Obama's big "Let Detroit Go bankrupt" lie

[toomuchtime_]

The New York Times did give that title to a 2008 Romney op ed, but here's what Governor Romney really said,

The American auto industry is vital to our national interest as an employer and as a hub for manufacturing. A managed bankruptcy may be the only path to the fundamental restructuring the industry needs. It would permit the companies to shed excess labor, pension and real estate costs. The federal government should provide guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing and assure car buyers that their warranties are not at risk.

When Obama claimed during the debate that Romney wouldn't have provided any assistance to the auto industry, he was clearly lying. Romney had a plan to save the auto industry, Obama had a plan to save the UAW. Obama spent huge amounts of taxpayer money to take over GM for no other reason than to protect the UAW from having its contracts voided by a bankruptcy court, thus preserving its political clout for future elections, and this works not just to the detriment of the company, which is saddled with too high future costs, but ultimately to the detriment of the workers, who under Obama's championship of union clout will remain dependent on the union in the future.

Romney's plan would have made GM workers partners in the company instead of just hourly workers.

Companies in the 21st century cannot perpetuate the destructive labor relations of the 20th. This will mean a new direction for the U.A.W., profit sharing or stock grants to all employees and a change in Big Three management culture.

Where Obama constantly emphasizes diviseness and conflict in both politics and business, trying to cast Romney on the side of the wealthy and himself the defender of the middle class, Governor Romney always seeks collaboration, not conflict, in both politics and business.

The need for collaboration will mean accepting sanity in salaries and perks. At American Motors, my dad cut his pay and that of his executive team, he bought stock in the company, and he went out to factories to talk to workers directly. Get rid of the planes, the executive dining rooms — all the symbols that breed resentment among the hundreds of thousands who will also be sacrificing to keep the companies afloat.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/opinion/19romney.html?src=mv&_r=0

The difference between Obama and Governor Romney is that Romney believes in the system that gave America the greatest economy the world has ever known, and Obama distrusts that system and constantly warns us about the dangers of capitalism, the evil intentions of the leaders of American industry, whether they be bankers or oil industry executives or insurance executives or many others and tells us that only he can protect us from the system that built America.

The choice is clear. Obama promises us four more years caught in a quagmire of conflict and gridlock, and Governor Romney promises to seek collaboration with Democrats, with business and with labor to find a way forward to more prosporous times.

 

[waltky]

Detroit tops most miserable U.S. cities...

Detroit named most miserable U.S. city in Forbes ranking
February 21, 2013 - Chicago number four

With its violent crimes, high unemployment, dwindling population and financial crisis, Detroit was named on Thursday as the most miserable city in the United States. It toppled Miami, which held the title last year, and surpassed Flint, Michigan, Rockford and Chicago in Illinois and Modesto, California, which rounded out the five most unhappy urban areas. "Detroit's problems are hardly news. It has been in a four-decade decline paralleling the slide in the U.S. auto industry," according to Forbes.com, which compiles the yearly ranking.

A vacant and blighted home, covered with red spray paint, sits alone in an east side neighborhood once full of homes in Detroit

Earlier this week, a panel of experts said the automotive city was facing a fiscal emergency and potential bankruptcy, as well as a possible financial takeover by the state. Flint, which is being run by an emergency manager appointed by the state governor more than a year ago, faces similar problems and has some of the worst crime rates in the country and a jobless rate of 11.3 percent, according to Forbes.com. To compile the list, Forbes looked at 200 of the country's largest urban areas and ranked them on factors including crime rates, foreclosures, taxes, home prices, commute times, weather and decreasing populations.

Violent crime, high foreclosure rates and declining home prices pushed Chicago into the fourth spot, along with the high expense of living there. New York, which came in at No. 10, was also cited for its high cost of living. The Big Apple has one of the country's highest income tax rates and longest average commuting time at 36 minutes. The full list of the top 20 most miserable cities can be found at Detroit Tops 2013 List Of America's Most Miserable Cities - Forbes

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