(no subject)
This is an entertaining and interesting email i recieved a couple days ago.... pass it along if you think it might work.
Fair warning, its kinda wordy.
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Please take a few minutes to read this e-mail. If you basically agree, send it to your whole mailing list... everyone. We estimate that it has gone out to over 600 people already. If we keep it going, it will reach 15 million people in one week. Keep it going, and maybe they will listen. I have been sending it to everyone I know.
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S.M.P.L.
(Solutions Motivated by Practical Logic)
Emergency Auto Industry Rescue Plan
15 Seconds
Instead of giving the three car companies $25 billion, give them an order for one million cars at $25,000 each. Specify that these cars must be hybrids (or other solutions that get excellent MPG) with all the standard and advanced electronics and features. Let the US, State and Local governments lease-to-own these cars from the Federal Government for six years at $5,000 a year. Everyone wins, and the taxpayers pay nothing.
1.5 Minutes
With the recent turn around by Paulson over the seemingly confused and unorganized (without a plan) dealing over the $750 billion economic solution, we need a clear and easy to manage and understand solution for the automobile industry. This plan allows each auto company to manage the money in the best way possible for its own organizations and help bail out the industry.
Who wins?
· The car companies
· Their Employees
· Their Suppliers
· Their Investors
· The Taxpayers
· The Economy
· The Environment.
We would establish a small bipartisan Purchasing Committee of automotive management experts (one Democrat, one Republican, one independent auto management consultant) to manage the purchase. They would be ordered to complete the simple program in two weeks. We would not put anyone on the committee unless they could meet this deadline challenge.
Banks would be able to lend the money (at normal interest [thereby helping the banks]) to finance each car company's solution to the SMPL purchase because the order is backed by the federal government. The car companies can each do their own research and engineering to produce the SMPL cars. They could gear up for producing many million additional cars, selling the additional millions of them to the public.
President Obama himself would announce the program to the American people and the world with strong confidence and exciting flare, boosting the entire country… letting them know there is leadership and direction; that there are real solutions that leadership and commitment can bring to the table..
15 Minutes
This plan may not be the best, and certainly requires careful re-working by experts in the manufacturing, banking and automobile industry to flesh it out and improve on the basic ideas. The most important part of the plan is that "it is a plan!" It is simple to understand, easy to support and can be sold. The country needs daring leadership that they can believe in and get behind. The new administration should put it forward as an answer we have been looking for and a plan that will work. Considering how invasive and important the automobile industry is to the United States, everyone is concerned and needs to see leadership and a plan.
1. Federal, state and local governments purchase automobiles every year. This solution would just consolidate and organize all these purchases into one large order by the Federal government as a show of strength and leadership.
2. How big is the order? While we are suggesting one million cars at $25,000 each, the number could be many millions more at $25,000 each because in the end, the government (the people) gets it all back with a profit. The final number should be a single order for what is typically purchased each year.
Large corporations could get in on this program by encouraging them to show their patriotism and adding the cars they will order over the next three years to the government's order. Foreign governments of countries that do not manufacture cars could be asked to join as well and be given special offers to do so. The number may actually grow to over five to six million cars.
3. This plan works because it resolves the three key problems the auto industry faces:
a. Difficulty in obtaining credit
i. With these orders in hand, the federal government could guarantee loans needed to finance the orders.
ii. Banks and investors will know the orders are solid because they are backed by the federal government and there is a solid SMPL plan that works.
iii. Suppliers to the auto industry could gear up for delivery of the parts. Get partial payments in advance from the money borrowed by the car companies.
iv. Research and development for better fuel efficient cars would be paid for.
v. Instead of closing plants, plants can be re-opened to get ready to build the new SMPL cars of the future. Lots of people will be employed.
b. Lack of sales
i. One to six million cars is a sizable order. No one could ignore the numbers.
ii. The auto companies can gear up to produce double the size of the initial order and market/sell these models to the consumer.
iii. The advertising and publicity these cars would get is unprecedented and free. (Consider the free publicity the Hummer got by being a military vehicle first).
iv. Part of this plan is how it is announced and sold to the American public, banks and investors. Green is in now a key motivating factor, and everyone would be made to consider it a patriotic imperative to purchase these new SMPL cars.
c. The need to finance the change to Hybrid (or other) technology.
i. The auto industry says they have been experimenting with alternate fuel systems and now will have orders to fill and deliver them.
ii. With orders in hand for hundreds of thousands of SMPL cars, re-tooling can be financed.
4. Who benefits?
a. The car companies… multi billion dollar orders should enable them to survive. If they produce these cars efficiently and at a profit, they will turn their financial problems into successes.
b. Their Employees… by accepting the SMPL plan, they and their unions could recognize the current situation and work hand in hand to keep their jobs and produce an American revolutionary car of the future.
c. Their Suppliers… by accepting the SMPL plan, they can work with the car manufacturers and help produce outstanding parts and assure distribution. All horizontal and vertical manufacturing, services and distribution will benefit from the massive SMPL order.
d. Their Investors… if and only if the companies can actually build these cars at a profit, the financial solidity of the companies should improve. The bigger the profits, the more valuable the investments.
e. The Taxpayers… they lose noting if the cars are supplied lease to own at $5,000 a year for six years.
f. The Economy… the administration and its leadership can help broker new agreements between the manufacturers, the unions and the health insurance industry to make accommodations for the success of the SMPL plan.
g. The Environment… if the minimum is 40 MPG and some of the models may do a lot better, the environment will surely benefit.
h. Other areas that benefit:
i. US world leadership
ii. Health care could use the model to improve costs
iii. Jobs
5. What if the CEOs say no?
a. Any CEO who would turn down a custom order for hundreds of thousands (or a million or more) new cars should be fired and replaced with one who would relish the challenge.
i. If they say it is too simple… tell them to make it work.
ii. If they say it is too complicated… tell them to make it work.
iii. Accept NO EXCUSES
iv. This plan would allow each of the three major US companies the chance to use its own research, design, engineering and management skills to bring in the best cars at the lowest costs thereby providing the greatest profits to their investors and enabling the best conditions and benefits to their employees.
b. It simply must be presented that "NO" is not an option, and that the only question should be "HOW" and when.
6. Which companies get the orders?
A study would need to be done by the bipartisan Purchasing Committee and the order should be divided among the top domestic automobile manufacturers based on a clear formula considering things like need, ability, current market share and management effectiveness. An example might be:
· GM gets 40% the order
· Chrysler gets 30% car order
· Ford gets 20% of the order
· Other automobile manufactures or alternative car companies get 10% of the order.
7. The Purchasing Committee should give each of the companies the same mandates. Let each company reply with their own solution that meets the mandates. Minimally, these mandates might be that the autos:
a. Be American made
b. Provide better than 40 mpg
c. Be deliverable in two years.
d. Have all the power stuff and modern electronics as current midsized cars
e. Have a 6 year bumper to bumper guarantee.
f. Can meet demands by foreign governments and consumers.
The bipartisan Purchasing Committee would force the individual companies to submit plans that meet all required specifications.
The companies could actually try to improve on the specifications on the models that will be offered to the public.
8. How to present the plan to the public.
a. We strongly suggest that there is a greater opportunity here to start to spiral the entire economy back into shape. Because the Automotive Industry is such an integral part of the US economy, this plan has the ability to do much more than save the one industry. If presented correctly, with the right spin, promotion and words, it can be a real sign of leadership and hope. It shows that the people can count on the new administration to solve our problems with simple yet daring actions.
b. Let those who pushed Obama to victory decide how to roll out this plan. Have Obama himself make the announcements. Spin it, announce it and get volunteers behind it to say that this is the beginning of straitening out all the problems we face. The spillover to other problems (banks, finance, jobs, health care) can be made obvious and clear.
c. If the new leadership wanted to do even more, they could broker an improved agreement between the unions, the health care companies and the auto industry to help bring the best SMPL cars and largest profits possible.
This gives the auto companies the chance to be national leaders and progressive partners with the American people and do the right thing.