Fundamentals of Interactive Journalism

Honda has cut its annual profit forecast by 62%, Toyota delayed its U.S. plant plan, and the Big Three were still waiting for the rescue plan amid falling global car demand and the global financial crisis. In China, BYD launched a new clean energy car series – F3DM, which is the first electronic sedan in China.

What happened in the automobile industry and what’s the future ahead? None of us knows the right answer right now, just like 50 years ago, everyone was eagerly looking forward to a job opportunity in that industry for no reason.

Car-makers around the world have been announcing lower forecast of sales and profit together with job cuts, and leading US car-makers have been trying to persuade the government to approve a car industry bailout plan.

Everyone is talking about clean energy new model for automobile industry. But after every big manufacturer has Hybrid car series, no one knows if the clean energy cars

can rescue the automobile industry out of trouble.

I’d support the bankruptcy plan of the Big Three, since only on this way, they can get rid of the heavy pressure of retired employees’ compensation and medical aid packages. I’m no idea why in a free market country, there are companies who have to take responsibilities to cover all the retired employee’s compensation and their medical care packages for such a long period.

Additionally, the Big Three haven’t focused on automobile industry for a long time, but investing in the finance field, which made them slump with the crisis. In our impression, automobile industry should be the representative of the real economy, but recent turmoil disclosed that they’ve been involved in the finance economy for a longer time than we expected.

“A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.”  Says the man who once quoted philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson, during his resignation speech:

“Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

Eliot Spitzer is back- as a concerned citizen with insight on governmental affairs.  And how does one like Mr. Spitzer, with such a looming past of foul decision-making get heard?

By using the power of the pen, and getting published by Slate.com.  Definitely sets him apart from all the experts and publi figures spewing babble that favor a large bailout.

Eliot Spitzer returns. Photo by Getty Images.

His voice still resonates that of a former leader thinking of his citizens.  It’s straightforward and talks of pro-competition, a true American.

Spitzer proposes a “better” plan for the auto bailout crisis.  He’s weary of the government stepping in and leaving its imprint in the automobile industry, with the help of taxpayers’ money. 

 Instead, he offers the free market approach, where the two of the “Big Three” would battle out the $25 billion and make all sorts of reports and bids as to why they think they should be saved.  Because it’s just not fiscally possible to keep all three around, so he says.  So, the loser of the Three, would lose greatly, with consequences like massive layoffs, among other things.

Is this idea like communism- just good in theory?

Besides that, who else is surprised to find his byline in Slate?  He wrote another article a few weeks ago, also dissuading bailout plans.   Well, it definitely attracted a lot of readers…and comments.