Nov 19 2008
Let Detroit Go Bankrupt
Mitt Romney has a great op-ed piece in the New York Times. Everyone should read it and heed it. Speaking out against the bailout, Romney provides his own prescription to fix the failing auto industries. Just three of his common sense suggestions are:
1. New labor agreements to align pay and benefits to match those of workers at competitors like BMW, Honda, Nissan and Toyota.
2. Reduce retiree benefits so that the total burden per auto for domestic makers is not higher than that of foreign producers.
3. Get rid of the current management team and bring in an entire new crew.
The one thing Romney did not mention is government getting off the automakers backs and permitting them to make vehicles the American public wants to buy.
IF General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won’t go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed.
Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself. With it, the automakers will stay the course — the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check.
How about investing a few million dollars in a nationwide mass transit system?
Our government has 410 billion of the bail- out money laying around.(should say debt money from future tax payers)Hey the big 3 only want 25 billion for starters.How did we start down this path?
I just think its pretty messed up that our government can give 150 billion to AIG and spend 700 billion on a bull**** war which has killed over 100,000 people and accomplished nothing and we can shell out 25 billion to help out these people and their families. Theres no doubt that these companies need to be restructered but should millions of people lose their jobs because we all of a sudden going to decide now enough is enough. Enough is enough with this conservative nonsense, go worry about your conservative biceps and let the policies be decided by real men….