They have gotten more private equity to build the atlantic. The DOE funds look like venture capital though and are at a high risk of non-payment in the future.
Fisker is making & selling cars. They have a Philadelphia area dealership and a fellow EEVC member owns one. Sales are slow & behind schedule. Should this be a surprise? The auto industry is still hurting. It would be a miracle for a new company to introduce its first car on time. It's not unusual for Venture Capital to tighten the flow and assume an oversight position when they believe their money is at risk. The car is expensive at least in part due to its EV range & sports car performance. I am hoping the above mentioned car is participating in the 21st Century Automotive Challenge in a couple of weeks so we can see how it compares.
It sucks, but if we could at least hold the government decision-makers responsible for their mal-investment decisions then most of this bullcrap would stop. ACCOUNTABILITY--it would fix a lot of the issues. If heads would roll over Solyndra and the dozens of other poor investment choices, then future decision-makers would actually do the math. All the malinvestments in "green" industry just gives a big black eye to the reputable green companies.
Lets hope they make it. US high technology manufacturers are up against tough competition. While China has five year plans of smart industrial policy, US has jackasses calling for US start ups to go it alone in wacky Ayn Rand fantasies. China plans yet more solar subsidies, hurting U.S. manufacturers, SolarWorld says. The Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing, which pushes for U.S. tariffs on Chinese solar cells and panels, released translations of five-year plans that call for rapid development of China's industry. Managers of SolarWorld, which employs 1,000 in Hillsboro, say Beijing is waging a trade war, undercutting and bankrupting U.S. solar manufacturers. Beijing's latest five-year plans, for the 2011-2015 period, go beyond the silicon-based products covered by the coalition's trade complaint against China, calling for development of so-called thin-film panels and other advanced solar technology. One plan calls for the government to engineer mergers that would rescue ailing solar companies and help large ones, creating and supporting national champions.
China's subsidy is labor. When you can pay a guy $10 per day to do the same work that a US worker gets $10 per hour + benefits for it is a no contest. No matter how many wacky tax subsidies you want to throw around. You might as well roll up the money and smoke it because the US is never going to compete against Chinese manufacturing. They have billions of disposable factory workers. That is the reason everything sold in the US is "made in China".
Slightly more credible people than you think otherwise. Geneva, Switzerland, 7 September 2011 – Switzerland tops the overall rankings in The Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012, released today by the World Economic Forum. Singapore overtakes Sweden for second position. Northern and Western European countries dominate the top 10 with Sweden (3rd), Finland (4th), Germany (6th), the Netherlands (7th), Denmark (8th) and the United Kingdom (10th). Japan remains the second-ranked Asian economy at 9th place, despite falling three places since last year. The United States continues its decline for the third year in a row, falling one more place to fifth position. In addition to the macroeconomic vulnerabilities that continue to build, some aspects of the United States’ institutional environment continue to raise concern among business leaders, particularly related to low public trust in politicians and concerns about government inefficiency. On a more positive note, banks and financial institutions are rebounding for the first time since the financial crisis and are assessed as somewhat sounder and more efficient. Germany maintains a strong position within the Eurozone, although it goes down one position to sixth place, while the Netherlands (7th) improves by one position in the rankings, France drops three places to 18th, and Greece continues its downward trend to 90th. Competitiveness-enhancing reforms will play a key role in revitalizing growth in the region and tackling its key challenges, fiscal consolidation and persistent unemployment. The results show that while competitiveness in advanced economies has stagnated over the past seven years, in many emerging markets it has improved, placing their growth on a more stable footing and mirroring the shift in economic activity from advanced to emerging economies. The People’s Republic of China (26th) continues to lead the way among large developing economies, improving by one more place and solidifying its position among the top 30.
How does an article saying that us competitiveness is falling while the shift is going to emerging markets prove anything. All it says is us is falling and china is rising. You can thank cheap labor for that.
So that's how they do it? The only pay their astronauts $10 an hour. Dang. Why didn't NASA think of that? Space Plan From China Broadens Challenge to U.S. By EDWARD WONG and KENNETH CHANGPublished: December 29, 2011 BEIJING — Broadening its challenge to the United States, the Chinese government on Thursday announced an ambitious five-year plan for space exploration that would move China closer to becoming a major rival at a time when the American program is in retreat. The next man on the moon will be from China.
Your exactly right for once. When they can produce their spacecraft for a fraction of what we could, due to cheap labor and materials, is the reason why their space program will overtake ours.
Re: Switzerland, I haven't looked at all the details, but it's interesting that Switzerland is #1. For those who haven't been there, it seems things are INSANELY expensive there. Either that, or the US dollar is very weak vs. the Swiss Franc. As I posted at http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/89258-new-2010-prius-iii-owner-2.html#post1254618 Right now $1 USD only gets you 0.91 Francs...
And you are exactly wrong again. Can't wait for the Philippines moon landing...its all labor rates right? China’s hourly manufacturing labor rates are far below rates in Japan ($27.80) and Taiwan ($8.68) but roughly on par with nations like the Philippines ($1.68). China manufacturing compensation costs slightly higher than those in India. And is the Indian manned space program ahead of China's?
