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White 5 (1:16)
Topic(s): Auto Industry / Future Transport
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Video Transcript
If you go to China, one of the centerpieces of China's
economic growth strategy is to develop a car industry. And,
you know, you can say, "Well, gosh, how 20th
century of them." But you know what? There's nothing quite
like a car when it comes to generating wealth and high, you
know, high wages for people who have been used to not earning
high wages. I've been to a city in southwestern
China—Liu-Jo—where they build mini cars and they
use a hundred dollars worth of labor to build a $3500 car. And
you think, well, that's, that's awful. A hundred? You know,
these poor people. What do you mean, poor people? These are
folks who walk to work. For them, this is a, this is a big
deal, having this operation in their town.
Until you—I think it would be very difficult to go to
some country, any country, China, the United States, and say,
"You know what, the auto industry is kaput, you've got to get
rid of it. It's killing the planet. Stop it now." It just
would be very difficult. And it's not like an iPod, it's not
at all like an iPod. The economic impact is much bigger and
much harder to sort of imagine the American economy, or any
advanced economy, without an auto industry. I mean, a
transition to something new would be traumatic and would take
some time.
