That the Detroit Lions went 0-16 seems like such a distant and silly tragedy when in the real world, unemployment in Michigan has hit 12.9% for April according to The Detroit News. This is the highest since 1983. If you remember what product Detroit had rolling off the assembly line back then, it is little wonder. Want a used Chevy Citation?
Soon, what's left of General Motors and Chrysler will be government jobs but how far can the government go and how can government control yield competitive car makers.
Certainly, if someone visits a Chevrolet showroom, one would find some pretty darned nice cars in the Chevy Malibu and Impala. These cars stand up nicely against their Japanese competition and Ford's Fusion and Taurus. J.D. Power overall ratings place these cars at the top along with Ford's entries too -- as good or better than the Japanese. Sadly, the same isn't true of Chrysler.
While we sympathize with our brethren in Michigan, but shouldn't the market not Washington decide the fate of GM and Chrysler? If GM could shed some weight, they have the muscle to still be a fine automaker if their legacy costs don't kill them. Chrysler has little left that's unique. Perhaps the Jeep product line could be absorbed by another automaker if CAFE standards don't doom it to begin with.
The old wisdom is, "if it ain't broke, let the government fix it until it is." The free market wasn't broken....
Michigan needs to make itself an attractive state to attract new businesses and build an infrastructure to train displaced autoworkers to function in 21st century jobs. This is ultimately what's good for the state and the workers. It's not good for the UAW, and they're the ones with the political clout right now. Traditional unions are more obsolete than a proverbial Chevy Citation no matter how much Obama-nation caves into their every wish.
Chrysler corporation with 55% union ownership is a hen house run by the foxes.
God help the Wolverine State!
No comments:
Post a Comment