Forbidden Donut

I think my biggest problem with bailing out Detroit (besides my idealistic opposition to it) is that the "need" to do so is entirely based upon the idea that millions of people will be out of work if the Detroit car industry fails. That is, quite frankly, bullshit.

In the unlikely scenario that the big three are forced to resort to chapter 7 bankruptcy and all of their employees are forced out on their ass, a gaping hole will exist in the American car industry and companies like Toyota will step in to fill the gap. This will require massive infrastructure increases, and the easiest way fill the requirements for workers will be to tap the vast amount of newly unemployed that are experienced in the field and are eager to get work.

And that is the absolute worst case scenario. It is far more likely that the many thriving car companies producing autos in the US will step in long before the prospect of chapter 7 creeps up and will buy up the failing companies, empty out their piss poor management, and keep a good portion of the existing infrastructure and employment base.

Or, if there is any fight left in the car makers, they will file for chapter 11 and turn shit around just like the airline industry did after 9-11.

People could argue that letting banks fail is a problem since banks are the foundation of our entire economy, but the car industry in Detroit holds no such claim. They fucked up everything they touched, they provided zero innovation in decades, and now they need to go. Doing so will be best for everyone involved in the long-term except the very rich in the top ranks, and their failure will usher in the revitalization of the American car industry.

The problems of the american auto industry are really insurmountable at this point. I will be the rist person to say that unions were (and are) a great and uniquely american force and mark our ability to mitigate the dangers of a completely free market and support the workers through even the most immoral and greedy business leadership.

That said, the UAW is a cancer that must be removed. It's a union that overplayed its hand and has only been allowed to continue to live because it was too strong by the time it was recognized as a potential problem. Sure, Nissan or Toyota will be happy to pick up these workers but they aren't going to shell out the kind of bennys and wages as Ford and GM. It's up to the workers to accept those jobs and not just bitch to their union reps. All the same... they have to fail and be held accountable.

I think the American auto industry sucks dick by choice. More and more of the parts they use are manufactured overseas, which means that the major contribution they make is giving entirely too many people entirely too much money to play with an erector set that can sever your limbs in order to make cars that are entirely too shitty. When a bill was proposed to raise fuel efficiency standards to 50 MPG's by 2020 (at the time a 15 year window I think) they lobbied heavily, saying it was impossible. A year later three non-US companies revealed that they would have cars that met that standard by 2010 at the latest. The entire industry in America thrives on branding and the laziness of its own employees and the lack of innovation elsewhere in the industry. When other automakers (I'm looking at you Honda, Nissan and Toyota) started innovating their American counterparts were busy negotiating CEO's payraises and signing their own death certificate.