This is the big question for our junior theme and I figured I might start thinking about it now. I want to focus on the growth/stagnation of the American auto industry.
America is a very car centered country, with our vast highway and road networks. The first affordable car was made by Ford in 1927 (the Ford Model T). This was also around the time when Ford created the assembly line to allow cars to be produced in large volumes for a low price. Since then through the Great Depression and World War II the three major companies prospered: Ford, General Motors, Chrysler. In the early 2000s around 5.7million automobiles were manufactured every year.
But somewhere, something happened. In 2008 as many of you know GM and Chrysler received a bailout by the US government. They received $17billion from President Bush and $12.5billion more from President Obama.
So what happened?
A lot of the US automakers lost sales to overseas companies in Japan and China. In the 1980s Japan was the largest producer of automobiles and in the 2000s it was China.
How has this demonstrated the US stagnating you ask? Well, I believe that the US auto industry is much like the political system in the US. We have high points and low points. Right now I believe that the political system is stagnating. With Republicans controlling the Congress and a Democratic President, many bills are not getting passed through due to disagreements in policies between the two parties. However, the government, just like the auto companies, needs a little stimulation. If a Republican President gets chosen in this upcoming election then more bills will be able to get signed into law, and as a result we will see movement and change in the American political system. It has yet to be seen if that change will be for better or for worse.
What do you think? Is no change better than worse change?
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