MR OWENS CEO OF CATERPILLAR, TO HELL WITH YOU!
I hold Caterpillar as the Rolls Royce of earthmoving machinery and a great American corporation, but if I see that jerk CEO, James Owens pontificating how his and every other business that exports will suffer if we adhere to the current policy of the stimulus package involving buy America only. Once the greatest steel maker in the world, because of subsidized steel being dumped onto our market from Asia, America is a shadow of itself. Our car industry has suffered because the Japanese and Koreans used predatory pricing and government export incentives to gain market share. Korea only allows 5,000 imported cars into its country per year. Is Korea a free market? Hell no. Ever seen a photo of a busy street in Bombay? All the scooters and cars are made in India. Ever seen a Chevy pick up in France? No local companies Peugeot, Citroen and Renault control the entire market.
It amazes me how Washington can ride roughshod over the world when it comes to taking on Iraq or demanding Europe sees there way when it comes to world affairs, but when it comes to looking after the American worker, it joins and heads the clique that have rammed globalization down our throats. Dirtbags like Scott of Wal-Mart, Exxon’s CEO Tillerson, all the fallen gurus of Wall Street and now this traitor, Owens of Caterpillar have convinced successive governments that America must take the lead in allowing American industry to be destroyed in the name of globalization. You see these guys make money out of plying this sales pitch. Caterpillar now has factories in China and other parts of the world taking advantage of juggling money and cheaper labor.
America and most of Western Europe followed Wall Street’s sermon that greatness will come from Globalization and all apart from Germany and France allowed local industry to fall prey to cheap imports. All the countries gaining from this new “philosophy” were mongrels that had huge protective layers over their own economies and still do to this day. Instead of addressing head on this practice of protectionism, an “oh well, we’ll negotiate or better still, join them” mentality took over. The answer for the past twenty years America has been exporting jobs by the millions every year.
When it comes to export, my belief is let the efficiencies of the manufacturer, the quality of his product, and the marketplace dictate the value of his products, not government subsidies. Boeing has to contend with the French government financing sales of its Airbus aircraft and it has now got to the point where the Defense Department is “outsourcing” by placing a $multi-billion tanker aircraft order with the French. Congress has accepted Pentagon’s reasons and instead of tens of thousands of Seattle workers enjoying steady work for the next twenty years, they are now out of work. Sure it is not a perfect world, but for a country that most of the world either tolerates or despises, I cannot for the life of me work out what America has gained from giving in ad finitum to destroying its own work force.
Now back to why I think Owens is a scumbag. His argument with regards to the buy America stimulus package is that Caterpillar will be retaliated against by the very nations who enjoy one way trade with America and who now house what was once our workforce. I say to Owens; move to China and take your Caterpillar with you. You were one of the first D.J. Industrial Index companies to bust the unions in your Illinois plants to then take advantage of cheap American labor and it is still not good enough for you. After fighting unnecessary and unpopular wars, you are telling us we should fear retaliation! Man, we have nothing to lose anymore. We are fighting for our very survival and I have no conscience when I declare let’s now look after America first.
To add to the hypocrisy of this man, $hundreds of billions are being poured into infrastructure; building roads, bridges, government buildings and schools. What sort of equipment will be in immediate short supply? Earthmoving and related machinery. Who makes these products in the greatest numbers? Why Caterpillar of course. I suggest to President Obama that this ingrate’s company should be by-passed and maybe their Japanese competitor, Komatsu should get the nod. The Japanese economy could do need some help! This will fit in with Owen’s thinking, won’t it? Sure!
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