You know this political rant just pisses me off:
1. No one here can say they are more patriotic than anyone else. That's crap.
2. Chrysler took a bail out like GM. Ford got govt loans. The entire industry was helped. If GM had gone through a lengthy reorg, the suppliers would be at risk from going out of business. This would have effected the entire industry (the Big 3 and all the imports).
3. The union bashing is off base. Union membership is down by half and wages have been flat for the last 30 years. Meantime the economy has doubled and productivity has tripled. The money has gone to the top. Who's going to buy these pick up trucks if there's no middle class with buying power? That's what's happening.
4. Detroit city. It wasn't the public workers that brought down Detroit. It was the declining tax base with city population moving to the suburbs. What's left is poor infrastructure but the requirement for teachers, police and fire remain- just less tax base to pay for it. I don't excuse the reasons for the decline or corruption but that's not on the public workers.
No one here has all the answers or has a claim to patriotism. I think most of this is total ignorance and BS (but I don't claim to have all the answers). If you want a Ford, buy one- just don't say it's patriotic. Buy a Dodge but don't think Chrysler (as well as the industry) wasn't bailed out. Don't make statements that this was illegal because you didn't like the way the bankruptcy judge treated bond holders vs pensioners- you may not agree with it but it's not illegal.
Nothing anyone says here will change any minds. We are only looking for ideas that agree with our own. So we're stubborn and stuck.
But don't you ever claim you're more patriotic than the next guy!
