy sources.

Michael isn't the only one calling for a new, "green" economy. This week's "NOW" makes a strong case for a re-tooling of our industrial base. "...Environmental activist Van Jones, founder of "Green for All," an environmental group dedicated to bringing green jobs to the disadvantaged .... was was appointed as special advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Now that he has the President's ear, will Jones be creating a new career frontier for America?"

The curse of living in "interesting times."