Crossposted at Blogging For Michigan.
My local paper, The Oakland Press has always had a reputation for leaning towards the right. Yet since the election, they’ve drank a Sam’s Club sized quantity of Obama Hateorade. Mallard Fillmore, the conservative comic strip, has jumped off their comics page and made it to their "Opinions" section. The only place where you’ll see a pro-Obama piece is the occasional LTE they publish for "balance".
And so it should be no surprise that what should’ve been little more than an opinion piece from the Mackinac Center got front page coverage in yesterday’s print version of the paper. David Littman, an economist from The Mackinac Center, was interviewed by Jerry Wolffe. Littman’s solution for helping the economy? Let the auto companies fail. Why? Because it’ll create more jobs!
There’s a chance General Motors Corp., Chrysler LLC and Ford Motor Co. may not survive, the chief economist of a think-tank says.
However, David Littman of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy said the demise of the Detroit Three could mean more jobs overall in the economy.
........
"More people would be employed if they (GM, Ford and Chrysler) went out of business because the resources could be used elsewhere, people would spend money elsewhere and save money," he said.
(For those of you not from the Great Lakes State, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy is Michigan's largest right-wing think tank. They're our own personal Heritage Foundation, and if you're economically liberal in Michigan, they're also the bane of your existence.)
First of all, someone is going to need to explain to me how buying a Toyota is going to save you more money than buying a Ford. Last I checked, the cars are similarly priced.
Second, if over 16 million people (a statistic also mentioned in the article) were to lose their jobs, HOW IN THE HELL ARE THEY GOING TO BE ABLE TO SPEND MONEY THAT THEY AREN’T EARNING?
You know what would really help the economy? If the Mackinac Center, and the other right-wing think tanks all closed up shop. This way racist billionaires would quit spending their money on public policy advocacy and instead spend money on more yachts and fancy cars. Imagine how quickly the housing market would pick back up if people like Dick DeVos spent less money trying to get school vouchers passed and instead just bought another dozen mansions!
But maybe Littman’s right. Let’s use his logic in regards to health.
Let’s say I took a baseball bat to the testicles of David Littman. I believe that this will improve his health because the rest of his body will have to compensate for the severe pain his body would be experiencing. Also, if the blow to his groin would cause his testicles to have to be surgically removed, he could become a much more productive citizen since he will no longer have a sex drive and can use his time more efficiently if he doesn’t have a use for his "little brain" anymore.
That would be much better than letting The Big 3 fail.
*Legal disclaimer: I have no intention of assaulting Mr. Littman. I’m just saying that a blow to his nuts would be as good for his health as the collapse of the auto-industry would be to the economy.