Out of step with Obama

[rov1200]

Will Brown's visit to the US have the desired effect?

The flattery he gave out went down well. But when he mentioned protectionism the hall fell silent. So the US will pump $billions into their failing car industries whereas ours may go to the wall.

Brown, like Thatcher is not for turning so will he still pursue the level playing field while all around him countries are putting themselves first?

Therefore if the US practices protectionism should we do the same?

[Clanad]

Obama has to pay a huge bill that has come due. That's the extreme support he received in the election from the labor unions. Therefore protectionism (which has never worked) may well come to pass in his administration. Look, it's a well established fact that at least one of the Big Three (Chrysler, General Motors and Ford) has no chance of surving... no matter how much is pumped in and out of the remaining two (GM and Ford) GM has only about a 50/50 chance of survival. Why not let economics take its course, you say, and let them go bankrupt and reform?... Simply because the unions are owed to much of a debt for Obama's election.
I respond well to the charge of cynicism, by the way... But it woorked well with the airlines, with which I'm intimately knowledgable, and the surviving ones are much more able to prosper following the process...
If we here in the U.S. establish any form of protectionism, the results will be identical to the events leading to the Great Depression of the 1930's. Who said doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is a definition of insanity?

[rov1200]

I quite agree that pumping money into the car industry in the US and producing cars that are no longer wanted is fallacious. Therefore why do the American public and the politicians go along with it knowing it will fail. Obama must have financial advisors. Nobody wants to return to the 1930's, so is Obama just being a 'yes' man to the unions while completely disregarding the people who know. Surely their are other profit making industries such as Boeing who could do with the cash.
The idea I prefer is to put money into peoples pockets so that they can choose the products they require. At present the tax reductions are too small to make a difference.

But if the US do sign up to protectionism this will infect more than the car industry with tariffs being levied in many sectors. But doing nothing is not an option!
Britain at the moment seems like rabbits caught in the car headlights! Talk is no substitute for action!

[Clanad]

There are sure signs that Obama is true to his calling as one of the most radical left wing liberals we've ever seen. He has full intention of raising taxes significantly, instituting nationalized health care and, in all probablility, nationalizing at least the banking syste. And that's just for starters. Problem is, he is a very charismatic speaker although most of that is the ability to read a telepromter and has a lot of enthusiasm going in. The American populace are notoriously slow on the uptake, but signs of discontent are already rearing their heads. The trillion dollar budget deficits proposed over the next several years, financed by the Chinese wil be his downfall, but it takes time and who knows what irreversible changes he and the Democrats in the majority (at least until next year) will wrought? I fully expect that our society will change in ways unimagineable a short time ago...