"The only way to save GM is to kill GM," Moore writes in the Huffington Post today.
It's ironic that the company that invented "planned obsolescence" -- the notion of deliberately making cars that will fall apart faster so people have to buy new ones -- would become obsolescent itself, writes Moore. His film Roger & Me, a comical documentary about Moore's attempt to interview then-GM chairman Roger Smith, became a surprise hit in 1989.
Moore, penning a missive from his native Flint, Mich., doesn't spare the rod when it comes to GM. The automaker refused to make the cars and trucks that Americans actually wanted, fought environmental and safety regulations, arrogantly denied that its cars were inferior to German and Japanese models, moved jobs to Mexico even when its profits soared and destroyed the income of many middle-class families, says Moore.
But the fight doesn't stop with GM. He cites the oil industry as the other culprit that must be reined in. He writes:
"They are committed to fleecing us whenever they can, and they have been reckless stewards of the finite amount of oil that is located under the surface of the earth. They know they are sucking it bone dry. And like the lumber tycoons of the early 20th century who didn't give a damn about future generations as they tore down every forest they could get their hands on, these oil barons are not telling the public what they know to be true -- that there are only a few more decades of useable oil on this planet. And as the end days of oil approach us, get ready for some very desperate people willing to kill and be killed just to get their hands on a gallon can of gasoline."
from usa today
It's ironic that the company that invented "planned obsolescence" -- the notion of deliberately making cars that will fall apart faster so people have to buy new ones -- would become obsolescent itself, writes Moore. His film Roger & Me, a comical documentary about Moore's attempt to interview then-GM chairman Roger Smith, became a surprise hit in 1989.
Moore, penning a missive from his native Flint, Mich., doesn't spare the rod when it comes to GM. The automaker refused to make the cars and trucks that Americans actually wanted, fought environmental and safety regulations, arrogantly denied that its cars were inferior to German and Japanese models, moved jobs to Mexico even when its profits soared and destroyed the income of many middle-class families, says Moore.
But the fight doesn't stop with GM. He cites the oil industry as the other culprit that must be reined in. He writes:
"They are committed to fleecing us whenever they can, and they have been reckless stewards of the finite amount of oil that is located under the surface of the earth. They know they are sucking it bone dry. And like the lumber tycoons of the early 20th century who didn't give a damn about future generations as they tore down every forest they could get their hands on, these oil barons are not telling the public what they know to be true -- that there are only a few more decades of useable oil on this planet. And as the end days of oil approach us, get ready for some very desperate people willing to kill and be killed just to get their hands on a gallon can of gasoline."
from usa today
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