From top to bottom, our governments never apologize for the irreparable damage they do to business.
First, let me start at the bottom. I winter in Scottsdale, Arizona. In the 14 years we have been coming here, the City of Scottsdale has had almost a non-stop construction project docket for Pima Road between the 101 Loop and Dynamite Road. Beginning last fall, they began tearing up the intersection of Pima and Pinnacle Peak. There are strip shopping centers on all four quadrants. By now, due to the economy and the construction, most have 50% vacancies. Could the City have postponed this job? Of course, but consideration for the small businessmen trying to survive a tough economy was never a consideration. Could the City have accelerated the time required to do the project? Of course, but a project that should have been done in 3 months will drag on for a year. By then, it will be a miracle if any of the four shopping centers have any tenants. Jobs will be lost, bank loans will go sour, lives will be ruined, but the City will have it’s project. Absolutely no feeling that the City had any hand it the carnage it wreaked on this once bustling shopping mecca. Sorry guys, not our fault, we’re just a government doing what a government does, put the screws to business.
At the top, the drooling idiot Obama chose for his Secretary of Transportation, jumped on the Toyota rapid acceleration issue and made the brilliant statement, “I wouldn’t drive a Toyota”
Now comes a 10 month study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the NASA people, LaHood says “We feel Toyota’s are safe to drive.” There were no tests that showed any electronics failures in Toyota’s. They still point to floor mats and sticky accelerators. But, in most cases it was driver error. The drivers though they were hitting the brake but were hitting the accelerator.
In announcing this result, did LaHood apologize to Toyota? Of course not. The financial losses by Toyota were not his problem. Much like the intersection of Pima and Pinnacle Peak, the government was doing what it always does. Put the screws to business. No pause on the part of LaHood, not when he thought there was political hay to be made. No concern for a company that manufactures most of it’s cars in the country. No regard for the health of a car company without it’s hand out to government. In fact, it almost seemed like an opportunity to help the two car companies the government owned and smack down a non-union manufacturer. Toyota’s profit was down 39% for the fourth quarter of 2010. Too bad, not LaHood’s problem.
I would be remiss if I didn’t point out LaHood hails from Illinois, land of political fools. He was a Republican minion of the Speaker of the House, Michael Madigan, a Democrat. A token Republican in the Obama cabinet. A Republican who’s strings have always been pulled by Democrats.
Why do we have a jobless economy? I don’t know, ask the City of Scottsdale or Ray LaHood.
