Detroit was 'bombed' *LONG* before NAFTA.

I'm amazed that in a crowd of people dominated by those with life experience, the obvious isn't mentioned more often.

Why was Detroit so rich? Why were the unions be able to get so much? It's only hinted at when the discussion turns to Detroit having their heads handed to them by Japan.

Why were they able to get that way in the first place?

...because the rest of the world had their industrial capacity bombed back to the stone age in WWII. We held a monopoly on manufacturing.

The Japanese will tell you that they brought in American quality experts when it was time to rebuild their factories. Because they had nothing in place and could re-start from scratch, they were able to do better and build on the experience of others with being saddled with the legacies of those histories.

Now Japan faces the same thing from the South Koreans. Someday, if CHina's quality improves, it'll happen again.

Originally Posted by janmcn

So better to let them go bankrupt and put one million people out of work, Mr Romney? I think if you check your facts, you'll find that a lot of the auto bailout money has been repaid with interest.

janmcn there are a number of financial expert who have written articles explaining that the bailouts were not necessary. In fact the economy was in that same situation in 1840 and the government refused bailouts and the economy recovered and did so quickly.

government action in most cases is counter-intutitive as is golf when it appears governement should do more they really should do less.

Take for example that the Mormon's Chariity is so well organized that during catastrophe such as Karina they were able to assist people with food, shelter clothing and fuel much faster than our government. if the government were smart they might want to learn how they are able to mobilize so quickly

The bailouts were to save the Unions and not to save the auto industry. The competitors to the unionized companies would have filled the void as fast as they could. A vacuum cannot exist in business.

I'm a union man myself, but the truth is the truth.

most people do not understand the concept of bankruptcy. What they know is what they hear from the media that wants only to deliver the message they want you to hear. They certainly are not going to point out the attributes of the bankruptcy process.

The advents and allegations of millions being put out of work is the boogey man's version of the results of a bankruptcy. And of course a politically spun notion.

The car companies would be in much better shape today if they had been allowed to go through the process. There would be as many people employed after the process if not more.

The government rescue allowed more of the business as usual to continue. And why wouldn't they....the government that is....the sterling examples of business as usual.

Read up on the companies that have gone through the bankruptcy process. Try to understand the positive effect a bankruptcy has on a company emerging from bankruptcy.

Bashing Romney for advocating his position denotes a complete lack of understanding and ONLY presents a political spin.

btk