today's American cars are basically on the same level as most imports, they are pretty good (I sort of think people are getting what they pay for, that is of course they can get a car loan from the bank), and there are affordable prices shopping around and negotiating the price (I hope people just did not go in and pay sticker price!) .
the other side would be the recession, global recession, swine flu (ok maybe not swine flu...)
and also the fact that Nancy Pelosi demanding a government backed stimulus package to the banks must be approved in order to open credit, pump needed money into the banks so they can start loaning money again..(which of course did not happen) it didn't make good business sense for the banks to loan money instead they sat on it. (did anyone thank the taxpayers?)
maybe instead of pumping government money into the banks (that failed anyway) they should have given taxpayers vouchers to purchase a new vehicle?
oh!
most banks did stop all car loans, a lot of banks folded..and still are...
of course those at the top making the decisions didn't help much either.
blaming a worker as the "problem or part of it" just seems more like a way to shift responsibility and accountability...(when other factors just seemed to be..swept under the rug or maybe just forgotten)
my idea is.. when mentioning one factor its probably a good idea to list all of it.
Chrysler should not have asked for tax payer money if they intended to sell out to Fiat...(which was probably in the works for a while).. that is sort of not the workers fault either..
hopefully its a turning point for the better..
Dignity,
As far as the auto industry, there is plenty of blame to go around and yes its from the top down but one wrong from one auto industry faction does not excuse wrongs from other auto industry factions. There is plenty of culpability to go around. As for NANCY PELOSI, well personally speaking she is one of historys biggest most pompous, hypocritical, lying, cheating, non representing, Huey P Long pretending, back slapping, baby kissing, back stabbing politicians ever to exist, eclipsed, although I honestly did not think her frauds could be eclipsed so easily or quickly by one Obama and his foreign Soroes loving fellow frauds masquerading as American politicians.
Reality does not touch Pelosi's world and I am or was until this past election a life long democrat.
I do not think DAL MECH meant that the unions are exclusively responsible for this auto industry mess, ABSOLUTELY THEY ARE NOT; however they do bear a large part of the burden, IMHO.
This current White House
administration (said as if spitting) did not feel the need to subsidize AMERICAN industry instead they subsidized European industry in the form of Chrysler/Fiat that pretty much puts an end to their complaints about European gov's subsidizing Airbus. Yes I agree the Fiat deal has been in the works for sometime and this current
administration KNEW IT.
Having said that, one issue is to a large degree separate from the other in that we as American workers have to stand up and demand industry returned. To do that someone has to be honest enough to face realities. One of those globalized realities has been and is an assembly line factory worker can not and should not expect 80K a year a Free new car every year and better bennies that our elected officials receive. We have to stop the hypocrisy's from all levels, but you have to clean up your own back yard before you stray into someone elses and I think the power is genuinely and for a very short window in the peoples hands, but if we sit on our hands and do nothing but watch our tax dollars go to other countries and shop so that our money goes from our pockets straight to other countries we have voted with our dollars. We have voted to lay off our neighbors as well as ourselves.
Selling off the auto industry was in part a thank you to G. Soros and Gettlefinger. It was looked at that if they sold off most of the auto industry it broke the back of the union without having to be honest with the people (the union members that "got out the vote), honesty after all does not go hand in hand with political pandering, as for Soroes well he owes quite a bit of TATA Motors and has been trying like hell to get TATA Motors into Walmart, now his election thank you from Obama is he will get his wish in the near future. So it all comes right back to the every day working American and the need to open eyes with real honesty although Gettelfingers tongue might fall out if he actually told his membership the truth for once.
Dignity, you "sorta" summed it up with this statement "that is sort of not the workers fault either.." ahhh but sort of is still some of.