Travis R. Martin, CPA, MBA » Government

US Auto Industry Makes U-Turn, Embraces Fuel Efficiency Standards

travisrmartin — Wed, 20 May 2009 02:18:36 +0000

Ah, the Summer of 2007. Those were the days. The Dow was just shy of 14,000, Barry Bonds was the home run hero of baseball, and the automobile industry was busy doing what the automobile industry does best – complaining about proposed government regulations that threatened to put them out of business.

What a difference two years makes. The Summer of 2009 is shaping up to be a bizzaro version of 2007, especially when it comes to the US auto industry.

For decades the automobile industry lobbied to stop federal mandates designed to improve vehicle quality and safety. Each requirement passed down by the Feds calling for trivial things like air bags, seat belts, turn signals, and crash standards, was decried by automobile executives as a nail in their respective company’s competitive coffin.

So, it is not without some degree of irony that Detroit’s Big 1.5 are embracing President Obama’s new plan that seeks to increase fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gases. Under the Obama plan announced Tuesday, average vehicle fuel efficiency for new cars must average 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally praised the plan, calling it a “crucial milestone” that his company is “committed to meeting.” GM executives were equally enthusiastic.

Keep in mind, these are the same companies that, in 2007, vehemently opposed legislation requiring vehicles to obtain an average of 35 mpg by 2020.

In 2007, the auto industry called 35 mpg “unattainable.” Today, they are calling it an opportunity.

Why the sudden U-Turn?

Obama postponed announcing fuel efficiency standards for trams

The only logical explanation is that we are witnessing an $80 Billion change of heart. After receiving bailout funds to stay afloat, Detroit’s automakers are now in no position to argue. President Obama has exploited their moment of extreme weakness to achieve something that no president has been able to do: get an agreement on heightened fuel efficiency standards.

But, why stop there? Obviously, our tax dollars have Detroit’s attention. Let’s pressure President Obama to request a few more changes from the automakers – while they are still open to suggestion.

Here are two things on my Detroit Wish List. Feel free to add your demands in the comments.

Let Me Buy My Car On The Internet

I’m a point-and-click kind of guy. I don’t like dealers. I don’t like showrooms. Let me go to www.ford.com or www.chevy.com, customize a car from scratch, add it to my virtual shopping cart and be done with it. I’m fine if it takes five to seven days for the vehicle to arrive at my house (just ask Amazon – they know I’m all about the free super saver shipping).

And it’s not like I need a test drive. Outside of kicking the tires and getting a free soda, I get nothing from the in-person buying experience.

Make Better Commercials

The average car commercial is thirty seconds long. I estimate that, throughout the course of a year, I spend 1 day, 16 hours and 32 minutes watching car commercials (a testament to the sheer volume of car commercials on television, not my excessive television viewing).

Despite seeing hundreds of commercials, I can only vaguely recall something about Howie Long giving away a Honda lawnmower. That’s it. The rest of the ads are a blur of random vehicles whizzing down nondescript country roads and too good to be true financing offers.

If Detroit can’t even build a good 30 second spot, why should I believe they can build a good $30,000 automobile?

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Feds Should Seek Corporate Sponsors for Post “War on Drugs” Era

travisrmartin — Mon, 18 May 2009 02:54:50 +0000

It took 40 years, 8 presidential administrations, and billions of dollars, but the plug has been pulled on one of the most recognizable public policy brands in Washington’s history: “the war on drugs.”

The phrase was officially retired from the public lexicon by drug czar Gil Kerlikowske during a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Kerlikowske, the former Police Chief of Seattle and current head of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, blamed the “war on drugs” mentality for impeding the country’s progress in dealing with illegal drugs. “Regardless of how you try to explain to people it’s a ‘war on drugs’ or a ‘war on a product,’ people see a war as a war on them,” Kerlikowske said.

The Government’s semantic shift is part of a new vision for U.S. drug policy – a vision that emphasizes rehabilitating drug users instead of imprisoning them.

Although Kerlikowske and the Obama Administration may have a vision of what 21^st century drug policy should look like, they now lack a catch phrase for Americans to rally around. With “fight,” “war,” “battle,” “struggle,” “throw-down,” and “confrontation” all officially out as possible ways to describe America’s anti-drug efforts, the country may find itself unable to simply name the problem, much less solve it.

So, now, the Government not only has a drug problem, it also has a marketing problem.

And, who better to solve a marketing problem than corporate America?

Amazon - free super-saver shipping for a super drug-free America.

For years, corporations have successfully convinced unsuspecting Americans to purchase items they don’t need with money they don’t have. Alcohol and tobacco companies even have experience trying to convince the public not to use their products.

This marketing know-how could just as easily be used to rebrand our nation’s drug efforts.

Imagine – a Drug Free America, Delivered by UPS or how about Wal-Mart’s “Always Low Prices, Never High Associates.”

If corporate America joined the Government’s nameless anti-drug effort, we might see Taco Bell urging people to “Think Outside the Bong.” We may even see Verizon Wireless boasting that they have the nation’s biggest drug-free network. Can you “say no” now?

By enlisting America’s finest businesses to shape the public perception of America’s biggest problem, the Obama administration may be able to keep the next 40 years of drug policy from looking like the 40 years that preceded it.

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Obama Looks to Teachers to Save Country

travisrmartin — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 02:35:28 +0000

If you see me in the near future, and I appear to be stressed, please excuse me. I just received word from the President that I am one of the most important people in America. In fact, our President says the future of the entire country rests, at least in part, in my hands.

Staying hydrated is critical when you are trying to save a nation.

I know, I know, it’s hard to believe. Before Tuesday, I was just your run-of-the mill, nondescript high school teacher. Now, thanks to President Obama’s most recent speech on Education, my job description has been amended to include “saving the nation.”

Trust me, it’s not easy preparing the nation’s youth for competition in a fast-paced, Darwinian global economy, especially while the whole world keeps tabs on your progress (or lack thereof). But, for the past four years, I’ve been on the job 7-5-180 (that’s 7 hours a day, 5 days a week, 180 days a year) trying my best to help American teenagers keep up with the 繁體中文版 (aka, the Joneses).

Unfortunately, my best efforts, and the best efforts of my colleagues, have not been good enough. Test scores are falling precipitously. Students aren’t finishing high school. Other countries have leapfrogged us in math and science achievement. Schools are crumbling and hallways are becoming increasingly violent.

But, help is on the way. In this case, the cavalry comes in the form of a $100 Billion funding injection for schools. The question is: will the Government’s stimulus plan bring schools into the 21^st century, or will the $100 Billion buy the American taxpayers more of the same? As of right now, this is one question that I don’t have an answer key for.

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Texting Goes from Classroom to Cash Register

travisrmartin — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 07:46:21 +0000

I fight on the front lines in a losing battle. My enemy is small in stature, no bigger than a deck of cards. It has the ability to stealthy move between pockets, purses, and palms. It invades my territory on a regular basis with an impenetrable wall of distraction.

I fight it everyday. Sometimes I win, but only because I’ve come to recognize certain tell-tale signs – like the soft glow of a blue light underneath a table. Once I see the enemy, it is mine – at least for a day.

My battleground is a high school classroom. My nemesis is the cell phone. And I’m not alone.

From California to Florida, school administrators are scrambling to develop plans that will prevent students from spending their high school years with their heads bowed toward the floor praying to the text messaging gods. For the most part these plans have done little to curb the rampant use of cell phones in the classroom.

Meanwhile, lawmakers have had their hands full trying to decide what to do about “sexting,” an emerging trend in which teenagers send racy messages and photos to one another with their cell phones.

Where will the next faceoff between adults and teenage cell phone users take place? My guess is at your local retail and fast food establishments.

In the last month, I’ve noticed two teenage “associates” at my friendly neighborhood Wal-Mart ducked away in far-flung corners of the store (no one will see me in the Christmas Clearance aisle!) tapping out messages on their cell phones.

The last time I went through the drive-thru at my local Taco Bell, I watched in disbelief as an employee carried on a text conversation while taking orders over her headphone. A second employee actually had to squeeze her way around the texter just to get to the window and hand out my food.

These are only two examples, but I do not think they are isolated incidents. For businesses that rely on teenagers to provide front-line service to customers, the rise of texting in the workplace could definitely be bad news.

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Riding Shotgun, Uncle Sam

travisrmartin — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 04:46:58 +0000

That backseat driver in your car? It’s Uncle Sam. And he’s there to watch your odometer.

At least that’s a possibility by the year 2020, according to a bipartisan Congressional commission researching potential ways to fund the upkeep of America’s roads. Among their ideas – installing an Orwellian tracking device in every vehicle and then assessing motorists a 2.3 cent tax for every mile driven.

The National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission’s (or NSTIFC for short) report, “Paying the Way,” can be found here.

Flying Cars...Conspicuously Absent from the Commission's Plan

For those who do not have the time to drudge through 250 pages of chart-filled Government minutia, the Wall Street Journal has a more succinct summary.

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Mario Meets Newsweek

travisrmartin — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:42:32 +0000

Upset because the government didn’t consult you on how to spend the money from the recently passed $787 Billion stimulus bill? Thanks to a new internet game from Addicting Games, you no longer need a fancy title like “Senator” or “Representative” in order to decide who gets Government help.

“Trillion Dollar Bailout” allows you to dish out sacks of government cash – or a swift backhand – to needy corporate executives and struggling homeowners. Save enough homeowners and you win the game. Bailout too many greedy businessmen and the economy tanks even further.

Now You Can Dish Out the Stimulus Just Like The Feds!

It’s the latest in a growing internet fad: social commentary through video games. Think Mario meets Newsweek. From throwing loafers at George Bush to landing a plane in the Hudson River, if it has been in the headlines, it will probably become a video game.

Got a minute to waste? Try your hand at Trillion Dollar Bailout. (Disclaimer: Don’t worry – “Addicting Games” is just a name. I can assure you that there is nothing addicting about their games, especially if you have an attention span of more than five seconds).

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