Technological change always creates winners and losers in the jobs market. But as the Wall Street Journal points out, the disruption among autoworkers is being caused by the Biden administration, not market forces.
Is this completely necessary? Is anybody measuring the ruined lives against how bad global warming actually is, whether it is really the end of the world, whether it makes some things better, and whether electric vehicles – with their own emissions and their needs for special minerals – are going to make any measurable difference?
The Wall Street Journal editorial board writes:
President Biden sold the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as a giant climate jobs program, but then how does he explain what happened Friday at the StellantisJeep Cherokee plant in Belvidere, Illinois? Some 1,350 workers are losing their jobs so the auto maker can finance its government-mandated and subsidized electric-vehicle expansion.
Stellantis broke the news to workers on Friday that it will idle the Cherokee plant in February, citing “the increasing cost related to the electrification of the automotive market.” Merry Christmas! The Jeep Cherokee has been a popular model, though the plant has cut shifts since 2019.
But Stellantis, which formed through the merger of France’s PSA Group and Italian-American Fiat Chrysler, needs to come up with money to finance the more than $35 billion that it plans to invest in EVs over the next few years. Government industrial policy doesn’t give the company much of a choice.
3 thoughts on “Biden’s blue collar green job losses”
Maybe they can retool the factory to build short run planes that fly from Paris to Bordeaux. Oh wait, that got banned by France. The little people need to hitch a ride on the train or walk. Meanwhile John Kerry… Gulfsteam G-IV, cost new $5,000,000, not including pilot, license fees, operational costs, insurance, fuel.
Quoting Mel Brooks: ” It’s good to be the king.”
These people are hypocrites of the highest caliber.
We all know that all or nearly the predictions of 5-10-20-30-40-50 years ago on global cooling or warming — have been wrong. Why should we know believe that in 10 years (or whatever it is) the world will end?
Not talking carbon, or fossil fuel or sun spots… just the overall STATISTICS…and it is clear that these people have no idea. To believe them is folly.
Good point Mark, Just look at the public service commercials from the 1970s that scream about global cooling. Can we help each other to create a cleaner place to live? Sure. Can we actually change a climate? Uh, not really
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