Paying for Detroit’s Mistakes
Thirty-five years ago, the first oil shock allowed Japanese car manufacturers to effectively enter the US market. Since then, Detroit has had difficulty coming up with a long term solution to compete against Japanese automakers. Their current pleas for federal aid would grossly waste taxpayer dollars in a time of economic turmoil. While their cash-strapped situations and predictions of total failure certainly were accelerated by the current economic crisis, a look at their history puts the matter into perspective. Detroit has a failed business model — the cost of which it hopes to pin on the American people.
A Matter of Choice
MIT stands among very few institutions in the nation regarding how it prepares its students for their future. A solid, practical education ensures that we can adapt and take care of ourselves after we graduate from college. Personally, I assume that such preparation includes the skills necessary for daily sustenance.
‘The Sale of Our Future’
$43 trillion is the total sum of our government’s future Medicare and Social Security obligations over and above its current ability pay. This represents an unimaginable load on future generations of Americans. Without action within the next few years overhauling both commitment programs, the burden of supporting these programs amidst spiraling debt will fall directly onto the workers of the future — you and me!