Growing Momentum Of GM, Chrysler Boycott
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Anthony G. Martin
In yesterday’s column the vital necessity of a boycott of all products made by ‘Government Motors’ (GM, Chrysler) was emphasized. Today it is important to examine the growing momentum of such a boycott.
Little did I know when I wrote yesterday’s article that the bandwagon had already begun rolling on the boycott of GM and Chrysler. Several national conservative columnists had already called for such a boycott, and a trickling of citizens from here and yon indicated that they would no longer buy products from these 2 government-controlled companies.
Then yesterday afternoon I was alerted to a new Rasmussen Poll, issued on Thursday, which indicates that this growing phenomenon is beginning to gain traction.
Twenty-six percent (26%) of American adults believe it was a good idea for the federal government to take ownership of General Motors as the auto giant was on the verge of collapse. Nearly as many–17%–say that Americans should protest the bailout by boycotting GM and refusing to buy its cars. Most Americans are somewhere in between.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 53% of Americans believe the bailout was a bad idea. Of this group, 30% favor a boycott, 54% oppose the idea and 16% are not sure.
If 17% of the buying public supports a boycott, this amounts to a loss in the sales of multi-thousands of units in an industry that is already reeling from the lowest sales volume in history.
At first glance, 17% may not seem to indicate very much support for a boycott. But one must remember that even a 5% decline in sales represents millions in the auto industry. A 17% decline on top of the losses already sustained by GM and Chrysler would bring the 2 companies to the brink of complete collapse, except for the billions in tax funds Obama and Congress are pumping into the entities.
And this brings us to a valid concern on the part of those who are not so sure that a boycott is a good thing. Their objection centers on the tax issue. With the current thinking embraced by those who are presently running the government, a continued loss on the part of ‘Government Motors’ would only provide the impetus to pump more of our tax dollars into a failing industry.
The objection would be valid were it not for one key factor that even Obama himself has admitted–the country is already ‘out of money.’ Further, the President stated that ‘we cannot continue to operate with these kinds of deficits.’
When the Rip van Winkles in Washington finally wake up to the fact that we are, indeed, out of money, and that there is no more left from which to funnel into pet projects for liberals, or bailouts of corporations, then some very hard choices will have to made. Even liberals will be forced to decide that they must let some things go in order to fund the necessary functions of government, such as our national defense, or even government salaries.
The bottom line is that most thinking Americans know that GM and Chrysler are history anyway. No amount of government funding is going to save them. A careful look at the figures will tell the story. So why not go ahead and hasten the inevitable?
Even without a boycott, the bankruptcies of the 2 automakers will result in a renewed avalanche of unemployment over the summer months. We have not yet begun to experience the consequences of this historic demise of 2 auto-making icons, but it is definitely on the way. Plant shutdowns, massive layoffs, the demise of parts manufacturers and every other industry that directly depends on GM, will severely impact our economy over the next few months. This is coming whether we like it or not.
Thus, we may as well bite the bullet and hasten the demise of the 2 failed automakers rather than stringing them along on life-support, putting off the inevitable.
Here is a partial rundown of the various columnists and citizens who are calling for a boycott of GM and Chrysler:
Hugh Hewitt Michael O’Brien All That Is Necessary Telegraph of the U.K. The Patriotic Resistance
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