[Mb-civic] Salvaging the auto industry - Barack Obama & Jay Inslee - Boston Globe Op-Ed

[William Swiggard]

  Salvaging the auto industry

By Barack Obama and Jay Inslee  |  February 8, 2006  |  The Boston Globe

LAST TUESDAY, the president told us it was time to get serious about 
America's addiction to oil. Last Wednesday, his advisers told us he 
didn't mean that literally. To underscore that point, the administration 
plans to start laying off government researchers who work on the very 
same renewable energy solutions the president said were our future. 
Meanwhile, his proposals would bring us back to the same level of 
renewable energy funding that we had at the beginning of his 
administration -- before he started cutting it.

Obviously, this isn't a real solution to America's oil addiction. But 
that doesn't mean we have to settle for more of the same timid 
approaches. We can put this country on a real path towards energy 
independence, and we can start with the biggest oil addicts in America 
today -- the cars we drive.

As demand for oil continues to rise, other countries are already 
realizing that an oil future alone is not a secure future. Toyota is 
doubling production of the gasoline-electric hybrid Prius to sell 
100,000 in the United States this year, and it's getting ready to open a 
new production plant in China. The waiting lists for these foreign 
hybrids in our country are months-long.

Meanwhile, the American auto industry is struggling to catch up. 
Together, GM and Ford have announced plans to lay off up to 60,000 
workers. And despite pledges to increase production of fuel-efficient 
hybrid vehicles, US auto companies will probably continue lagging behind 
their foreign counterparts. Ford is only making 20,000 Escape Hybrids 
this year, and GM's brand won't be on the market until 2007.

US automakers have frequently blamed their inability to invest in new 
technology on having to pay retiree health costs that foreign 
competitors do not have. GM alone is expected to pay $4 billion this 
year just to provide retiree healthcare benefits. In fact, healthcare 
costs represent $1,500 of the price of every GM car that's made, which 
is more than what they pay for the steel. The company's recent deal with 
the UAW to reduce retiree benefits helps, but by no means solves its 
financial difficulties.

The precariousness of an oil economy, crushing healthcare costs, and the 
failure to design for the future are killing our auto industry. And so 
we have a choice. We can sit by and watch it crumble. Or we can do 
something to save jobs and boost our economy.

It's time to help the auto industry invest in more fuel-efficient cars, 
and we believe the federal government has a role in helping them do it. 
We've introduced a proposal called the ''Health Care for Hybrids" Act to 
address the challenges of the US auto industry and reduce our country's 
dependence on foreign oil at the same time.

This bill would set up a voluntary program in which automakers could 
choose to receive federal financial assistance towards their retiree 
healthcare costs. In return, the automakers would be required to 
reinvest these savings into developing fuel-efficient vehicles. As a 
result, our proposal would measurably reduce our nation's dependence on 
oil. Some of these technologies are already available and awaiting use 
by the Big Three.

Instead of a no-strings-attached financial bailout of the auto industry 
that could lead to factories being built overseas, our proposal could 
jumpstart the industry to commercialize new technology that consumers 
are demanding. More American hybrid cars also ensure that there is 
competition in this growing market, and would also help keep car prices low.

Our proposal addresses a complex problem in a way that strengthens the 
American economy. Autoworkers would get the healthcare they had been 
promised, the auto industry would be back on a competitive footing, and 
our reliance on foreign oil would be reduced.

In the State of the Union, we had hoped that the president would take 
serious steps to address two of the problems weighing on the minds of 
Americans: the rising costs of healthcare and energy. Unfortunately, his 
proposals showed that he was more talk than action.

Health for Hybrids would show that we're ready to act on America's oil 
addiction. It would show that we're not ready to sit by and watch a 
giant of American industry fail while millions of Americans lose their 
jobs. And it would show that we're serious about one other goal the 
president mentioned in his speech: keeping America competitive in a 21st 
century global economy.

Barack Obama is a Democratic senator from Illinois. Jay Inslee is a 
Democratic congressman from Washington.  

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/02/08/salvaging_the_auto_industry/
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