On this date in 1941, also a Sunday, Japan launched a surprise attack on our naval base at Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands. The USS Oklahoma and USS Arizona were sunk and other battleships were badly damaged. More than 2400 Americans were killed and 1100 wounded.
You may remember that last year the Biden Administration declared the average gas mileage for cars and SUVs would increase dramatically to 50 miles per gallon by 2031. In response, Ford, GM, and most other auto manufacturers invested billions in factories to build electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries. Why? Because it would be impossible to persuade us to trade our roomy SUVs and pick-ups that get 20 to 30 mpg for tiny gas-powered “minis” that get 50.
Meanwhile, the manufacturers have lost billions on the EVs they sold (with a $7500 rebate to the buyer). They have to charge more for gas-powered cars and trucks to make up for the loss.
The exception to this financial debacle is Tesla. Their EVs are popular and Tesla (Elon Musk) has made a pile of money. Tesla’s stock price in ten years rose from $15 to $450. Ford stock in 2015 was $9 and today it’s up to… $13.
This week, the Trump Administration canceled the 50-mpg requirement, reducing it to 35 miles per gallon.
I don’t pretend to know the business of building cars and trucks or what fuel they ought to run on. I’ve heard that we are getting short on electricity as demand, especially from huge data centers, is increasing faster than we are building baseload power plants. At the same time, we seem to have an abundance of oil.
New York City is gearing up for the new mayor. Except for the 1,100,000 that voted for Mr. Mamdani, everyone understands the wisdom from Winston Churchill, “The vice of capitalism is that it represents the unequal sharing of blessings; whereas socialism stands for the equal sharing of misery.”
On a high note, as we enter the Christmas season, we recognize a fellow who, 40 years ago, started building computers in his dorm room at the University of Texas. This week, Michael Dell and his wife announced they are donating $6.4 Billion to add to the $1000 accounts set up for every baby born in the next 3 years. That gift will add about $250 for each of those babies. Dell is encouraging other wealthy folks to donate. As Will Rogers wrote, “People are marvelous in their generosity if they just know the cause is there.” (DT #1523, June 10, 1931)
Here is an item in the new book by Jennifer Rogers and me, “Common Horse Sense from Will Rogers: Seven Timeless Tips for Leaders (and Everyone Else)”: On Henry Ford, who invented assembly line production for cars: “If there had never been a Ford car, there never would have been a cheap car…. Ford’s success is due to the fact he uses common sense in his business instead of a board of directors. He shames a lot of the other concerns in paying high wages. He believes in giving a man a job.” (Radio, June 1, 1930)
Historic quote by Will Rogers:
“The best news in the paper today was no joke. The Rockefeller Foundation, for the health and betterment of people of all parts of the world, spent $22,000,000 last year and $144,000,000 since its organization in 1913. And it’s been worth $1,000,000 as an inspiration to other tremendous rich men to do fine things.
“The whole viewpoint of the people in regard to our rich men has been changed in the last few years. Now we judge a man’s greatness on how he has spent his money. I guess there has never been a time in our history when as many fools are making money as now. Just to be rich and nothing else, is practically a disgrace nowadays.” DT #897, June 11, 1929 (Note: this was 5 months before the stock market crashed)