Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Detroit

I just cannot continue to listen to the news without commenting on the sheer stupidity of some of what I hear. The UAW seems to think that the entire country will roll over and play dead. You REFUSE to take wage cuts? Hmmm... What are the choices again? Let me see.... Wage cuts, or... UNEMPLOYMENT! Don't they get it? The reason why Toyota and Honda are kicking their asses is because they are union free, and have learned how to make cars that the public actually wants. The Aztek should have been a cry for help in my opinion, by the way. How do you produce something so completely off the mark?

I wouldn't hesitate to guess that if you asked the Toyota and Honda US factory workers how they felt about their jobs that they would probably complain a whole lot less than their UAW counterparts too. You stubborn dinosaurs need to understand: Unions made sense back when you were fighting the sweat shops and other labor atrocities. These days all you are doing is ensuring out of proportion salaries, and over the top benefits for workers that are sucking one of our great industries dry.

Shame on Detroit for not getting tough and pushing back long ago. They should have threatened to take the plants to the same states that allow the Japanese to compete so well. Shame on Detroit for being so blind about the state of the word that they continued to market gas guzzlers to the public when we need to slow down and think about what we buy. Shame on Detroit for missing the mark so many times. Saturn was a great idea until they lost their autonomy and became like every other GM division, but then again, I look at all of this and think: Those who do not learn from their mistakes are condemned to repeat them. Bye Bye folks.