Travis R. Martin, CPA, MBA » Obama

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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Introducing…IRS Form 1040 (Schedule $)

travisrmartin — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:18:11 +0000

Although it hasn’t yet been released in its entirety, President Obama’s 2010 proposed budget – which checks in at the tidy sum of $3,000,000,000,000 (zeros included for dramatic effect) – has already come under fire.

Among the most vocal detractors are Republicans and other pesky “rich” people who now face the unpleasant prospect of parting with a larger percentage of their hard-earned income (or ill-gotten gains, depending on your political leanings) through higher taxes.

It’s not that these fine Americans don’t want to pay their “fair share” as so many liberals claim. It’s just that they do not like to pay for something without knowing exactly what they are getting in return. In that regard, they’re a lot like us regular folks.

You wouldn’t go into a restaurant and tell the waiter “just bring me what ever you got leftover in the kitchen.” You wouldn’t go into a department store and tell a clerk to “just grab me a handful of clothes off the rack.” Yet, every year we allow our government to take our tax dollars and spend them however they want. What fun is that? If we are going to be paying, we should be doing the shopping.

That’s why I am introducing IRS Form 1040 Schedule $. As far as IRS Forms go, Schedule $ is pretty straightforward. After figuring up your total tax liability (line 61 on IRS Form 1040), you prepare Schedule $ by allocating each dollar of your tax bill to a federal budget category. You essentially tell the Feds how you want your tax money to be spent. Government spending would then be limited to the amount that the taxpaying public allocated to any given category. If no one allocates money for bailing out the automobile industry…then the carmakers get nada.

Finally. A tax form I look forward to completing.

Recovery.gov, the federal site designed to keep citizens informed of how their money is being spent under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, reminds taxpayers “This is your money. You have a right to know where it’s going and how it’s being spent.” I say, adopt Schedule $ and give us the right to decide how our money is spent.

Get your copy of 1040 Schedule $. (Disclaimer: Not an actual tax form).

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