‘Gran Torino’ Conservatives
by Rep. Thaddeus G. McCotter (R-MI)We live amid a chaotic age.
As with the Age of Industrialization’s dawning, this Age of Globalization’s advent is a time of promise and peril, wherein many Americans’ cherished way of life is being “creatively destroyed” by a tsunami of merciless changes seemingly beyond control. The very concept of a sovereign nation-state is besieged by the discordant forces of disorder – and without order, there is no justice or freedom for the people.
In most American lifetimes, only societal tumult of the late Sixties and early Seventies is comparable, if not equivalent. Then, it was the “Destructive Generation” (as David Horowitz has termed the Hippy-Boomers) who assailed our nation’s traditional cultural, political and economic institutions. Out of this madness arose a hero to restore order, justice and liberty: Detective Harry Callahan.
Stripping away the character’s now clichéd Byronic veneer of an alienated anti-hero, Detective Callahan was at heart a harkening to the traditional Irish beat cop. The beat was different, but the challenges – imposing order upon disorder – were not. A deeply conservative figure for his times, it was no accident that Detective Callahan served as a law enforcement officer in San Francisco, the time period’s epitome of societal disorder and cultural disintegration. Here, in the radical New Left’s psychedelic citadel, “Dirty Harry” Callahan made his stand for tradition and the imposition of order to secure justice and freedom for law-abiding citizens.
Audiences still revere him for it.
Forty years on, Dirty Harry Callahan is retired and San Francisco’s New Left hippies have “evolved” into “limousine liberal” Boomers. But the forces of disorder have found a new home; and traditional Americans have found a new hero determined to preserve their cherished way of life amidst the chaos.
Walt Kowalski lives in what America perceives to be its present epitome of disorder and decay, Detroit. He harkens to the traditional Polish United Auto Worker member who helped make Detroit America’s engine of prosperity and “Arsenal of Democracy.” Born at the tail end of the “Greatest Generation,” Mr. Kowalski served his nation in Korea, the “Forgotten War,” before becoming an auto worker. He lived through the heyday of Detroit as a prosperous manufacturing community of two million. He’s witnessed its decline into a shell city of 850,000 people sifting through the ruins of what the myopic cynically deem “post-industrial America.” Mr. Kowalski’s Yuppie, suburbanite kids are trying to get him to abandon his hard-earned piece of the American dream and move into what he would call an “old folks home.” Despite the deterioration of his neighborhood, which mirrors the larger city, he refuses. Indeed, when a neighborhood youth tries to steal Kowalski’s prized Gran Torino, this cultural conservative rises to instill order upon disorder to secure justice and liberty within his community. In the process, he also transcends his own ugly prejudices by realizing his neighbors are fellow human beings and allies in the struggle to defend their shared and cherished way of life.
Of course, while his life is devoted to conserving the permanent things that provide meaning to his life – his honor, independence, home and the proud symbol of his life’s labors, his Gran Torino – Mr. Kowalski is far from a modern Republican. He probably holds all politicians in contempt (another wise trait). As a retired U.A.W. member, he would most likely vote for Democrats. However, he is undoubtedly representative of the culturally conservative blue-collar workers who supported the last President who brought order out of chaos and constructive change out of decline – Ronald Reagan. Thus, Mr. Kowalski personifies the voter driven away by ideological, Globalist Republicans.
Ironically, Walt Kowalski’s fictional attempt to conserve his cherished way of life is being performed in what amounts to a very bad – but very real – off-off-Broadway quality production in Washington, D.C. In this “drama in real life” the heart of American manufacturing – the domestic auto industry – is fighting for survival. For the people of beleaguered, abused Detroit, this is their Walt Kowalski moment. They are not fighting merely to preserve an industry or a regional economy. In the face of the callous disregard for the human cost of “creative destruction” advocated by ideologically driven Republicans and radical environmentalists, Detroiters are fighting to conserve a cherished way of life from being swept away by the amoral flood-tide of Globalization.
If Detroit goes down and America’s domestic manufacturing base is scrapped, the rest of the country may well simply shrug its shoulders at the inevitability of the loss in this Brave New World economy. Like Walt Kowalski’s kids who would blithely stow their “old man” in a human warehouse, most American’s believe they are “post-Detroit.”
They are wrong, because right now no one is post-disorder. If the rest of the nation facilitates the decimation of Detroit through malign neglect, deeper social, economic and political chaos will accelerate and spread from the Motor City to the rest of America. The “limo libs,” the globalist Gucci “conservatives,” and all arm chair ideologues will pale before the deluge and drown in their streams of intellectual adolescence. All the while as the waters rise, an anxious citizenry will call out for intelligent, mature leaders – flesh and blood, heart and soul Gran Torino Conservatives – devoted to creatively achieving constructive change amidst Globalization’s chaos
Until these Gran Torino conservatives arrive to restore order, justice and freedom to our American home, “Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”
United States Representative Thaddeus G. McCotter (MI-11) is the Chair of the Republican House Policy Committee
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
| 
Follow Us on Twitter
Subscribe via RSS
Got a Tip?
123 Comments
By the way, not to be rude, but it doesn't help to accuse us of being intellectually blind. I've seen a lot more creative ideas come from the people on this board than I've seen come out of the party (or Washington) in years. If you want to fix Detroit, cut the federal tax rate in half for companies that put a headquarters there. That will do more for Detroit that another bail out ever will.
It is an interesting post , and I agree with Mr Price on the business model; still the man is from Michigan and has constituents and a history to protect and isn't all wrong… Also, too this is Clint's biggest hit ever and he opened a 30mil weekend at 78 years old… not too shabby…
Rep. McCotter, while there may be a few "globalist conservatives" who like to kick Detroit while it is down, most of just disagree that the government should be bailing them out. There is a reason that a bank will not give a loan to someone who has mismanaged their money and is delinquent on all of their credit cards. Detroit is that person who may work hard, earn a decent wage, and really needs the loan, but they have piddled away what they earn and are seriously delinquent on all their accounts.
The Big 3 and the UAW entered into a suicide pact back in the '80s with unsupportable retirement benefits and inflated labor costs. In the recent past, they have slowly brought the labor costs to near parity with non-union auto makers, but they are still dragging that retirement boat anchor around. Bankruptcy would help to relieve them of that boat anchor. The other thing that would save Detroit is finding new markets and exploiting them the way GM did with SUVs and Chrysler did with minivans in the past. More importantly, once they become the segment leader, they need to make decisions that will keep them at the top. For example, GM became the undisputed king of SUVs in the early '90s, but then failed to innovate because they could not co-ordinate between their various brands. They were stuck with the Suburban/Yukon XL at the large end and Blazer/Jimmy on the medium end. In the mean time, other car makers who did not have so many brands to manage and please, were able to exploit the gaps between the two models. Toyota designed a different sized SUV for each day of the week and twice on Saturday and Sunday.
Slow and lumbering and arrogant is not the kind of business model I want to invest my money in. The fact that you want to take my money at the point of a gun and force me to invest in them is outrageous. I do not want to see Detroit fail and evaporate, but I do not want to fund their continued mismanagement and give the UAW the idea that they can keep making ridiculous demands. Bankruptcy is not failure, it is a chance to start over.
I live here, I work for the suppliers, and I can tell you that the problem is the trail of useless obligations that hobble GM. The union, the pensions, the deals they made with various municipalities that don't make business sense anymore but that they can't get out of. If GM didn't have to build the price of labor cartels into their cars, they would be able to compete better. There's a reason that Chevy doesn't make a domestically-produced Chevette type car anymore. They can't do so profitably in competition with Japanese car makers who are making their cars right here in the USA, but don't have their own private welfare state to finance. It's a miracle they ever did well at all with the competition being what it is.
Respectfully SIr, please tell the execs at GM and Cerebrus that bankruptcy is a reasonable solution to save the industry from the government (now the handmaiden of the UAW). We still need cars, but ,as long as the free market exists, we get to pick em. We have to lose CAFE, cap and trade, and start to compete again with the foreign automakers. If the government can't see that, then you must find shelter and weather the storm. That's a turn in the pond, then another, and another……you'll get the big boat turned around eventually.
I was a little worried when I heard Big Hollywood intended to give politicians the mike. But I've gotta say, this is a stunningly well-written post. Glad you're on our side in both arenas!
My dad worked for an auto company in middle management. He was in a nightmare sandwich, between an unrealistic and arrogant union and, as Price so aptly put, nepotistic, management banking on supervisory styles created when they held a 90-percent market share.
Globalization isn't what is killing Detroit. Detroit killed Detroit. The auto companies killed themselves by failing to act and the unions played the role of Michigan native Dr. Kevorkian.
I read shift-the-blame tripe like this elsewhere, most recently in Mitch Albom's insipid Detroit piece in Sports Illustrated. Detroit's going out of business because it deserves to.
It's fitting, that instead of re-tooling, creating new ideas or lobbying Washington for the ability to make cars people actually want (not Prius-type cardboard boxes that people would never buy from a Big Three automaker anyway), they beg for tax-payer money and strive to hold onto a system that was deemed long dead two decades ago.
It's sad because it doesn't have to be this way. But it is, and Detroit can blame its own hubris.
BTW, GM's restructuring plan is evidence of the continued mismanagement and arrogance that put them in this position. They plan to sell off or close the only brands, Hummer, Saab and Saturn, that have a differentiated product while keeping the overlapping Chevy, Pontiac, Buick, Cadillac and GMC brands. It is evidence that they continue to look at their market research from the 1950s when people who bought Chevy would not buy Buick and people who bought Buick would not buy Pontiac and people who bought Pontiac would not buy Oldsmobile and people who bought Oldsmobile would not buy Cadillac. If the market were still that way and brand loyalty was king, then Toyota and Honda would not have been "drinking their milkshake" for the past two decades. If that were true, then Kia and Hyundai would not have made the amazing come back that they did for the last five years.
And you want to steal my children's inheritance and make them slaves to the federal income tax to invest in that? Shame on you.
Well said Duke !!!!!
Dirty Harry has nothing to do with letting bankruptcy take its due course. The Big 3 have been on this path for three decades now and the only thing between them and a deserved death (Ford could make it out alive, this time around) is the patsy of the moment, the US Taxpayer.
As far as their demise wiping out manufacturing in the United States, that is patently ridiculous. Boeing won't be able to make jet planes any more? Intel will shut down all of their chip plants in sympathy with Detroit? Oh, and the foreign auto companies, with all of their suppliers will just pick up and leave?
It's a well written essay, but your fear mongering has not swayed me.
Thanks John.
Several years back, I sat next to a guy from GM on a plane for several hours. He explained to me (with no sense of horror or irony) that he was an engineer who worked in a group of 12 people (in their own little office section, with a manager and everything) and that their SOLE responsibility was to design the buttons on the radios that went into one line of sedans. That's right, the buttons. Not the whole radio, not the car… the buttons. Think about how wasteful that is.
When I asked him why GM didn't just go to Pioneer or someone like that (who specializes in radios) and buy the entire radio directly, he looked at me like I'd just suggested building the car out of cheese. It wasn't that he was concerned about losing his job, he just said, "how would we know they could make something that would fit in the car."
Watching the CEOs go to Washington, reminded me a LOT of talking that guy.
By the way, I do thank you Congressman for voting against the bailout bill in Sept and against the Porkulus Bill the Dems just foisted on our poor country. Please do keep fighting those battles, but I do respectfully disagree on giving money to Detroit.
Well said. The fact that the south has become the more profitable place for auto manufacturers is a slap in the face to unions and shows them that if they continue down their path, they will run themselves into irrelevancy.
My grandfather was a UAW guy, but he laughed at them. When they went on strike one time, he paid his coworkers to picket for him because he actually made more money repairing cars out of his garage than he made at his union job, and definitely more than the measley union wage they gave for picketing their employer.
They also show little innovation in the design of their products. I love GM, but they have really disapponted me in the last decade, especially Chevy. Instead of coming up with new ideas, they just recycle the old ones. The new Monte Carlos and Impalas are a disgrace to the old designs. They can call them Malibus, but they just look like a crappy remake of the Lumina to me. The Cavalier was a POS; calling the POS a Cobalt doesn't make it any more desirable.
kbiel — I have rarely heard it put anybetter. You are spot on, sir. Dems like to insist ours is a 'voluntary' tax system. Until you ask them what would happen if I choose 'voluntarily' to opt out of it. We are forced to pay taxes, now even higher ones, and it is backed up by a gun muzzle, pointed straight at our heads. Tax cuts YES, endless bailouts NO!
I liked the movie, but I would never buy an American car. My parents had an Olds diesel X-car Custom Cruiser in the early 80s that was a nightmare. It needed a new engine every 30k miles or so. They couldn't sell it, but still had to make the payments. GM never apologized to my family or compensated them for the money and hassle. Maybe Detroit would be in better shape now if they hadn't abused their customers in the past.
I would like to take credit for it, but P.J. O'Rourke's Parliament of Whores is where I got the concept of taxes being taking at gun point. (http://books.google.com/books?id=1Kn1VP4TX-gC&...
That book should be required reading. In fact, it can take the place of today's high school civics, er, I mean, government, er, I mean, social studies classes.
[...] Big Hollywood » Blog Archive » ‘Gran Torino’ Conservatives. No Comments so far Leave a comment RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI [...]
I agree in part; the culture of men and women you describe is alive and well right here in Hollywood (well, OK, Burbank). Strong opinions, a strong sense of country, duty, independence, gumption, and patriotism are all well-represented, along with a lot of very cool cars. They're really a good bunch of people. Where I disagree is that if Detroit fails, America will "fail" in some way. America is not failing; if GM, Ford, and Chrysler have screwed up, they'll have to suffer the consequences and reorganize just like any other business. Thanks for posting your piece.
You make a lot of very good points and some interesting connections. I'd like to see more of your contributions here. Just wanted to add that.
The problem is our big three cannot sell cars because they make crap that no one wants at their prices. Union agreements have a part. but no more than suicidal investment financial oligarcs and poor management that refuses to make what people will buy. It was bizaar to see GM management seriously defend its Brazillian project while demanding the taxpayer bridge finance the GM/Chrysler merger, all with no sense of irony. Rep McCotter is a goog guy, writes well and is right about both Eastwoods movie messages and the Reagan coalition, but giving money to Detroit is like donating kegs to the Animal House fraternity.
If they're stupid enough in Detroit to elect Kwame Kilpatrick and box of rocks dumb enough to elect Jennifer Granholm governor, how can we expect them to survive? I'm on my third great American care in a row from the same manufacturer, a Saturn made in Tennessee, where most people's heads are screwed on straight?
The Big 3 and the UAW entered into a suicide pact back in the '80s with unsupportable retirement benefits and inflated labor costs.
The American income taxpayer ( the 60 % who are still actually paying it ) has been forced into a suicide pack with all of the Government Union members, federal, state, county and local, who receive pay and pension benifits that far outstrip their private sector equals. How can a government that has run up a debt of trillions, have any credibility critizing the auto's??? What about that Hollywood bailout too???
A managed bankruptcy would force the unions into concessions. That is the only option that is FAIR TO THE AMERICAN TAXPAYERS, who had nothing whatsoever to do with Detroit's problems.
For the record, I drive a 2003 Dodge RAM 1500 Quad Cab 4×4 Sport. Light trucks are the one thing Detroit still does better than anybody else.
Rep. McCotter,
You are great Congressmen. But, I have to disagree that we should save Detroit. Most car manufacturing has moved to Southern states because of low taxes. Rinos did not destroy Detroit, the Dems who run that state did…with their high taxes and regulation.
Federalism is the concept that all 50 states are laboratories of experimentation and in competition with each other. Michigan has been creatively destroyed.
First thing is this, the Republicans have wasted everybody's time, by demonizing the Unions and UAW. Can everybody try to remember, at least for a second, the Union's, are comprised of our fellow Citizens- not Monsters.
If you piss away the "Arsenal of Democracy" you better hope you one day don't need it. The blight of Detroit needs to be addressed by the Nation, like a lazer beam, The Poverty is unbecoming of a third world country. All of you who espouse "lower taxes and deregulation" as an ethos, NEWSFLASH, its not a political ideology. Its a washed up old idea, like most of you who turn your backs on Detroit. Lower their taxes and that will save them. How about some other ideas? Like build roads, schools, hospitals, job training centers, clear the blight and plant trees and sod, give the land away in favor of development. Our areas of the Country should not be competing against each other to see who can collect the least amount in taxes. That is not an idea. Pitting the North vrs South is also ignorant. Grand Torino is a classic car, Detroit is a classic City, I have a feeling it will far out last all of you who turned your back, in favor of nothing.
Clint made a pretty cool movie, Detroit led the way in WWII. A real patriot would support the Unions and the Revitalization of Detroit.
Yeah, that worked great in East Germany… and Russia… and Detroit. Have you ever considered that the tired old ideas you're espousing have failed everywhere they've ever been tried? In fact, it was the same old tired "ignorant" garbage you're peddling here that has failed Michigan for decades now. Insanity is defined as repeating the same things and expecting a different result. Consider that before you ask us to continue supporting Detroit's habit.
Also, if anyone is demonizing anyone, it's the unions. Ghettofinger can't open his mouth without accusing everyone else in the room of being to blame. Moreover, who exactly is pitting North against South? Oh yeah, that's right, the guys in the North who have ruined their own state and can't stand the fact that those darn southern boys seems to be proving that there are better ways to do things.
Finally, patriotism and unionization have NOTHING to do with each other and the implication, that it's unpatriotic to oppose the unions, is laughable.
Andrew, I spent a half a lifetime (twenty plus years) in the car biz as a lotboy, sales rep and sales manager. You are right on target, Chrysler should join De Soto and Packard and the like in auto maker heaven. The average car buyer has NO CONFIDENCE in Chrysler products. Let em go, pull the plug. I'm proud that my beloved FoMoCo doesn't have it's hand out, yet! The U.A.W. should be procecuted under the RICO statutes.
Read what the U.A.W. has done to strong arm the Mercedes Benz plant in Birmingham, Alabama. They are absolutely fascist pigs, the F.B.I. ought to be after them.
Detroit built stuff. Putt hundred's of Billions of Dollars INTO the Economy. Meanwhile, you fought the Union's, and gave us Enron, and Now Maddof, Detroit built things, and you sold a ponzi scheme. No comparison. We are now seeing the growing pangs of the "Free Trade" agreements of the 90's. I agree that overall they will be a boon. The short term however, has seen multinational companies skipping borders for "lower taxes and deregulation" Again, to base this as your belief system, shows you offer nothing. The "Enron/Ponzi Scheme that is the Republican culture needs to get its priorities straight. We serve people, not ideology. Collective Bargaining should be embraced by Republican culture. What kind of sellout are you? Greed got us here, nothing else. Its not a virtue, aka Gordon Gekko, and "trickle down" crashed our Economy. You think its okay to make a profit in your Dividends off the back of a worker in a poor nation? That is not right.
Every time I delivered a new Ford a big part of the profit (to the manufacturer) was already spent. I sold umpteen new Expeditions(circa 2004) with a considerably better and safer rear suspension and better 3rd row seat arrangement because the GM/Chevy product was an antiquated solid rear axle. They didn't OR couldn't spend the proper R&D $$$. Anyway, I'm not pimping Ford or bashing GM but the facts were facts. A proper presentation/demonstration of the unquestion innovation of the Ford design sold ALOT of new Expeditions in Austin,Tx. Your points are accurate, well stated and timely. (By the way, GM still employs a solid rear axle, Toyota has moved to IRS.)
[...] Congressman McCotter thinks Gran Torino is a fantastic conservative movie [...]
Agree, James; bet you were painted with the same brush as the UAW guys, though—even though at a dealership you probably worked 60+ hours a week, without dental and a "job bank."
Thanks for defending Ford; I think Mullaly will make it work, and if the mortgage debacle hadn't happened, that automaker would be doing fine.
Pity my friends at Chrysler though; they would have left years ago, but with MIchigan in the dumpster, you don't have any choices that are non-automotive.
McCotter is a good guy, defending an un-defendable position—that the unions were a big part of the problem, and only by getting rid of them will automakers find a solution.
Unless they can show some real evidence that the situation can be turned around, I'm against it as well. However, there are far too many people who bash these companies simplistically. All the car markets are hurting, although GM & Chrysler took it on the chin far worse. All the complaints about bad management and intractable unions are true, but that's not why the company collapsed so spectacularly (although it probably made the demise inevitable). They have been pushed out of the small car, fuel efficient market by others who can make a better profit on those cars. Still, they were doing adequately until the price of gas exploded, due in large part to poor legislation, allowing futures traders to run up the price artificially. Suddenly, the market collapsed for low mileage vehicles with no time for adjustment for anyone. Then you add in the mortgage meltdown and the job loss at the leading edge of the recession, which buried everyone equally (I believe Toyota was showing almost as much loss here as the others). Even if you wanted a car, you couldn't get a loan to buy it.
Not all of this was the fault of the car companies, and the coming crisis wasn't readily apparent to anyone as little as a few years ago (gas more than doubled in two years, and most people didn't see the credit meltdown happening until months before the first collapse). It doesn't mean we should keep giving a failing company money to prop it up, but we also shouldn't pretend that it's all the union's fault, or that better management would have avoided everything. If any of the companies could prove they could turn it around, I'd be in favor of helping them. Unfortunately, from what I heard today, GM is looking at larger than expected losses, and more in the coming months. I don't think any amount of money will fix this problem, especially if the economy stays down (which seems likely). Although I feel for the people who will be hurt, it looks like bankruptcy is the best method to address the problems, but I'd love to see someone come up with a better plan.
Just to add to that, I heard a rep from GM pointing out in an extended interview on Hugh Hewitt that our Big 3 did a lot to contribute after 9/11. At the request of the White House they introduced new incentives that weren't in their best interests profit-wise, gave more in money and product to charitable organizations, and worked with the government to help stabilize the economy. According to the rep, Toyota and other foreign manufacturers did little to nothing except take care of themselves. Just like with the phone industry being attacked by the Dems for cooperating on FISA, after a few businesses have been burned for helping against their best-interests, you'll eventually guarantee that someone is going to say 'no' down the road.
Greed got you there alright, the greed of union labor that demanded a higher wage than the market would pay — those wages being paid at the expense of creditors, equity holders, and car buyers (and now apparently tax payers). Looks to me like you guys sold out everyone who supported you.
As for Detroit making stuff, that's exactly what's going on in every other state in the country right now. Airplanes, cars, furniture, steel, mines, oil, food — all over the country. So don't try to tell me that Detroit is something special. Are you going to bail out the furniture guys in South Carolina? Did you offer to bail out the oil guys in Texas in the 1980s? What about the steel mills in the rust belt over the last 20 years — I don't recall hearing a lot of people in Detroit offering to help keep those mills out of bankruptcy.
As for putting money into the economy, the banks you despise put thousands of times more money into the economy that Detroit ever has.
(cont)
Innovators in Detroit designed things; labor built them, and were rewarded handsomely, with incredibly high hourly wages and medical, dental and vacation to make civil workers envious. The workers were usually not responsible for the innovation, but they had their share of the pot when the innovations paid off. But when times; got hard, the unions got their "job banks"—–and the culture in Detroit now leads the country in entitlement attitudes.
I have Detroit area cousins who turned down free rides to colleges to attend community college part time while they wait for their union job—then they can be set for life, working 8 to 5 with an hour lunch and two breaks.
They've been waiting for a few years now….good luck.
Oh, and that "trickle down" you criticize gave us 20 years of solid growth. It was big tax and spend that caused this recession and your bailouts that will make it a depression. And the "command down" economy you're advocating has only ever managed to create refugees.
Next, why should Republican embrace collective bargaining? Unions have been demonizing Republicans for years. Maybe you guys shouldn't have been so political?
Finally, Madoff and all these bank bailouts… all democrats. Good old fashioned union loving, fraud committing democrats. So drop the worker of the world garbage Mr. Marx.
Detroit City Council feels "entitled" to the cash cow known as the North American International Auto Show—but they can't manage to cross the street without a police escort, or a meeting without having a free-for-all….so because the Council (headed by John Conyer's lovely wife Monica) wouldn't take a route with a revenue stream, Detroit will most likely lose the NAIAS, and empty and delapidated Cobo will be a lovely monument to the spirit of entitlements.
I admire the incredible men who forged the Big Three, who really did have to fight for fairness in the workplace. But do you think Walter Reuther would be proud of the role unions played in the death of the big three?
I don't remember the UAW ever asking that white collar salaries be capped if they took a pay freeze, or to trim their ranks if the middle management did the same….just give me my four weeks paid vacation, and 90% severance.
And if you want to point fingers, you gave us Barney & Chris, and houses for everyone, even those who should not have them because they can't handle the responsibility. The housing and mortgage debacle, that Bush tried to head off, is thanks to those friends of Angelo.
"multinational companies skipping borders for "lower taxes and deregulation"
You mean companies are making decisions that reduce overhead costs and overall operational costs? How evil of them that they do right by their investors!!! They should squander their investors' money the way our heavenly and infallible Congress does with taxpayer money, right little Teddy?
Skip, it gets better—-they finally have a guy, the son of 60s radical Ken Cockrel, who is mayor pro-tem and wants to run the city like a business. He worked hard to craft a deal where instead of losing money on Cobo Hall (the home of the North American International Auto Show) they could have leased or sold it, and created a strong revenue stream that would help the city with its financial woes. But the City Council, which can't manage to have a meeting without fisticuffs thinks they can manage it better—and they have done sooo well in the past…..
Yes, I'm a Detroit expat and so thankful to be away from it. Unfortunately, too many loved ones are still being smothered by the big Blue mess in Michigan.
I agree that it's not all their fault that it's happening now, but it is their fault that they are failing. These companies died years ago and have been in slow motion collapse. The new crisis merely sped that up.
The problem for the entire market is that demand started falling several years ago. Demand is now about 10 million units a year. At its peak, it hit 20 million. Their lousy management assumed it would always be 20 million. When it started falling, they used 0 percent financing to bring sales forward, but that only stalled the problem while simultaneously making it worse in the present.
So here's the problem. The US market no longer demands enough cars (and won't any time soon) to support the Big 3. They need to become the Big 1.5 to survive. But rather than face this, they keep seeking loans to get them through until demand "returns" to 20 million — that won't happen. The longer all three are out there, the worse off all three will be.
(cont)
Also, I am troubled that I see no willingness to make necessary changes. They won't break the franchise agreements that force them to keep making too many brands, the unions won't really cut their wages to become competitive (all public relations so far), management won't streamline or rethink company structure, etc…
Nicely said. If there is one thing I cannot stand it is self-righteous self-pity.
Great points L4L.
Detroit’s cool with me as well, I don’t care what they do, just leave me the hell out of it, I’ve got my own problems. I do my part for Detroit, and buy their products. It’s so easy to become glum at present but, Detroit is an example of the, “hope and change we can believe in, horse squeeze that’s coming to town near you. Detroit and most American cities are societal experiments gone bad. This is especially true in our enlightened, or progressive states, California, New York, Michigan, (Blue States) etc. “you get the trend. Great states, great people, oppressive nanny state governments, it’s like a cancer slowly devouring these once great American icons. We all know that major cities are massive jobs programs to give the unemployable something to do, visit a DMV or Health Department, etc. (I know there are exceptions.)
To a broader point I believe that the, “Stimulus Bill, was more about government saving itself, pensions, un-funded mandates, govt. payrolls, bonds, and the like. I have this disturbing vision of, Beady-eyed Washington, and State politicians of both parties rubbing their greedy little hands together in a near orgasmic state in every dark smoke filled room in DC, and across the country, and if you listen through the door of one of these gatherings of apparatchiks, you can hear a drone chant, “power… power…
Does anybody here REALLY think having the hand of DC being involved will save Detroit? SERIOUSLY?!?
Look how Schumer reacted when he found out some Governors might opt-out of the total sordid "bailout" package and pick only things that they feel would actually be of benefit to their state..
"All or None"
Some democracy. At least the Governors would have saved us a tiny bit of cash.
My most recent car purchase was a 1999 Saturn; it has worked out fairly well, although the air counditioner bit the dust a year or two back. But GM first turned Saturn into "just another label", and now wants to shut it down or sell it. If I can't depend on the label staying in business for spare parts availability, why not just buy foreign?
Thanks James. These are things I've heard from many people in and out of the industry, as well as things I've seen personally. I would think Ford should ultimately come out of this pretty well off in the end.
By the way, hate to admit it to a Ford guy, but I did buy a Chrsler 300C prior to Christmas (knowing that I might get stuck with a worthless warranty). It was just too good of a deal to pass up. It cost less than my Accord did in 1998! My dad has a Ford though, so I'm not all bad?
CNBC did this one hour show on the Big 3 and their prior mistakes over the last 30 years. It was amazing to see how often the Big 3 took lousy existing cars and just slapped new nameplates on them after making minor cosmetic changes (Caddy was infamous for this — curse my mother's 1985 Caddy Fleetwood to eternal suffering). They also repeatedly used engines that were too small or brakes that were too weak, and they cut corners everywhere. It was really amazing.
They also had this interesting montage of GM's CEOs coming out almost every year for the last ten years saying that they had a plan to become competitive with the Japanese "this year." It would be funny if it wasn't so tragic.
While I agree with you on the debt/economic points I feel the real problem lies in the union structure here in this country. I have worked in the transportation industry for a good part of my life as an auditor I can tell you that the biggest problem was not the benefits or salaries the unions demanded but the work rules. At the railroad they were almost shut down with a strike because when new technology arose (automated cars at the yard).. Why, because one Union did not like the fact that the new jobs would fall under the bailiwick of the other union. The company was helpless while two sets of workers were seeking to sabotage one another.
The unions have no sense that the company exists for anything other than to placate them. I never got it if I had a job that paid me six figures for which I did not need a high school diploma the last thing I'd do is b____. Not these guys. This mindset is what drags the companies with unions down. It encourages people not to work and produce. Even a lot of the union guys get fed up with it. Half the time they complain more about the lawyers in charge of the union than the company itself.
I saw a statistic that said that while Toyota and GM had similar sales revenue last year, GM had a huge loss while Toyota made a profit. The fact of the matter is that if you are mismanaging your business you can survive in times of prosperity. However when the pinch comes on it is the better managed company that will survive.
It's like the old joke. Two men are out fly fishing and they see an angry bear. The one fellow drops his pole, takes off his wading boots and laces up his nike's. Theother fisherman says "Are you nuts, you can't outrun that bear". To which the first man replies "I don't have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you!"
" Then, it was the “Destructive Generation” (as David Horowitz has termed the Hippy-Boomers) "
Are you sure that David Horowitz and Peter Collier were talking about the kids that were born 1946 to 1964 (as the Census Bureau defines boomers) or was he discussing mostly his own and Colliers generation born 1925 to 1945, those were the generation that on sunrise of the first day of 1960 ranged in age from 15 to 35. Those and their parents were the leaders of the sixties, not the kids of the boomer generation, by the end of the sixties in 1969 the oldest boomer was 23 and the youngest like Sarah Palin were only five years old.
The boomer generation could not even vote in total in presidential elections until 1984 when Reagan was swept into office in the biggest landslide in history.
Can't say I agree. We have a manufacturing base, we even make cars. We do that throughout the American South. Detroit is simply out of touch with modern management, strangled by bureaucracy, a nepotistic management structure, a lack of creativity or wisdom, and unwillingness to adjust and a combative union mentality. Not to mention that the car market has shrunk and there simply is not enough market for all three of the big three. Let one die and the other two will prosper. Keep all three and they will all limb along until the Federal money stops and they die.
It is "intellectual adolescence" to think that you can push back the tide of history.
1957 Chevy, Cadillac, Camero, Thunderbird, Mustang, SUV, Corvette, F150, Firebird, Mini Van, Volt —- when haven't they given the people what they wanted? People made them, people bought them, they all have families. That's all I'm saying. I didn't say anything about squandering investors money. The older I get, the more I see Jimmy Hoffa as a "Saintly" man, I know he was imperfect, but he stood against a rising tide. I hope someday there is World Court that will retrieve back the money owed to exploited workers. Things like the Hippocratic Oath are more important than profit. You take care of people without regard to where they are from. Its just plain civility. Perhaps the Big 3 should cancel retiree payments, just to make you guys feel better. I am offering my opinion, if I've riled you up, its because you were wrong. Look at Detroit: Can You Help?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfhsS-KMFL4&fe...
give this vid a chance, the music fits nicely.
I watch that vid, and think "Yeah Trickle Down."
Ireland called, they said thanks for all the jobs. They also said to feel free to raise our taxes even higher…..their unemployment hasn't hit 0% yet.
I think they started to lose it when they stopped making real muscle cars. Other than trucks, that is what distinguished American cars from the European and Asian imports. Now the cars are made out of plastic , the torque is gone and the shiny chrome bumpers are extinct. Damn CAFE standards!
I bought a Toyota for the first time a couple of years ago. I needed a car that got good mileage and would most likely last a long time because I was doing field service work (35,000 miles a year). There just wasn't anything in Ford, GM or Chrysler's inventory that fit the bill. They were bragging about GM's new hybrid, but it gets about the same mileage as my Corolla (while costing over $10,000 more). I don't think the Big 3 makes bad cars, trucks and vans (I have a Chrysler mini-van, and it's great), but one of them should have been fighting for that mid-market just to diversify. I hear that Ford has something good now, but I couldn't pull the trigger on a model with no history of quality.
You know, the more I read your posts, the more that whole 0 – 16 Detroit Lions thing comes into focus. And I guess, the more it becomes clear why Detroit is in such trouble and why we should NEVER send you people another penny. Talk about throwing good money after bad!
The Lions are a sports team, we've had plenty of Champions here. I guess I was looking for something more stoic from you AP. Not one new idea from you.
Most of the cars you just listed had to be completely overhauled (with poor results), or thrown out thanks to regulation, like CAFE standards. Governemnt decided that automakers would make cars that people "should have" instead of the ones they wanted.
You think the workers are exploited by the company when they are actually exploited by their unions. And yes, choosing a more expensive option for your company is squandering your investors money. I know trying to spend as little of other people's money may be a foreign concept to you. The fact that you are so willing to throw money at Detroit shows that you are more concerned about how fast to spend other people's money.
A World Court? Apparently our nation's sovereignty means nothing to you. Everything you said after that was just laughable.
Saturns are pretty decent cars, but they are proof that a poor body design will make everything else irrelevant.
Have to agree with Slash, this is a stunningly well written post by Rep McCotter. Kudos! Clever. @Des, don't put words in my mouth, that is not what I said. I think we all want the best for our Country. I believe Detroit has been an important and relevant part of America's History. Nothing wrong with lifting it up now. Seems like good karma to me.
I have to agree here. I drive an Escallade, my hubby one of the big Hummers, but I bought a Mustang for my son and a toyota SUV for my daughter. I don't want to NOT buy the cars made in Detroit, but right now, I also don't want to support them. I feel like they are pushing their customers away. I am in the steel business, and I see how the steel industry in this country was destroyed by unions. Not to mention that living in the South, I have seen the furniture industry go down, and the foreign car-makers do well here. I think it is a sad commentary on the way the unions have held the industry in this country at gun-point.
Believe me, I'm no supporter of the UAW (I've had to fight high-level battles with the UFCW thugs myself). But after what Mercedes-Benz did to Chrysler, I don't have a lot of sympathy for them, either. And I love the Chrysler 300 as a modernized version of the car my parents bought in 1955.
First of all, I'm hearing nothing from you in the way of ideas other than taking my money and spending it on your city and your companies. That's called robbery. How do you respond if I say that I want you to bail me out because I've been such a good taxpayer all these years.
As for new ideas, you don't seem to understand the concept of economic incentives. When you cut tax rates, people have an incentive to take more risks, start more businesses, and work harder. That is a fact (as is the fact that doing what you're advocating has NEVER worked in the history of mankind), and its been done by both sides of the political spectrum. So I say, first, cut tax rates to attract business and get people to start working.
(cont)
My mother told me today that as part of the "stimulus" package, some of her medicare benefits were going to be cut. I read all of you post on this subject and not once did you offer anything in the way of a negotiation of benefits. Not one, just gimme. I'm sorry if I missed one but that seems like a fundamental flaw in your logic/philosophy.
Rep. McCotter, I'm really excited you're posting here, you might be my favorite conservative politician. I always buy US cars and always will. But I don't see why they need any more of my money. "Detroit" exists in the talent of its workers, designers and theoretically execs. If it goes away, we will find a way to rebuild it. But not if all those talents are put in the business of getting government aid instead of making cars that people want at a good price.
Every time I delivered a new Ford a big part of the profit (to the manufacturer) was already spent. I sold umpteen new Expeditions(circa 2003-9) with a considerably better and safer rear suspension and better 3rd row seat arrangement because the GM/Chevy product was an antiquated solid rear axle. They didn't OR couldn't spend the proper R&D $$$. Anyway, I'm not pimping Ford or bashing GM but the facts were facts. A proper presentation/demonstration of the unquestioned innovation of the Ford design sold ALOT of new Expeditions in Austin,Tx. Your points are accurate, well stated and timely. (By the way, GM still employs a solid rear axle, Toyota has moved to IRS.)
Funny that you mention Enron, because the Democrats favorite campaign contributor, Fannie Mae is also guilty of cooking their books (Franklin Raines). I guess being a government sponsored entity with an army of special interest groups that attack any politician that challenges them means that you don't get prosecuted for fraud. Of course Democrats can see no wrong among their own, so go ahead and blindly point fingers at whoever Keith Olbermann and Chris "Chill Up My Leg" Matthews tell you to.
Tom Petters also ran a ponzi scheme, and he donated to just as many Dems as Repubs. Both parties reek of corruption nationwide.
And you have no idea what crashed the economy, as you are one of those liberals that refuses to focus on actual economics and just regurgitates the liberal daily talking points.
And as far as greed getting us here, what exactly is greed? Making profits of of the backs of the poor? Last time I checked, dividends are only paid out on stocks. Stocks represent ownership of property…are you implying that the poor are property Ted, that would make them slaves. Shame on you Ted!
Take you whiny emotional rhetoric elsewhere…the adults are talking here, boy.
It unfortunately the unions that have destroyed Detroit. Allowing the "big three" to go bankrupt will not destroy the American industrial base, it will actually make it much stronger. This is because bankruptcy will not erase the American auto industry. From the ashes of the three poorly managed companies will emerge one strong, well managed, competitive auto maker. By removing the insane entitlements that the unions grabbed during the 80s and 90s, the cost of an American automobile will be comparable with an import and with that Detroit will bounce back to greatness.
Walt may have been a union man but even he would have found it insane to pay someone that was fired 95% of their former salary for simply sitting around their house – producing NOTHING but a burden on the United States.
During the election, there was a woman for the McCain campaign making the radio show rounds to talk about unions. She talked about her experience as a manager having to deal with UAW employees. The highlight was a guy who left work (on the clock) to go drinking for the day. She found him in a bar, and got him a 30 day suspension. He laughed at her, assuring her that the union would get it overturned with back-pay, so she just gave him a month of paid vacation. Later his prediction came true.
It's not that unions only did negative things, but unfortunately they did a lot of them. Now everybody's paying for it.
So you're upset about the workers getting screwed by the companies, but are perfectly fine with the money stolen by organized crime? That's an interesting take on the situation.
My Dad was a lifetime steelworker, and HATED his union. They were corrupt, spent the worker's money without any consideration for what the average person wanted, and always made sure they (the leadership) were taken care of first. There were good things that they did, but it in no way made up for all the bad things (including forcing jobs to take on workers with bad attitudes).
Labor costs were obviously a big part of the demise of the US auto industry. They've also put out products that were not as dependable as foreign vehicles. I do not blame the unions.
Unions are like little children in the grocery store begging for candy from mommy. It's mommy's fault if they get loaded up on sugar. I have negotiated many union contracts. You have to take a strong stand with unions, tell them no when you have to and be willing to let the idiots strike if the deal they propose is outside of your budget. Too many auto execs caved-in to the children because they knew they would be retired by the time it all got out of hand. They saw their careers as being diminished by a short-term strike and new the consequences of their bad decisions would be heaped on others. These companies should be allowed to fail. We might actually get competitive, union-free companies to provide great cars and good jobs in the future.
And for the record, I'm sick and tired of hearing high school educated employees, who never took a business risk in their lives, tell me that they deserve high pay and full benefits. That is not the reality in the American work force and you're a flat out socialist if you think people are born into the world deserving handouts. There are some things in life you have to earn. Filling out a job application doesn't cut it.
If you want other ideas, think creatively. Many places have done quite well by developing tourism. Enhance your cultural attractions. Open car museums, theme parks, and a race track. Start a film festival, create an architectural colony, sponsor a film industry — take the TV movie industry away from Vancouver. All these things can be done with minimal government money, all mainly in the form of tax incentives.
You have a ton of medically starved Canadians right across the border, start selling them medical care — turn Detroit into "Dubai for Canadians" (medical holidays). You have a lot of biotech up there and several colleges.
What else have you got people might be interested in?
Presuming the UAW does not break the law, I don't have an issue with them. It is the management of the car companies who never had the cajones to deal with them. In effect, they simply made a deal for peace. This sounds familiar, no?
That never works out. Once the Japanese had access to this market, that kind of deal is doomed. Don;t blame the unions, they were doing their jobs, looking out for their members. The companies should have done the same for their shareholders.
Manufacturing can no longer be the base for an economy in a first world country. Robots produce better goods, faster, cheaper and with less human suffering (work place accidents). Japan has Toyota factories that have almost no human interaction with the cars.
The future is not manufacturing, it is science and engineering. Get your kids in the FIRST LEGO League (usfirst.org), take a night course in Engineering. No matter how bad the economy gets engineering is all ways at 100% employment.
"San Francisco, the time period’s epitome of societal disorder and cultural disintegration. " Actually, that is still the case nearly 4 decades later.
Karma sir, would be to let the UAW fall flat on their faces because they've had it coming for a long time now.
An earlier post said that bankruptcy is not failure, it is a chance to start over. Tell that to your creditors. If you don't pay your bills I can't pay mine.
Have to add Chrysler 300, Ford Flex & Dodge Charger to the list! Kick Ass Vehicles.
"Globalization isn't what is killing Detroit. Detroit killed Detroit. The auto companies killed themselves by failing to act and the unions played the role of Michigan native Dr. Kevorkian.
I read shift-the-blame tripe like this elsewhere, most recently in Mitch Albom's insipid Detroit piece in Sports Illustrated. Detroit's going out of business because it deserves to. "
Well said John! I haven't owned an American Car since the Mid 1980s—My Dad bought a BRAND NEW Plymouth Scamp in the Mid 70s to save on gas-that beast would stall out since the day we bought it & the dealer wouldn't do a THING about it & I bought a Ford Escort in the 1980s but THAT car was a maintenance nightmare—WHAT'S wrong? WHY are they such poorly made crap? I don't know but I inherited an early model Toyota Corolla circa 1978-This one got broadsided while my sister was driving it(not hurt thank God!) but once we bent it back into shape, it looked a little 'hunchbacked' but by Golly it DROVE & DROVE until 1990….SO I have been sold on 'Made in Japan' for a LONG time…
It is funny how the libs are not content to blame Bush for the economy. They want to go all the way back to Reagan. They seem to forget Jimmy Carter's planned economy (man did that one hurt) and the Tech meldown, handed to Bush by mr. Clinton.
Man, did that one hurt too!
Blaming specific Presidents is interesting but intellectually silly. Ditto blaming the unions. The unions demanded, the management gave them the checkbook and then skimped on building competitive cars. The shareholders took it in the shorts. So, in the end, the investor got cranked. Does that sound familiar, kind of like the current banking situation. If you look at who is taking it in the shorts, it would be the average investor and home owner.
Ah, that would be me. Stupd of me to take risk to try to pay for my OWN retirement. I won't do that again.
Look, I have a 2002 Dodge minivan that has ALWAYS answered the turn of the key for 117,000 plus miles. I know that you folks in Detroit can do it. The question is much simpler: can you do it more competitively? Can you get rid of the job bank, can you lower the high cost of labor, can you get materials cheaper and make it with less waste? Because I'll give you the dirty little secret…if you can do it better, cheaper, faster, you'll win, and there will be even more little silver vans like mine buzzing around.
But check it out: a lot of you Detroit guys didn't want that. You wanted more, but with less effort. You wanted the security, but didn't want the work that guarantees that security. And when push came to shove, you then went to the most inefficient, most cost per item done, most bureaucratic, most interfering, less real true worth folks to help you. And amazingly enough, you think that those folks with the most to gain by beating you into the dirt are suddenly going to be altruistic, helpful, and capable. You elect the bizzaro libs to govern you, you let them make and enforce the bizzaro laws you have to follow, a lot of you went to the bizzaros for corporate and personal money and their legal racket for protection from bad decisions, and now you think everyone will really want the stuff those bizzaro libs will force you to make.
If the UAW gave a crap about you workers, it would've helped make sure you could always have a job, and insured they had a continuous revenue stream out of your paycheck, by telling the CAFE and California emissions folks, the EPA, NHTSB, and any number of other alphabet DC weirdos: reasonable and prudent is okay, but the minute Ralph Nader, Joan Claybrook and others started stepping over the line, somebody from the thug bureau would be down to park a Hummer H1 on their pimply busybody chest the next day, and made sure the family pet was under the right rear as they backed up.
But they didn't, did they?
Honda makes great cars, that's why the kick the tar out of U.S. makers. And when I say U.S. built I mean some of the assembly is finished here. The demise of these makers will cut across both borders, Canada and Mexico.
I anxiously got in one to drive it a year or so ago, and it was a fun car to drive, it had the Hemi. My problem is, I could see the metal rod that runs through middle of the sterring wheel, the sun light it up. For $30 plus GRAND, no rod in the steering wheel visable, please.
[...] surprised when I found out there are groups of people calling themselves Gran Torino Conservatives. Here you can read about this [...]
It's not well written at all! He just strings some big words together in a few places to make it seem so, even if the end result is incomprehensible crap! Sounds like it was written by a high schooler with a thesaurus on his lap.
Great Site……
[...]check this out as this contains important information about[...]…
Awesome website…
[...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]……
Sites we Like……
[...] Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites that we choose [...]……
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Websites worth visiting…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Websites you should visit…
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]……
You should check this out…
[...] Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nevertheless really worth taking a look, whoa did one learn about Mid East has got more problerms as well [...]……
You should check this out…
[...] Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nevertheless really worth taking a look, whoa did one learn about Mid East has got more problerms as well [...]……
You must be logged in to post a comment.