Aren't you getting sick of everybody asking for a bailout? AIG, Fanny Mae, Freddie Mac, now the auto industry. I'm with Mitt Romney let Detroit go bankrupt. If we bail out every company and every industry just because one group of economists, lobbyists, or union says they are vital to the U.S. economy (and I'm not saying that their demise wouldn't be horrible and very far reaching) then we will create a disaster.
I've made more than my fair share of mistakes...I know that I am an extremely small drop in the ocean of the economy but I still understand that failure is what makes an individual, a business, and an economy stronger. Shouldn't I be entitled to a bailout because I made ill advised hiring decisions, rushed into a partnership with a partner that wasn't a good fit, or made bad decisions in company direction and focus, failed to see opportunity staring me in the face, or a hundred other decisions? Failure has made me a better manager, a better partner, and as a whole has made us a better company. I have paid, and continue to pay the price for some of my mistakes but you won't see me repeating those same mistakes.
With regards to the auto industry. They have allowed management to create resentment among their workers by flying private jets, having private lunch rooms, and generally creating a class system within their company. They've allowed labor unions to make demands that are obviously untenable and would clearly lead to massive financial problems in the future. They are developing an inferior product for the price and expect me just because I'm an American that I have a patriotic duty to buy their product.
The only way the federal government should get involved in any of this is post bankruptcy recovery plans that have a clear and obvious restructuring plan and a plan for profitability, not just short-term, but long term as well.
My tax dollars should not be going to corporate retreats, or lavish rewards on executives that have either participated in failed policies or have not stood up and demanded change.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
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5 comments:
I'm with you 100% on this issue.
...We have a new hero in the US government.
Listening to Sen. Robert Corker from Tennessee take on Mr. Gettelfinger, the President of the [United Automobile Workers of America], was wonderful to watch.
An erudite, elegant southern gentleman, Sen. Corker made Mr. Gettelfinger look the fool on count after count after count of the truly horrid rules that the Union has forced upon the automobile companies here in the US. Gettelfinger was so out of his element that Mr. Mulally, Ford's President, and Mr. Wagoner, GM's President, had to come to Mr. Gettelfinger's aid, saying, "Ron, I'll answer that."
That in itself showed the incestuous relationship between management in Detroit and the UAW leadership, when Mr. Mulally is happy to refer to Mr. Gettelfinger as "Ron." At that point, Sen. Corker looked at Ford's and GM's Presidents and said, essentially, "If you will pledge that you will not be back to ask for more money, I shall be happy to vote in favor of granting you the $25 billion you have asked for. Will you make that pledge?" The Senate floor fell silent for the longest period of time... sufficiently for Sen. Corker to smile and say, "I thought so."
It was wonderful television. Two cheers... two ample cheers for Sen. Corker.
-Dennis Gartman
Here. Here.
For any that still think we have a free market economy, take a look around. We have a managed economy. It is not a free market.
Speaking of those hard lessons you've learned in your life, would you ever have learned anything from your bad choices if you were shielded from the natural consequences of those choices? Probably not.
Just like the auto industry and the airlines and Wall Street, and whoever else, will just keep making the same poor choices as long as they can get away with not suffering any consequences for those choices.
Another quote from my favorite newsletter:
"After taking their private jets to Washington, D.C., the heads of General Motors and Ford said they wouldn't accept a $1 salary in exchange for a government bailout – as the former head of Chrysler, Lee Iacocca, did when the government bailed out his company in the 1980s.
During Wednesday's hearing, a member of the House Financial Services Committee told Rick Wagoner of GM and Alan Mulally of Ford that reducing their salaries to $1 would be an important symbolic act. "I'm willing to do what I've been doing," Wagoner said – he's already taken a pay cut and given up other forms of compensation. Mulally said, "I understand your point about the symbol. But I think, not just for me, but we're trying to fill a skilled and motivated team." When pressed further, he said, "I think I'm OK where I am." Robert Nardelli, CEO of Chrysler, said Tuesday he would accept the $1 salary.
Mulally and Wagoner don't sound like people who want to be bailed out. They sound like people who want to go through the motions of being bailed out so they can blame it on someone else when it all falls apart."
It seems so obvious to me...just wish that same sentiment was shared by more of our elected officials...natural consequences are really tough to swallow some time, but in the end they make individuals, institutions, and countries stronger--if they learn from their mistakes.
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