The United Auto Workers is the sort of extortion racket that gives crime a bad name. For 40 years–since the introduction of Japanese cars in the US market–these whining, overpaid slobs have bilked consumers for billions, insisting that they deserve to be overpaid simply because there’s a bunch of them. America would be better off if the UAW simply ceased to exist.
They make the bogus claim that they are better workers than their non-union counterparts who assemble BMWs, Hondas, Nissans, and Toyotas. Yet none of their customers agree.
Now I’m a loyal US car buyer, believe it or not. My last 4 cars, in order, were Jeep, Chevy, Ford, and Mercury. I’ve bought one Nissan (which was a great car, but tiny), and a used Mazda (which I still miss but 160,000 miles was enough). I want the US auto industry to flourish.
That’s why I pray Bush keeps his hands out of the TARP funds, which I also opposed. Let the bad companies take their lumps in bankruptcy court.
To succeed in bankruptcy, though, everyone involved has to take a hit. Owner value falls to zero. Lenders (bond holders, suppliers, vendors) take pennies on the dollar. Cities and states give up their kickbacks from idled plants. Dealerships go out of business. Most of all, the overpaid, under worked UAW members take a pay cut to bring them into line with most Americans. And the retired grifters deal with retirement like everyone else; they don’t go on make as much as they made when they worked every day.
The US auto industry’s wage and tax system is unsustainable. Billions of tax dollars will not fix it. Only the legal protection of bankruptcy supervised by a brilliant business mind (I nominate Mitt Romney) will give GM and Chrysler a chance. Even then, it’s only a chance.
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