Question of the Day: Is Anyone Accountable?

by Jonny Lieberman

Published: June 6th, 2008

question of the day is anyone accountable

As I've documented endlessly, my attraction to moving hunks of iron, plastic and rubber goes back as far as I do. My father was a pistonhead, my grandfather was a pistonhead and my great-grandfather was a schmate dealer born in Odessa around the time of the American Civil War. I mention this because as a kid I read Lee Iaccoca's autobiography. One of the lessons I took away from it (besides how hard he and Hank Ford II lobbied Nixon against airbags) was that the government bailout of Chrysler was needed because so many American jobs were at stake. Sure, corporate mis-management got the brand in trouble. But it was Uncle Sam's responsibility to not let them fail, according to Lee. Today we learned that Rick Wagoner defended The Big 2.8's inability to foresee how surging gas prices could gut the entire US ~~SUV~~ car industry. Assuming for a moment there is blame to be assigned (and we think there is), who gets it? The CEOs, for their blind devotion to easy body-on-frame profits? The government, for not being proactive and passing tougher CAFE standards years ago which would have forced the industry to think small? Or consumers, for buying so many socially-irresponsible hulking tanks when they simply did not need them? We passing the buck here. Who wants it?

Jonny Lieberman

Cleanup driver for Team Black Metal V8olvo.

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4 of 43 comments

Golden2husky on Jun 07, 2008
The government, for allowing the environmental wackos to run our energy policy. Basically, it is impossible to even maintain our current supply of energy, let along increase it domestically.... That couldn't be further from the truth. Left to its own devices, the energy industry would simply rape and plunder American resources to line its own nest. The historical record is loaded with cases that show that without some type of regulation or protection in place, our natural resources will be misused to the benefit of a few. Yeah, overall energy prices might be lower for a short time if industry had free reign, but I'm willing to bet that would be more than offset by health issues, lost productivity, cleanups, etc. This is not even taking into account the moral obligation we have to be good stewards of our country and our planet. Don't ever expect most individuals to do anything for the common good because it will never happen. Most people, and certainly the captains of industry, are in it for themselves. That is why you need good government to balance the needs for individual choice/advancement and the needs of the population as a whole. Industry will NEVER fill that role, be it for the environment, safe labor practices, or anything else. They myopically view these things as impediments to their pot of gold. As flawed as it may be, the political arena is all that we have to work with. You can't expect a business to be concerned with long term effects on the nation (or globe) as a whole when often they can't look past their own noses. Take TTAC's favorite whipping boy. No, not the UAW - I think that's #2, but GM. GM only looked at what was important for them in the near term. From that perspective the did exactly what they should have done - produce vehicles that are profitable and sell. They made a ton of money on SUV's and trucks, and they made a good product, too. Naturally, it would be intelligent not to invest all your eggs in one basket and they should have developed smaller cars that were the equal to their trucks. Anybody who has been in a new Tahoe knows that whoever worked on designing the Lumina must not be employed on the truck side of things. So if a company can't even see far enough ahead to do what is best for themselves as a whole, I certainly don't expect them to be concerned with ozone loss affecting my health.

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Ttacgreg on Jun 07, 2008

taxman100 . . . Do you really think using terms like "environmental wackos" is constructive? Thea earth is finite. I my opinion, overpopulation (is) will lead to severe problems, that train is due to arrive, the signs are already there that it is approaching the crossing. We tear down and destroy the balanced, complex web of life at our own risk. We alter the chemistry of the atmosphere at our own risk. We pollute and over fish the ocean at our own risk. Do you desire for there to even be great great grandchildren? Do you want them to look at pictures of frogs, apes and all sorts of other biological miracles in the same way children today do with dinosaurs? And what will they think knowing our greed and carelessness eradicated them from the earth? What medicines will never be found becuase the unique plants that produce them are lost? There is infinite value to humans in biodiversity, unfortunately we can't see past our televisions and consumerism to see that. Our rampant industrialized greed is impoverishing future generations. I have heard the population will hit 10 billion by mid late century. I don't think that can happen. There are natural limits. I'll wear the label "environmental wacko" with pride, thank you! I am the true conservative, I want to conserve that which gives us life, the biosphere, the web of life. Sorry, you cannot breathe or eat dollars. Furthermore, playing the blame game is a rather useless thing to do. Assigning blame does nothing to solve the mess we are in. We find ourselves here. Now, where do we need to go, and how do we get there?

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Blowfish on Jun 08, 2008

The video explains everything: Rick actually admits they manage GM by “reading tea leaves”!!! Hey GM wouldn't be in this deep Sh*t if someone can actually read tead leaves. Dont laugh those guy can tell u things qute accurate.

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DearS on Jun 09, 2008

No one is to blame. Humans make mistakes. We live with no referees and We are observers, not referees. Everyone is responsible for their side of the street. Just its a complicated street. Its challenging to see ourselves clearly. Blaming is dysfunctional though. It just feels like its someones fault. Many mistakes feel like faults, but they are opportunities for growth. Being imperfect is a gift, its what allows us to grow in the present (present = gift). No mistakes in the universe though. I cannot change/fix how others feel. Nothing wrong with how folk feel or view current events. Its just dysfunctional behavior does not result in happiness. I'd like to see others happy, so that I can selfishly embrace their happiness. Everyone is growing to change dysfunctional behavior. My goodness there are a lot of layers to change and transform. I'm doing something about what I can change. I'm accepting reality, accepting I am powerless over others. Changing my relationships with others. I'm transforming my perceptions. I'm changing my attitude and behavior. I'm changing my perspectives. I have power over my self. I'm deactivating my ego. I'm living in present responsibly with sane expectations and humility. Living with faith, truth, vision, light and wisdom. Its just so much better this way. I do not think anyone is accountable for the feelings and views of others. For the expectations of others. I am accountable/responsible for myself, for my believes, expectations, and what I buy into. I'm not perfect, I do alot of things that cause me pain and grieve. I have a choice as to whether or not I blame myself for things. I slowly learning to own my power to make the choice to stop beating myself up. Being compassionate and patient and caring to myself is my biggest achievement and success. Its all I need to do. Everything else is just a mistake, an opportunity for growth as a loving individual.

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