What does the new GM have to say about trade??
There is a lot of fanfare today about the success of GM to date as it turns around the bankruptcy of a couple years ago. Let’s look at the nature of this success, which may offer voters an insight into patterns of successful competition as it stands today.
So, what does the new GM look like? A few nuggets from the registration statement:
- 33 percent of its sales come from North America;
- 44.5 percent come from Asia-Pacific, South America, Russia, Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East, including a market-leading position in China;
- 43% of its vehicles are manufactured in regions of the world where the “all-in” labor cost is under $15 an hour;
- Its U.S. pension plans remain underfunded by about $17.1 billion.
Here’s wishing the new GM success.
Yes, this exemplifies where I see the US collectively going.
Hours down. Wages down. Pension promises abandoned. What wealth we do create exported more.
Back in 1992 ol’ Perot was right about the global wage meeting at $6.
Now, my understanding of economics tells me this is not the bad news it appears, as I believe real estate prices are the dominant source and sink of wealth, and as such can and will decline further as J6P’s buying power recedes.
As for Buick in China, I guess most Chinese wouldn’t be caught dead driving a Nissan, somewhat like those of us who would never buy a Mitsubishi.
IMO, the Detroit bailout was the first shot across the bow against the Walmart society. The faux “free trade” has sucked the middle class jobs from the country. Congratulations to Barack and his team. They are right, we cannot afford to deliver the coupe de grace to American manufacturing.
Walmart is a real bad actor in the US economy. The Germans put the run on the bastards toute de suite by forcing them to honor the industry bargaining patterns and providing the existing wage and benefit package. Walmart could not compete with the better retailers and left. Good riddance.
Then there is how shareholders will do. First read this: (MSM version)
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/First-day-trading-of-GM-apf-2339978096.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=5&asset=&ccode=
Then read this: (Fight Club movie version, ya know…where they blow up the banks at the ending….)
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/getco-chruns-nearly-entire-gm-float-stock-closes-lows-day-and-1-below-break-price
Then realize the taxpayer has only got half its investment out of the bailout. (not including future pension liability, ie Federal Pension Guarantee Fund)
“Now, my understanding of economics tells me this is not the bad news it appears, as I believe real estate prices are the dominant source and sink of wealth, and as such can and will decline further as J6P’s buying power recedes.”
Mr. Magroot
$6/hr
Now we are finally talking about what is going on. The devastation that the Federal government, under Bush, is worse than the Axis powers would have imposed had they won WW2.
People in the US are so stupid. “Fwee Twade” !!!!
There is no coincidence that Bill Clinton is from Arkansas, and so is Walmart. He had a big red telephone on his desk, not from the Soviet Union, but from Walmart, Inc. who had an adgenda of off-shoring American jobs. Just think about what they where after: Making products for $1.00 and shipping to the US to sell for $140.00. ( Tennis Shoes). The interesting part is the US worker complicity, even as they get laid off.
Germany told Walmart that they would have to pay the wages and benefits that all the other retailers paid. They could not negotiate for sales tax benefits, state tax incentives including infrastructure expenditures, and dumping their employees on the State welfare dole. Walmart exited Germany in a hurry, because they couldn’t compete. Same with the Japanese car assemblers in the Ku Klux Klan States.
The problem in the US is not the government. It is us. Anyone shopping at Walmart and buying an imported vehicle or any manufactured product, is the problem. Is your job still safe ? Dumb bastards.
How muxh carbon dioxide is dumped into the atmospher by GM. That question ultimately is the most important question!
Sigh!!!!!!
Sulligan,
The Nazis were corporatists’ tools, who wanted to make the land from the Vistula to the Pacific one big farm, and turn the demilitarized French into entertainers and cheese makers.
The issue was Japan, they wanted was to kick the Europeans (including the Russians) and Chiang’s sycophants out of Asia.
The issue would have devolved to the Euro-militarists dealing with Japanese Empire and a cold war of the proportions of the one with the scientific socialists’ move to take the corporatists may have resulted.
Watch China vis a vis West Eurasian land mass.
The west’s axis may shift from London/NY to Berlin/Bonn.
What would have been different if Chuchill had not had the backbone to stand up to Hitler?
And Russian is becoming a source of gas and oil……………………..
Dan,
I believe, for reasons I am unsure of, that the Chinese now produce more cars than the US does. But your post suggests that GM alone sells more cars in China than any other producer. I am confused and not yet at my optimium caffeine level?
SHANGHAI, China — General Motors in China would make a great case study for an MBA student. While GM tries to turn things around in the U.S., its sales are soaring in China, where the automaker surpassed Volkswagen to become No. 1 in passenger car sales.
http://www.insideline.com/features/chinese-lessons-what-gm-has-learned-in-china.html
China13,790,994 Japan7,934,516 United States5,711,823 Germany5,209,857 South Korea3,512,916 Brazil3,182,617 China13,790,994 Japan7,934,516 United States5,711,823 Germany5,209,857 South Korea3,512,916 Brazil3,182,617
China produced 14 million vehicles 2009, the US, Japan, Germany far less as countries. The BRIC countries are primary consumers and possibly Indonesia and area.
Comments on gay issue deleted.
You can certainly make the case that a car based system as developed so far creates a lot of problems too….see econospeak yesterday.
Dan, I don’t read econospeak, so would you provide a link or the referenced statement, please.
since ~02-04 gm has
been transitioning from
multinational to trans
national
[while still at mckinsey,
f, ostroff et al spoke of this
in re other auto makers
to point of seeing a
global monopoly in
becoming]
a transcendence of national
no dif where headquarters
happen to be
while same time playing
national states aagainst
one another
in the interest of subsidies
lowest effective tax rate
[what cross-subsizations
between SAIC & GM? …..]
well, a read through GM;s S-1 [partic page 30] does not drive this juan’s finger to the buy button…
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1467858/000119312510263484/d424b1.htm#rom45833_2
We have determined that our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal control over financial reporting are currently not effective. The lack of effective internal controls could materially adversely affect our financial condition and ability to carry out our business plan.
Our management team for financial reporting, under the supervision and with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our internal controls. At December 31, 2009, because of the inability to sufficiently test the effectiveness of remediated internal controls, we concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective. At September 30, 2010 we concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective at a reasonable assurance level because of the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting that continued to exist. Until we have been able to test the operating effectiveness of remediated internal controls and ensure the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, any material weaknesses may materially adversely affect our ability to report accurately our financial condition and results of operations in the future in a timely and reliable manner
Does that mean China GM operations uses nation based reporting, and they don’t know how to include trade policy decisions by the Chnese Gov and bank in a corporate headquarters based in a free market country???