A Danger and a Chance

Dear Reader,

Over the past couple of months we have heard a lot of talk from Washington about businesses that are too big to fail or that our economy depends on.

I have repeatedly pointed out in this column that economic activity is not an end in itself, but a means to an end, namely to satisfy the wants and needs of the market.

Obviously, we are long past that stage, as the present economic situation illustrates (I’m not going to rehash my musings about the perverse workings of the money markets).

We live in an economy that, under the influence of lobbyists and politician-puppets from both sides of the aisle, has been moving from sort-of-free-market to corporatist in a way that must have John D. Rockefeller doing a lot of posthumous gloating.
Long-term, this is a bigger threat to our economy and society as a whole than any recession.

If a business is too big to fail, it is simply too big.

That goes for banks just as much as for the automobile industry.

Yes, the whole automotive sector employs millions of people and reaches far beyond the ‘big’ three Michigan car manufacturers. But that is no reason to keep the latter on taxpayer financed life-support.

For decades, and up until very recently, those same auto manufacturers who now claim that they can and will change, have actively opposed every single measure to increase the safety of their vehicles and to reduce pollution.

With the help of their political vassals in Congress they have had both feet firmly on the brakes on everything from seatbelts and airbags to fuel efficient engines and less polluting production methods.

Granted, foreign car manufacturers also benefit from state aid, and some of them are partially syate-owned. But they have developed cars that get 40 and more mpg using regular fuels, and that are completely recyclable.

And what do we get from Detroit? The Hummer, the Ford Expedition and the Dodge Ram.

By the time this issue of the Sustainable Times goes to press, the issue of the bail-out for Chrysler, Ford and GM might already have been decided.

But the main points remain valid. The American automotive sector will not disappear if the ‘big three’ do. It will just shift to other companies. Hopefully, smaller, more flexible and more responsible companies - financially, socially and environmentally.
And that goes for all sectors of our economy.

The present economic upheaval presents us with the chance to move our economy in a new direction, away from the commercial dinosaurs like the giant car companies and financial corporations that for years have sucked their customers dry and that now are sucking everyone dry. Because they are ‘too big to fail’.

A sustainable economy is based on local businesses that are part and parcel of their community. They enjoy community support and give back.

When we go out shopping, whether it’s for everyday necessities or holiday gifts, let’s do it locally.

The corporate fiscal vacuum cleaners get enough support from Capitol Hill (with our money), so let’s not throw good money after bad: Support your local store instead.