Quite so. And as we begin to see the modus of this administration as being bringing the evil, greedy wealthy down to the level of the poor and downtrodden out of populist (and that’s really the wrong word, it’s “get whitey”) spite, the result will surely be a lowered standard of living for everyone other than a few priveleged elite. Of course, that will be the snide counter from the left, that it was the GOP who fostered the priveleged elite, rich bastards that they are. Or were. It’s remarkable and will be telling to see it play out. With so much demand “pulled forward” via very low interest rates and super easy credit during the last bubble, it’s very hard to see how a robust recovery can occur, now that credit is tougher and business conditions have turned prohibitive. Think: Car sales down from 17 MM to 11-12 MM.
I’m thinking more like 10mm sustainable rate. I’m not pulling this number out from ‘twixt my buttocks — this is a number that Toyota’s management thinks is sustainable in the US going forward.
This was one of my major problems with the “recovery plans” promulgated by GM/Chrysler last autumn — they kept babbling about a) the US auto market returning to 16mm units per year, and b) increasing their share of this market!
Talk about drinking one’s own bong water. These guys were out to lunch.