I am a product of Detroit. My family traces our roots back to when Cadillac established the city of my birth.
I grew up in the city. I went to school there. Detroit formed me and crafted my understanding of the world. Decades ago, I found this notebook at a drugstore:
It is a treasure. It reminds me of the hope, promise and troubles of Detroit.
It was in Detroit that my progressive liberal values were formed, tested and hard-wired into my soul.
I have now been away from Detroit for most of my life—another domestic economic immigrant moving about America. It is a common story.
I’m from a large family and most siblings are still living within the city limits. I will be up to visit in a few weeks.
When I listened to President Obama this morning, for the first time in decades, I felt hope for Motown.
To the jump...
I’ve read the outrage today about a GM Chairman being fired. IMHO he should have gone years ago when he green-lighted the Hummer H2.
The auto industry is in trouble today because it refused to plan for the future. It refused to believe that they had to develop a sustainable business plan. They thought only of short-term profits and they bought politicians in Washington to ensure that their short-term world view would never be challenged.
When calls were made for fuel efficient cars they said no and then they crafted talking points to set workers against their planet and their future. All too often unions and their supporters embraced the short-sighted gravy train of illusion peddled by folks whose long-term goal was the destruction of those unions. (It was a scam that put the "con" in "conservative").
For years the auto industry has been on a slow and steady cycle towards doom, but as long as there were profits nobody wanted to question the business plan. And then the bubble burst. The short-sighted business plan failed. The only way for most of the industry to survive seemed to be a bailout by US taxpayers. Naturally, most tax payers were a bit annoyed at the lack of planning and as a result the industry and the economy of Detroit became a political hot potato.
Now, Republicans had a plan for how to resolve the problem, it was forcing auto companies into bankruptcy to force the destruction of the UAW and a weakening of unions everywhere. Detroit was—once again—a plaything for the GOP and their failed ideology. They would happily destroy the economy of Detroit and hundreds of other communities if it meant a victory over the UAW.
And then there were others who thought that the only way to fight the extreme GOP plan was to support the management of GM and Chrysler with an open line of credit and bailouts without any change to the business plan.
Others thought there had to be another way.
That is the path President Obama chose this morning. He made a commitment to the workers and the continuation of an American auto industry. He rejected the GOP effort to blame the workers. He rejected the effort to use this as an opportunity to bust unions. Instead, he put the blame squarely where it belonged—on the management of GM and Chrysler. He laid out tough terms and let it be known that now was the time for all parties to cut a deal or he would do it for them. Now I think the Unions and management had come to terms. The holdouts as I read things were bond holders and dealerships who where hoping that they could avoid losses by dragging out negotiations. It seemed to be their hope that the companies could be save by extracting harsher terms for workers while protecting the sweet terms of their deals. But John McCain lost and these stakeholders will have to share the pain.
Today President Obama put community over corporation and neighborhood over clever schemes. This section of his remarks really made it clear to me that Obama’s plan is something worthwhile (emphasis added):
While the steps I am talking about will have an impact on all Americans, some of our fellow citizens will be affected more than any others. And so I'd like to speak directly to all those men and women who work in the auto industry or live in the countless communities that depend on it. Many of you have been going through tough times for longer than you'd care to remember. And I will not pretend the tough times are over. I cannot promise you there isn't more pain to come. But what I can promise you is this – I will fight for you. You are the reason I am here today. I got my start fighting for working families in the shadows of a shuttered steel plant and I wake up every single day asking myself what I can do to give you and working people all across this country a fair shot at the American dream.
When a community is struck by a natural disaster, the nation responds to put it back on its feet. While the storm that's hit our auto towns is not a tornado or a hurricane, the damage is clear, and we must respond. That is why today, I am designating a new Director of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers to cut through red tape and ensure that the full resources of our federal government are leveraged to assist the workers, communities, and regions that rely on our auto industry. Edward Montgomery, a former Deputy Labor Secretary, has agreed to serve in this role. Together with Labor Secretary Solis and my Auto Task Force, Ed will help provide support to auto workers and their families, and open up opportunity in manufacturing communities. Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and every other state that relies on the auto industry will have a strong advocate in Ed. He will direct a comprehensive effort that will help lift up the hardest hit areas by using the unprecedented levels of funding available in our Recovery Act and throughout our government to create new manufacturing jobs and new businesses where they are needed most – in your communities. And he will also lead an effort to identify new initiatives we may need to help support your communities going forward.
The auto industry is not Detroit. In fact, I do not think that the auto industry gives a rat’s ass about Detroit and the people who live there.
Year’s ago the city built a monorail downtown. It traveled a loop to nowhere. An artist followed the sightlines from the monorail cars and stenciled these words on building after building as they came into view:
"To be demolished by neglect"
The man made disaster that has been ravening Detroit for decades has been left free to destroy at will. For decades the titans of the auto industry watched and ignored the creeping destruction. So did most politicians of most political parties. Poor and ignored, the people of Detroit had all the destruction of New Orleans after Katrina—only without the wind, water and fleeting National focus.
Today, President Obama put a focus on these decades of neglect and destruction. It gave me hope for the future.
Cheers