Batteries not included in economic recovery

This happens to be Buzz Golfcart - oops I mean, Lightyears personal car. And you too, might be driving one!

In several cities in Michigan, new ion batteries are being produced for the giant wave of electric cars that will be taking over the highways and byways of America. Mind you, the cars aren’t really there, the demand isn’t there, but the batteries will be. In fact, most Americans don’t even want this kind of car.

I envision a warehouse in Livonia, MI full of ion batteries for a car that will never be embraced by the American people – until the gas prices go so high, thanks to the government, that we have no choice left.

From the AP- 9/12/10:

“Cost is high [for the electric car batteries].”

How high you ask?

Right now they will cost the consumer $33,000.00. That’s on top of the price of the car. “Although stimulus money could [- COULD -] bring them down to $10,000.00 by the end of 2015.”

That’s still $10K on top of the price of a new car. But Good Lord – who can afford a new car, anyway?

Remember those words from Obama’s Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, and I paraphrase: I plan to coerce Americans out of their cars.

Buzz Lightyear, the new Government Motors mascot

The battery has a life of 100miles, when charged. You won’t be going too far from home, will ya? Once again, a ploy by the statists to control your travel . . . your mobility. Easier to keep track of the population when they can’t go anywhere, isn’t it?

The battery factory in Holland, MI expects to employ 90 workers and produce between 75,000 and 150,000 cars by the end of next year. But of course, this all depends on the demand for the Lego-like cars to be produced. (I know I’m mixing cartoons and toys here – Lego and Disney – but never mind that.) This factory got almost $300 MILLION in federal grant money.

“The rapid buildup of production capacity by companies with limited experience for product with challenging market may prove wasteful,” said Menahem Anderman, founder and president of Total Battery Consulting, a California-based battery consulting firm. (There are consulting firms for BATTERIES???)

Yes, well, that’s my point. We are producing massive amounts of car batteries for a car that is hardly rolling on the roads, yet and may never be rolling.

But doggonit! we the taxpayers are employing thousands of Michiganders!

Quote of the day – Karl Rove

cafepress.com

It’s not too early to assess the damage done by America’s 44th president. He squandered his mandate and the public’s enormous good will. He alienated voters and dropped a heavy yoke on his party with useless spending and a shockingly unpopular health-care bill. With pressure mounting and a potentially epic loss looming, Mr. Obama has gone from a commanding, engaging candidate to an arrogant, self-pitying president. It is not pretty to witness.

The first people to pay the political price for Mr. Obama’s mistakes will be congressional Democrats, who likely will be swept out of their House majority this November.

Read more in The Wall Street Journal

Welcome to hell… Detroit, Michigan

Desperation in Detroit. What comes next?

from the Detroit FreePress:

“It’s a disaster here,” City Council candidate Gary Brown said. Brown, a former Detroit Police assistant chief, handed out bottles of water to those in line. “This is dangerous. Very unorganized, very dangerous.”

This week, people stood in line for hours to possibly receive $3000 in aid. An estimated 65,000 people lined up to be one of 3500 people who will get a portion of the $15million in stimulus money. Scuffles broke out while people crushed in line.

(AP Photo/The Detroit News, Clarence Tabb Jr.)

28% unemployment in Detroit – 15% statewide. Over 32% of Detroit residents are on food stamps and over 300,000 jobs have been lost in the city from August 2008 to August 2009. The median price of a home in Detroit is $7500. Last spring, the state department of education announced it would close 23 schools, citywide.

Detroit is a city actively dying – once the engine of America, now voted one of “the 10 most miserable cities in America” by Forbes magazine with the highest crime rate in the U.S. – is quickly becoming a ghost town.