...And you can thank our Governor for much of that. If Detroit would shut their mouths and let the successful part of the state run the economics, things could be much better. But no, we have to elect some stupid lady from Canada who has done more damage to the state than her predecessors while she attempts to appease to the Japanese and the Germans and completely fails at it... All while wasting taxpayer money flying around the world for these meetings.
...And we wonder why our schools can't afford to teach kids anymore?
There is more than enough blame to go around for the perceived 'failure' of the companies in and out of Detroit. The UAW has done their share of damaging the reputation of the companies, and promoting a style of worker that is neither responsible, nor shows any sign of remorse for what they have done to a once-great industry in a once-great city.
...Then you have a collective citizenship that has yet to mobilize and demand from their corporations, employers, governments, etc that things be changed. We just sit on our couches, crying about how everything went to hell. Beyond that, we continue to sit there and watch the Lions while Ford runs another property into the ground. Sure, the stadium is great, but they can't continue to treat the team like the Focus...
Ford and GM have done their best to keep jobs in Michigan, and I have to thank them for that. The nearest plants to my house do some panel construction, and the final assembly point for the Sigma cars and GMT960 trucks is about 45 mins from here. Both places are going strong, and people seem to be happy...
Chrysler, well, they are just idiots. I could be brutally honest and say that I want to see the company fail to teach Ford and GM a lesson, but the apocalyptic nature of that would be so outstanding in this state that I pray it doesn't. May God have mercy upon that company, as I see nothing but bad-roads ahead for the foreseeable future...
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The entire subject is indeed a touchy one for people from Michigan, and unfortunately it is hard to put all of those feelings into words, much less have anyone really understand how it feels when they aren't from around here. My entire family has worked for the auto industry at some point, and we have been die-hard domestic drivers for as long as I can remember (VWs and Nissans are considered 'okay' in my family)...
...But no matter how hard these companies continue to 'screw' us and the entire state, we just can't let them go. Thats why we still see a 90% domestic rate in Michigan (GM has 40% of that...), and similar figures are seen in states like Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa.
If we could get a reasonable government installed that actually realizes that good business goes south because of cheaper taxes and the lack of a UAW presence, maybe we could convince more companies (besides ones that are already here) to come to Michigan.
...We missed out on the Honda engine factory because of Granholm's stupidity. We got lucky with the Toyota plant, but its so close to Indiana, its scary. Carlos Goshn says he wants to expand Nissan's capacity in the US, and has expressed definitive interest in re-opening closed plants of GM, Ford, and DCX, but our government has done nothing to reel them in...
Plan and simple, its not just the companies' fault. Its everyone's fault in this state. Everyone says they have an idea, and nothing ever gets done. Its about time we call-up the Michigan Militia and take back our government and run things the right way...
[/rant]