January 04, 2017
Folks undoubtedly heard about Donald Trump’s boast about getting Ford to keep jobs in the U.S. rather than investing in a new plant in Mexico. The decision seems to have more to do with Ford’s product mix than anything that Trump did with his boast and bully strategy, but whatever. We’re getting used to a guy that would take credit for the sun rising and gives us jobs that you can count on your fingers. (To be clear, I think it would be great if Donald Trump pushes policies that bring (or save) good-paying manufacturing jobs to the United States, but we’re interested in policies that affect millions of jobs, not press shows with hundreds of jobs.)
Anyhow, one aspect of these Ford jobs that has not gotten sufficient attention is that the only reason they exist is because of President Obama’s policy on combating global warming. As the NYT article points out, the plant in Michigan where production is being increased produces hybrid and electric cars. These cars were given subsidies as part of President Obama’s efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions. This was part of Obama’s strategy to combat global warming.
As folks may recall, Donald Trump has said that global warming is a hoax invented by the Chinese. It turns out that President Obama’s response to this hoax is responsible for creating the jobs that Trump claims to have saved.
Comments