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Help for America’s Auto Industry
Auto jobs
created a
middle class
in J udge G reg M athis
From maintenance to assembly
to sales, auto industry
jobs have helped thou­
sands o f African Ameri­
cans find decent, secure
jobs that allowed them to
support theirfamilies and
plan for their futures.
W ith it’s higher than a v e r­
age w ag es, the in d u stry has
long served as a g atew ay to the
m iddle class for m any A frican
A m erican w orkers. O n shaky
ground fo r years, the A m erican
au to industry is now under the
th reat o f a total co llap se. If it
folds, black A m erica w ill be hit
the hardest.
In the mid-1900s, millions of
blacks living in the south headed
north to cities like Detroit, lured by
job prospects and a desire to es­
cape the oppressive racism o f the
south. Though they didn’t neces­
sarily find utopia, they were able to
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dem ocrats
by C had K ister
W ith the disgraced D etroit three autom akers
getting $17.4 billion o f our taxpayer dollars in
loans, thanks to the disastrous G eorge Bush, we
should rem em ber the last several billion that we
gave the industry, and the outcom e o f it.
In the 1990s, the Partnership for a New G enera­
tion o f V ehicles worked to m ake 80+ miles per
gallon cars. Leading scientists and the big three
autom akers helped speed that process along.
The partnership was a huge success, with three
70+ m iles per gallon prototypes. General M otors
had the Precept, a 5-seat sedan with ample trunk
homes and provide an education
fortheirchildren. Strong black com ­
munities were established and the
black middle class began to grow.
W ithout long-term g o v ern ­
m ent support, the auto industry
could crum ble and the black
m iddle class could shrink co n ­
siderably. A lready, our people
are taking the biggest hits. Nearly
20,000 African A merican auto in­
dustry w orkers have lost their
jo b s since the recession began a
little over a year ago.
In 2007, blacks made up just
over 14 percent o f auto industry-
workers . Today, we compri se about
11 p erc en t o f the in d u stry ’s
workforce.
A u to m ak ers w ere rec en tly
thrown a lifeline by the federal
government in the form of a $ 17.4
billion loan package. W hile the
sum is huge, many industry insid­
ers say it may not be enough to
help the automakers dig themselves
out of the financial hole they are in.
energy conservation perspective.
U sing slick ads to push their behem oth ve­
hicles, the auto m akers are am ong the biggest
culprits in the fast rise in greenhouse gas em is­
sions in the Untied States.
W hat happened to the efficient vehicles?
The failure to incorporate that technology was
also a m ajor cause o f our econom ic collapse.
W ith the rise in gas prices this past summer,
the values of SU V ’s plum m eted, and for many,
their gas guzzlers are now worth less than the
loan they have on them.
W hy should we give a bail-out now, when the
autom akers are the ones who
put them selves into the crisis
they are in through their own
idiocy? W hy d o n ’t they dust
off these efficient vehicles and
p u t th em in to p ro d u ctio n ,
som ething both our wallets
and our planet could have used
a decade ago?
T hey say those who forget history are bound
Why should we give a bail-out now,
when the automakers are the ones
who put themselves into the crisis
they are in through their own idiocy?^
space, w ith one version getting 108 m iles per
gallon equivalent running on hydrogen.
Ford had the Prodigy getting 72 m iles per g al­
lon, and D aim ler-C hrysler also had a 72-m jles-per
gallon vehicle. Taxpayers were proud that their
billions w ere not wasted, and expected these
vehicles on the market.
But none o f the autom akers put any of these
vehicles into production, or anything sim ilar.
Instead, they chose gas-guzzling SU V s, the
epitom e o f stupidity from a clim ate change and
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oh
Why should we give a Bailout?
to repeat it.
A fter the foolish follies o f the auto industries,
in pushing gas guzzlers on the A m erican public
(along with tax breaks that they m anipulated
through Congress), why should we bail them
out?
W hat we need is massi ve investm ent in mass
transit and high speed passenger rail: a much
better w ay to travel with exponential fuel sav­
ings com pared to the most efficient vehicles.
C had K ister is an author and film producer.
1 st Time Homebuyers
The government needs to in­
crease the amount o f the funds it is
loaning to the auto industry. W ith­
out additional funds car makers
will not be able to pay off debt and
then begin the work o f retooling
their business models so that they
can be more competitive with for-
The American auto industry is
now under the threat o f a total
collapse. If it folds, black America
will be hit the hardest.
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land jobs manufacturing jobs in
rapidly growing industries.
Automakers were among the
few companies that would hire
blacks and many of those who
moved north ended up in the auto
plants. With these jobs, the work­
ers were able to buy land, build
eign auto makers.
If more money is not made avail­
able, the leading American car
makers would be forced into bank­
ruptcy, taking with them the large
and small companies that supply
parts and other services to the
industry. M illionsof w orkers-and
their families - would be left out in
the cold.
K ee p in g th e se c o m p a n ie s
afloat is critical. N ot only w ould
the black m iddle class benefit, so
too w ould the rest o f A m erica. If
the large autom akers go under,
the already bleak econom ic o ut­
look w ould only w orsen.
We must collectively demand
that our elected officials fight for
additional support for the Ameri­
can auto industry. Write your rep­
resentatives today; visit usa.gov
to find out how.
Judge Greg Mathis is vice presi­
dent o f Rainbow PUSH and a board
m em ber o f the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference.
The comfortable winning margin fo r Sen. Obama
covered up more massive purging o f eligible voters.
Suppressing the Vote to Win
Tide turns on
Republicans
W illiam A. C ollins
“W e shall w in,” The old pol
gloats, “As long as we control
who votes.”
In its present ideological mode,
the Republican Party finds itself
to be a serious minority. This
w e a k n e ss is e s p e c ia lly p r o ­
nounced am ong blacks, the fast­
growing Latino bloc, and the poor
in general.
Plainly in politics one’s elec­
toral future is not enhanced by
being such a small portion o f the
electorate. Thus it is fortunate for
R e p u b lic an s th at the U n ited
States enjoys a long history o f
restricting w ho actually gets to
cast a ballot.
You'll recall that at first only
property owners could do so, male
property ow ners at that. After
em ancipation things opened up
and black males were theoreti­
cally given the right to vote too.
W om en cam e along much later.
But as we all know, becom ing
and rem aining a voter is not ju st
a theoretical exercise. At least in
by
this country that right is hotly
contested in hard-fought politi­
cal combat.
He who controls the voter lists
often controls the election. One
thinks back to the poll tax, an early
and effective device for Southern
Dem ocrats to deflect new ly en ­
franchised blacks.
Now it is the Republicans' turn
to fear voters. For years, even
before this latest tour in the W hite
House, the OOP's close bond with
W all Street had sapped the loy­
alty o f many otherw ise conserva­
tive average citizens.
T he current financial m elt­
dow n then pushed many others
over the edge to the Democrats.
In fact, too many left for even this
shrew d and conscienceless ad ­
m inistration to be able to counter­
act the trend, though Lord know s
it tried hard, in cooperation with
v ario u s G O P -co n tro lled state
governm ents.
One clever m aneuver to retain
control w as to underfund the
Census Bureau, thus leading to
an undercount in areas heavy
with poor, hard-to-find citizens.
Many states with Republican
legislatures or secretaries of state
set up stem roadblocks to voting.
Registration was made rem ark­
ably inconvenient; hard-to-ob-
tain picture identification was
m ade m andatory; voters w ho
m oved w ithin a tow n were d e­
leted from the rolls w ithout noti­
fication; form er felons were d e­
nied the vote (som etim es forever)
until they com pleted an elaborate
restoration process; voting m a­
chines broke dow n in poor neigh­
b o rh o o d s; fa lse in fo rm a tio n
about voting was selectively dis­
tributed; non-profit groups aid­
ing in voter registration were in­
vestigated by the FBI.
The com fortable winning m ar­
gin for Sen. O bam a covered up
more m assive purging o f eligible
voters. Perhaps a new Justice
D epartm ent will alter course and
seek out purgers rather than co n ­
tinuing to harass voter registra­
tion teams.
W ithout a universal registra­
tion system, how ever, the term
dem ocracy will alw ays be som e­
what m isapplied to the United
States.
Columnist William A. Collins is
a form er state representative and a
form er mayor o f Norwalk. Conn.
Now is a urcat time to buy! Why rent when you can own??
The US Government is offering a $7,500 lax credit to
1st
Time home buyers.
yding
This won’t be available forever so, act quickly to take
off last
year’s models
NEW SINGLE SPEEDS FROM $299.00
advantage.
EST IN YOUR FUTURE
John R. Pjris
KELLER WILLIAMS
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