Posted: 3 years ago

It's everyone's patriotic duty to help Michigan. We are, indeed, at war, but it's not with terrorists, it's with the worst elements of ourselves.

I never thought I'd be saying this, but it  has been a powerful day for me, a person who abandoned Amercian cars when her new college graduation gift, a 1963 Chevy convertible, lost its brakes on the Major Deegan Expressway in New York City two weeks after she got it.

It was a lesson, and I learned it quickly, never looking back.Not my responsibility, I said, as I bought Hondas, BMWs, Mercedes, Volvos and Audis at various stages of my career.

More than 40 years later, I realize that the government can't help Michigan, only American citizens can.  We have turned our back on Detroit for decades, abdicating our roles as customers to provide constructive feedback. Perhaps if we hadn't just slunk away from those bad cars and bad decisions on the part of Chrysler and GM we could have made a difference. I know I sure didn't call my local Chevy dealer every three years as I went out and bought my next (foreign) car. And when I heard things were bad in Detroit, all I said was "tsk, tsk." 

I'm not making a case for the car companies as well-managed, thrifty, or right in what they've done during those decades.  But I am making a case for  the connection between GM and everything else in the United States that is now haunting us:  crime, gangs, inadequte health care, deteriorating public education, the financial crisis, and yes, even the murder of Dr. Tiller and the descent of our government into torture.

Somewhere along the way, we've lost the notion that we are connected to one another, and that we are a big community that has to learn to be resilient and take care of itself and each other. We've begun to think that, on the one hand, we can do it all individually, and on the other hand, if we can't the government will step in and save us.

Neither one of these is feasible.

Jennifer Granholm gave great interviews this morning about how Michigan was prepared to lead the country into the green revolution, generating new, green jobs for the one million people in Michigan who have been displaced by the auto industry.

But if no one buys the green products that will be manufactured by the retrained workers at the re-tooled factories in Michigan, will the stimulus and the cheerleading and the speeches work? 

Of course not. As long as we pursue the easy (cheap) way out, buying inexpensive trendy, nearly disposable clothes that are made in third world countries that use child labor (this is what I realize I have been doing), buying Hyundais from Korea and fruit from Chile, we are enriching others.

We don't need a trade policy about this, or a stimulus package. We need common sense. We need a sense of community. Let's make this creative destruction, not just destruction.

Francine Hardaway, Ph.D

Stealthmode Partners

http://www.stealthmode.com

http://blog.stealthmode.com

Posted: 3 years ago

The loss of manufacturing in general is a malaise that will be difficult to recover from.

How does one explain that it's better to pay three times as much for a product that will last ten times as long to someone on a limited budget because their job was shipped overseas after they opted out of education in favor of working in the mill?

It might be a cliche, but some combination of education, willingness to do without, all while focused on a sustainable future are required but I'm just not seeing it based on what I observe around me.

If the media is a reflection of what people want and or are happy for, we have a LONG row to hoe.

Trying to get without first giving is as fruitless as trying to reap without having first sown.

It does not do to leap a 20 ft chasm in two ten foot jumps.

Posted: 3 years ago

Oh, and if I had paid closer attention, I would have voted for option one.

Trying to get without first giving is as fruitless as trying to reap without having first sown.

It does not do to leap a 20 ft chasm in two ten foot jumps.

Posted: 3 years ago

My cousin in law was with Ford in erupe back in the 70's. He saw what the asian cars were doing in europe and could not understand why Ford was not doing anything. He wrote to the Ford Family recently and recieved a nice reply back but if the Ford europe had had its way back in the 70's- they are still very profitable today, maybe the industry here would be in better shape.

I worked in Flint and knew a lot of the workers. Good people but way overpaid for what they were doing. One of my friends was a janitor and bought a new Cadillac every two years! Some of the Bosses had real egos and that did not go over well.

The sad thing about this is that it is all history now. The good jobs and the town of Flint, etc., are now in dire straights.

PS would like a spell check dohicky

Posted: 3 years ago

Like everyone else, in the 1950's I was not even aware that Asian cars existed.  My family normally bought Chevrolets and Fords.  Once I bought a Crysler in order to be "innovative."  The motor blew up after 6 years of ownership.  I had to fix it because I did not have the means to purchase a new one!   However, when I finally received my PhD, I was in Seattle, Washington, and Toyotas were just coming into the picture.  I decided to buy a Toyota Corona (In those days, it was a very small car.)  I have owned Toyotas and Lexus' since that time!  I am now considering going back to American cars, but I will wait one or two more years.  I am hoping that the future brings something good!

Frank

Posted: 3 years ago

If Ford can make a Flex hybrid, I'm all over it.

Trying to get without first giving is as fruitless as trying to reap without having first sown.

It does not do to leap a 20 ft chasm in two ten foot jumps.

Posted: 3 years ago

I voted for all options: I submit that "whatever I want" is something I can feel good about using and thus (for me) is not inconsistent with greener options.

Karen -