Let Detroit Go Bankrupt
I Googled Gov. Romney’s NYT article on his advise to let Detroit’s auto industry go bankrupt and I found that there were 39,500 entries for “Romney Detroit Bankruptcy.” Since a conservative Republican like Mitt Romney could never in his wildest dreams count on the political support of the UAW, I guess he is completely free to speak his mind.
Although no American of goodwill takes any satisfaction in the plight of the auto industry and it’s workers, the sooner the bloated cost structure is jettisoned, the sooner a leaner, meaner American auto industry can re-emerge. I sincerely hope the industry is allowed to restructure itself and can come back with great cars and trucks that can compete with anything on the market and that the “Made in America” stamp on our products can once again become the envy of the world.
~~John Cronin~~
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/opinion/19romney.html
By: Mitt Romney
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.
I love cars, American cars. I was born in Detroit, the son of an auto chief executive. In 1954, my dad, George Romney, was tapped to run American Motors when its president suddenly died. The company itself was on life support — banks were threatening to deal it a death blow. The stock collapsed. I watched Dad work to turn the company around — and years later at business school, they were still talking about it. From the lessons of that turnaround, and from my own experiences,
I have several prescriptions for Detroit’s automakers.
First, their huge disadvantage in costs relative to foreign brands must be eliminated. That means new labor agreements to align pay and benefits to match those of workers at competitors like BMW, Honda, Nissan and Toyota. Furthermore, retiree benefits must be reduced so that the total burden per auto for domestic makers is not higher than that of foreign producers.
That extra burden is estimated to be more than $2,000 per car. Think what that means: Ford, for example, needs to cut $2,000 worth of features and quality out of its Taurus to compete with Toyota’s Avalon. Of course the Avalon feels like a better product — it has $2,000 more put into it. Considering this disadvantage, Detroit has done a remarkable job of designing and engineering its cars. But if this cost penalty persists, any bailout will only delay the inevitable.
Second, management as is must go. New faces should be recruited from unrelated industries — from companies widely respected for excellence in marketing, innovation, creativity and labor relations.
The new management must work with labor leaders to see that the enmity between labor and management comes to an end. This division is a holdover from the early years of the last century, when unions brought workers job security and better wages and benefits. But as Walter Reuther, the former head of the United Automobile Workers, said to my father, “Getting more and more pay for less and less work is a dead-end street.”
November 20th, 2008 at 10:28 am
O’Reilly backs Mitt (video):
http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=3209470&maven_referralPlaylistId=&sRevUrl=http://www.foxnews.com/index.html
O’Reilly says(clips of Romney/Barney Frank):
“If unions won’t bend, we won’t lend.”
“It all started with Barney Frank and his gang demanding government mortgage loans for people who can’t pay them.”
“I’d rather have Barney FIFE chairing the House Financial Services committee than Barney Frank.”
“So, I’m going with Romney – no loans, unless the unions stop strangling the auto companies.”
November 20th, 2008 at 11:18 am
We need a universal health care system, then employers will no longer be strangled by health care costs, and then can be more efficient. The thing about Romney is that he worked with the democrats to get health care reforms passed in Massachusetts. I’d love to see what Romney could do with health care in this country.
November 20th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Thanx, 2thpt, What are those liberals thinking??? Even Bill agrees with Mitt, he likes Mitt. He thought for sure he would be the VP for JM. And where would we be today????
November 21st, 2008 at 8:40 am
Call your congressmen and senators and say NO the Auto Bailout.
If they file Chapter 11 they can get rid of all of the union contracts that weigh the industry down and in the future negotiate better ones. Survival of the Fittest is a true principle that helps a free market survive.
Reed and Pelosi do know what they are doing and they want to push this Auto bailout through.
All of this talk about the executives arriving in Washington on private jets reminded of MS. PELOSI large jet that she flies around in. She wanted a large enough jet so she would not have to refuel on her trips back and forth to California. Maybe we should complain about her abuse of power. Also, she wanted to add a bedroom to her jet. She ought fly coach like the rest of us. Maybe if she had to do that she would not like flying back and forth to Washington and just maybe she would RETIRE. If only…She is a looser!!!!
November 21st, 2008 at 8:42 am
ARGH! I said Reed and Pelosi do know what they are doing. It’s early.
REED AND PELOSI DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING!!!!
November 21st, 2008 at 1:02 pm
After flying the skies in the lap of their luxurious corporate jets, Big Three automakers, Larry, Moe, and Curly, don their best power ties and “down ’n out” expressions for Congress yesterday. (From the looks on their faces, they must have just pledged to work for $1 a year - with no stock options.)
Slideshow of Big 3 and their jets:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/20/big-three-ceos-and-their_n_145297.html
November 21st, 2008 at 1:10 pm
How do ya like these apples?
General Motors to Invest $1 Billion in Brazil Operations — Money to Come from U.S. Rescue Program
Latin American Herald Tribune
By Russ Dallen - Latin American Herald Tribune staff
Caracas Friday, Nov 21, 2008
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=320909&CategoryId=12396
General Motors plans to invest $1 billion in Brazil to avoid the kind of problems the U.S. automaker is facing in its home market, said the beleaguered car maker.
According to the president of GM Brazil-Mercosur, Jaime Ardila, the funding will come from the package of financial aid that the manufacturer will receive from the U.S. government and will be used to “complete the renovation of the line of products up to 2012.”
“It wouldn’t be logical to withdraw the investment from where we’re growing, and our goal is to protect investments in emerging markets,” he said in a statement published by the business daily Gazeta Mercantil.
Meanwhile, he cut the company’s revenue forecast for this year by 14% to $9.5 billion from $11 billion, as the economic crisis began to cause rapid slowdowns in sales.
GM already announced three programs of paid leave, and Ardila added that GM Brazil “is going to wait and see how the market behaves in order to know what decision to take” with regard to possible layoffs.
For Ardila, the injection in Brazil’s automobile sector of 8 billion reais ($3.51 billion) recently announced by the federal and state governments of Sao Paulo “has already begun to revive sales,” which fell by 12% in October.
The executive said that the company will operate a “conservative” scenario in 2009 with an estimated production of 2.6 million units, and another more “optimistic” that contemplates sales of 2.9 million.
This year sales will reach 2.85 million vehicles, which represents a growth of 15% over last year.
November 22nd, 2008 at 9:43 am
‘Race for 2012’ blog
By Kristofer Lorelli (Check out the interesting comments, too.)
November 19, 2008
http://race42008.com/2008/11/19/huckabee-jealous-of-palin-not-a-candidate-in-2012/
I have always refused to gamble, but I am willing to bet we will be posting about Governor Huckabee each day during his book tour. He is clearly not running in 2012, but plans on stirring up the hornets nest between now and 2012.
Huckabee on Palin: “What John McCain did for her was to give her the capacity to sort of leapfrog over the process and get right to the center stage,” he said at a breakfast with reporters this morning. “By naming her (his running mate) he was able to put her in a position where she did have to go through the bruising process of the primaries. Many of us had been out there for 15 months … she walks into the hot spotlight and she’s a blank slate nobody knows so Republicans are fired up.”
Huckabee’s comments on Palin, a possible rival for the 2012 Republican nomination, suggest some jealously. “She didn’t have to go through any the debates, she didn’t have to go through the primaries, she didn’t have to have people pick her or pick someone else against her. State parties did not have to divide from one to 12 ways over her. So it was a remarkable ability for her to come in at a level that is an extraordinary benefit to her.”
Huckabee on 2012 and Palin: Huckabee wouldn’t rule out a 2012 run for president Wednesday, but he acknowledged it could be hard to take back the spotlight from fellow Republican Sarah Palin.
Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, said he expects Palin to continue to have a leading voice in the Republican Party, though he acknowledged he was envious of her meteoric rise after Sen. John McCain brought her out of relative obscurity as governor of Alaska to run with him this year as the vice presidential candidate.
Huckabee on Romney 19/11/2008: “He spent more time on the road to Damascus than a Syrian camel driver. And we thought nobody could fill John Kerry’s flip-flops!” Huckabee wrote.
November 22nd, 2008 at 10:41 am
Hi, everyone. I agree. Chapter 11 is not a bad thing, especially not for “Detroit.” The thing is, the place is so dysfunctional, it’s not clear if there’s a way up for the “Big Three.”
We all hear about how crazy the union contracts are, but is it just that, or mostly that? Do I not lust after an American car simply because it’s not well built, or because the system that came up with its quality leaves me flat; heck, I have wanted a VWs for a long time, all the while knowing they aren’t well made, but super fun to drive (ok, disclaimer: I haven’t owned a car in years, living here in NYC, but I don’t think my car lusts have left me…).
Good luck Detroit, you will need it…
November 22nd, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Geeze 2tp/. I hate it when I agree with Huckles the clown! She did leap frog, and has yet to show a deisre to do the grunt work to get the nom. Beauty fades -and her’s surley will. But brains are forever. She either needs to buy some brains or look around for some books to read. I’d strart with the consitution, if I were her.
November 22nd, 2008 at 8:36 pm
‘Government is not God Pac’ rears its ugly head again. As Mitt would say “a big Pinocchio” to Mr. Murray for his lies regarding Romney’s stance on helping the auto industry become viable and profitable.
I tried twice to post a comment on this site, but no go. We need to refute these lies. Maybe one of you can get your comments to show up.
Government is not God PAC
New Freshman Republicans
Posted by William J. Murray
Saturday, November 22, 2008
http://gingpac.blogspot.com/2008/11/new-freshman-republicans.html
LAME DUCKS TO RETURN - This week was to be the last for the 110th Congress, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced that she will call a special session in December to revisit loans to the automotive industry. NOTE: Mitt Romney may believe that Chinese and Indian car companies can replace GM and Ford, but the millions of Americans associated with the auto industry don’t. Republicans blocking the loans at the request of radical pro-China free-market traders such as Mitt Romney will kill any chance of future Republican gains in Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio and Illinois where the bulk of American owned auto parts makers live. By stopping these loans to automakers the GOP told the Reagan Democrats to pack up and go home to Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi.
November 22nd, 2008 at 8:46 pm
“The three big domestic automakers are now saying they are working jointly on a new hybrid car. It runs on a combination of state and federal bailout money, either one. When you run out of federal, it runs on state. It’s fantastic.” — Jay Leno.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:16 am
From a business standpoint, its probably the right call…from a political standpoint, i think he is walking a very fine line + its a horrible title, it should be lets fix Detroit but that is why the nytimes picked that title…I think romney needs to go to michigan immediately and met with big 3 leaders, labor, press, etc and try to help them come up with a plan or the very least explain his position that he wants to save the industry and do it inside the state.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:57 am
Just a thought , What if Gov. Romney took over as C.E.O. of General Motors , Ford or Crysler during these horrific finacial times , agree to work for a normal price and donate it all to a worthy charity. What if he turned this company around…..What great momentum that would give him for 2012 . ( Just thinking out loud )
November 24th, 2008 at 7:15 am
A lot of folks thought that. BUT the reality is that the new adminstration will view anything Romney does as a thorn in their sides. He’s the compeittiion, not Palin, Jindahl, or even Huckabee. You can tell by who they are ‘touting’ and who is getting the most non politial air time. (Palin and Huck). THATS who they want running in 12. Not Romney. T have him have any measure of total success would really hurt them.