Departments



Articles

Less

Editorial: Editorial: Cedar Key News Annual Meeting March 29
March 8th, 2008

Editorial: Let School Board Know What Should Be Taught
February 15th, 2008

Editorial: What Is a Fair Tax?
February 4th, 2008

Editorial: Inconsistent Appraisals Harm Taxpayers
December 17th, 2007

Editorial: Energy Crisis?
November 30th, 2007

Editorial: Florida Water War Heat Up
October 16th, 2007

Editorial: Nobel Prizes in Medicine
October 5th, 2007

Editorial: Editorial: Same Rules for Everyone
September 22nd, 2007

Editorial: Demand Action on Bridge Repair
August 8th, 2007

Editorial: Local Response Needed to Stem Clam Poaching
July 24th, 2007

Editorial: Money, Money, Money...Votes
July 9th, 2007

Editorial: We Celebrate Independence and Clams
June 26th, 2007

Editorial: Are You Ready for Hurricane Season?
June 12th, 2007

Editorial: The Sources of Progress in Medicine
May 30th, 2007

Editorial: A New Era of Politics and Religion
May 17th, 2007

More

Editorial: Henry Ford, American Genius

Editorial: Henry Ford, American Genius

Editorial


Henry Ford famously said, "History is bunk!" Ford had no appreciation for history, but he was certainly an historic figure. Ford revolutionized automobile manufacturing with the moving assembly line of Model T`s In 1914. That same year he instituted a minimum wage that allowed his workers enough income to buy a new Model T with just ninety day`s wages.


Henry Ford was never accused of being a liberal. In fact he was anti-semitic, cozy with the Nazi Party and sweepingly autocratic. He was a conservative with an innovative idea that promoted economic growth. The minimum wage was, and still is, fought by conservative partisans.


Today`s minimum wage does not let a wage earner buy an economy car with ninety day`s wages. To be fair, much of a new car`s costs are government imposed safety equipment such as effective brakes, safety glass, seat belts, turn signals, etc. Government "intrusion" in the manufacture of automobiles has saved many lives. (Government intrusion recently saved General Motors from financial collapse, but that is another editorial.) The minimum wage and safety devices are good ideas, regardless of the idea`s sources.


Henry Ford deserves credit for making cars affordable, although he was vilified by luxury car manufacturers. Likewise, Ralph Nader deserves credit for making cars safer. Yet Nader was defamed by the automotive industry, and particularly General Motors, for his call for seat belts. Concern for quarterly earnings determine industry goals and lobbying expenditures.


Innovations such as a minimum wage disturb special interests that want to preserve the status quo. New ideas deserve consideration for their long-term effects. That consideration should include recognition of who opposes the new idea.

Click for printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend

 

 

© 2013
Cedar Key News

cedarkeynews@gmail.com