Here's Donald Trump giving GM's Mary Barra hell

[JohnnyRingo]

Actually, all he's doing is threatening to end all electric car incentives, something he's been talking about doing for a year.

Looks like he's really giving her what for... But only on Twitter, not to her face:

Here’s President Trump Threatening GM’s Electric Car ‘Subsidies’ Over the Plant Closures



Ever since the news broke yesterday that General Motors was slashing North American jobs to prepare for our possible electric/autonomous/horrible future, nearly everyone has wondered: What will President Trump, who campaigned on a platform of bringing back and keeping American auto jobs, have to say about this? Now we know. He’s hopping mad, and he’s threatening GM’s electric car subsidies... somehow.

<snip>

So Trump’s in a shitty spot here, and the answer, apparently, is to “[cut] all GM subsidies including for electric cars.” That is... definitely a response! That would do the opposite of saving American factory jobs!

As with all things Trump, one wonders next: “Can he even... do that?” And as of this evening, that remains unclear. He’s even kind of wrong when he uses the word “subsidies.” Presumably, the president is referring to the $7,500 tax credit on electric vehicles. But even then, those are capped at 200,000 cars per manufacturer. And GM, having been selling EVs and plug-in hybrids for years now, is due to hit that limit pretty soon. In theory the president could “kill” them early, but... why, other than as a gift to oil companies, which would be very on-brand for him? Would that even sway GM to reverse its decision on the Ohio plant? Doubtful!

We must also point out that this is a mess partially of Trump’s own making. Yes, GM is cutting plants and jobs for lots of reasons, like the shift to SUVs and our nebulous future. But it’s also taken a financial hit thanks to Trump’s tariffs on imported aluminum and steel (those have cost Ford about $1 billion as well this year) and GM has warned for months that such tariffs could cause cuts and job losses. They may not have been a huge reason for the job cuts, but they remain a factor. Even scarier is the looming trade war between the U.S. and China over other tariffs.

GM, of course, isn’t some hapless victim here, as it didn’t reinvest its generous Trump corporate tax cut into American jobs, which politicians on both sides of the aisle are furious about. Is the answer here to cut GM’s electric car tax breaks? Or even to slash all electric car tax breaks, which at this point in human events would be just deranged? Probably not, but backing off on this pointless and disruptive trade war may be a better one.

From Jalopnik:
https://jalopnik.com/here-s-president-trump-threatening-gm-s-electric-car-s-1830696122

[Achilleaze]

1. republican Draft-Dodger-in-Chief has URGENT message for midwest workers

[MyOwnPeace]

2. This is a great posting..........

and a great read! It goes into detail regarding what GM is doing (and not doing) as well as clear understanding of how IQ45 does NOT understand what's going on (as if THAT is something new!).

[JohnnyRingo]

4. I love Jalopnik

I love all things automobilia, and Jalopnik is right on top of what's happening today. The site has a distinct leftward bent as a bonus.

As part of the old Gawker Media that includes The Onion, I've never seen one good word about Trump there.

[Dorian Gray]

3. Of course

he's too much of a coward to confront any human being in person.