State of Michigan R. I. P.

There is a great sorrow among those of us familiar with this beautiful place. It is quite a big place. You can drive more than 600 miles from one corner to another. You can get to a body of water within minutes. You can get a good education and join over 100,000 somewhat delirious fans in one of the greatest sports stadiums ever built. The state was home to some unique branded products: Stroh’s beer (fire-brewed), Kellogg’s cereal and Vernor’s ginger ale. They also used to make cars in the State of Michigan.

So what went wrong?

Well, some say it was bad management at the car companies. Some others say it was the nasty demands that the union foisted on these companies. And then some others say throw in bad political leadership over the last 20 years. Add the three together and you’ve pretty much got your answer.

Can Michigan survive? What happened?

In the April 27, 2009 issue of The New Yorker, Peter J. Boyer writes about Detroit and the automobile industry and the future in an article entitled, “The Road Ahead, Smyrna, Tennessee, vs. Detroit.” Here’s an excerpt from this well researched article describing events almost 30 years ago, “Ishihara (president of Nissan) had a low opinion of American manufacturing and workmanship. Detroit’s management focused more on short-term profit than on quality, and the antagonistic labor-management relationship, governed by a tangle of burdensome workplace rules, seemed designed to frustrate efficiency. The high rate of absenteeism on the American assembly line was shocking to the Japanese. Ishihara wanted to make cars in America, but he was determined that Nissan would not become an American automaker.” TheFundamentals recommend that you read the entire article.

The current governor of the state of Michigan is Jennifer Granholm (see left image.) A few days ago she opined on the situation (banking crisis and auto crisis), “Who knew when we were bailing out the banks we were setting them up to kill the auto industry," Granholm said. "They need to think about the tens of thousands of workers whose lives hang in the balance because the banks want to get a better deal than what even the market will bear. It's totally unacceptable."

That statement says nothing about the facts but speaks volumes about the political leadership in Michigan. The cabal of democrat politicians and unions has destroyed an economic machine. Think about it. In a matter of a few decades, democrats, unions and the management that would not face them down has destroyed an entire industry that basically fought and destroyed the Hun and the Jap and put the US on the road. These folks either are incapable of introspection and self analysis or engage in blatant deceit in order to cover up their sins. Thirty years ago they were being ridiculed by their competitors! Granholm should be fired! The UAW leaders (?) should be fired. The community organizer (co) fired the head of GM. Hallelujah! What about the other little piggies (re: TheFundamentals 3/18/09)?

The co wants to spend his time with Bush, the CIA, credit card companies and tin horn dictators around the globe. But if he wants to lead he should read the New Yorker article and get to real work, serious work, and real change. All he needs to do is suggest that the folk who support him take a pay and benefit cut and start working 40 hours per week. That would be transparency and honesty and change that we can all accept. All the stimulus; all the bailout money and all the recovery act wasteful spending is not about saving the financial system or creating new demand for products. It is about sustaining dopes like Granholm and their constituency with the remote hope that they can reinflate the balloon and keep their jobs for a few more months. You want change? Fire them all!