Fuel Efficiency and American Jobs

The US Senate has been holding hearings about increasing fuel efficiency standards for cars. As they always do, US auto manufacturers had a representative claiming the requirements would cost American jobs. I've been searching for an explanation of that argument with no success. It sounds more like a scare-tactic than an argument.

A series of other articles paint a different picture. First, the list of the most fuel efficient cars on the market is dominated by foreign car companies, with the Toyota Prius topping the list. Then Toyota outsold GM for the first time, while GM lays off workers, had declining profits and falling stock value. It doesn't take a genius to see the pattern here, does it?

This post has been in my head for a while but it was a comment Barack Obama made in Detroit that made me finally type it out.

"Here in Detroit, three giants of American industry are hemorrhaging jobs and profits as foreign competitors answer the rising global demand for fuel-efficient cars," he said.

"The need to drastically change our energy policy is no longer a debatable proposition. It is not a question of whether, but how; not a question of if, but when. For the sake of our security, our economy, our jobs and our planet, the age of oil must end in our time."

He's absolutely correct. The stubborn refusal of American auto makers to meet the market demand for fuel efficient cars is costing American jobs. It looks like the tree-huggers are going to have to save US auto-manufacturers and the UAW leadership from themselves.

Lack of action on the federal level is prompting states to take their own action. Maryland is the latest state to pass their own clean cars legislation. Momentum is building to do the same in Illinois, which is something I'll write more about another day.

cross-posted from CESblog