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I was listening to NPR this morning and one of the commentators said that the problem with the American auto industry is that they have not been very good at providing the cars that Americans demand. I'm no expert here, but I have to disagree. I can't remember the last American car I bought, but it has nothing to do with gas mileage, look of the car, etc. It's that American cars are pieces of crap. Make a car that is affordable and that Consumer Reports can find something good to say about and I'll buy it.
I lived for 5 years in GM towns before moving here so GM's bankruptcy could certainly impact some close friends. But I also saw firsthand the reorganization of Delphi (a transmission supplier with the same union problems GM has) and just how long the lines were to apply for the same jobs the union workers had, but at about half the wage. I knew people, plenty of them, making 6-figure salaries without spending a day in college. You can't pay someone 80K (plus great benefits) for folding a piece of metal and hope to compete. All we're doing in propping them up is prolonging the painful inevitability.
I lived for 5 years in GM towns before moving here so GM's bankruptcy could certainly impact some close friends. But I also saw firsthand the reorganization of Delphi (a transmission supplier with the same union problems GM has) and just how long the lines were to apply for the same jobs the union workers had, but at about half the wage. I knew people, plenty of them, making 6-figure salaries without spending a day in college. You can't pay someone 80K (plus great benefits) for folding a piece of metal and hope to compete. All we're doing in propping them up is prolonging the painful inevitability.