Another view of the "bailout"

[SuperScout]

Gregory Knox, Pres.
Knox Machinery Company
Franklin, Ohio

Gentlemen:

In response to your request to contact legislators and ask for a bailout forthe Big Three automakers please consider the following, and please pass my thoughtson to Troy Clark, President of General Motors North America.

Politicians and Management of the Big 3 are both infected with the sameentitlement mentality that has spread like cancerous germs in UAW halls for thelast countless decades, and whose plague is now sweeping this nation, awaitingour new "messiah", Pres-elect Obama, to wave his magic wand and makeall our problems go away, while at the same time allowing our once great nationto keep "living the dream"… Believe me folks, the dream is over!

This dream where we can ignore the consumer for years while managementmyopically focuses on its personal rewards packages at the same time that our factories have been filled with the world's most overpaid, arrogant, ignorantand laziest entitlement minded "laborers" without paying the pricefor these atrocities… this dream where you still think the masses will line upto buy our products forever and ever.

Don't even think about telling me I'm wrong. Don't accuse me of not knowingof what I speak. I have called on Ford, GM, Chrysler, TRW, Delphi, KelseyHayes, American Axle and countless other automotive OEM's throughout theMidwest during the past 30 years and what I've seen over those years in theseunion shops can only be described as disgusting.

Troy Clarke, President of General Motors North America, states: "Thereis widespread sentiment throughout this country, and our government, andespecially via the news media, that the current crisis is completely the resultof bad management which it certainly is not."

You're right Mr. Clarke, it's not JUST management… how about theelectricians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times, makingpeople wait on them for countless hours while they drag ass… so they can comein on the weekend and make double and triple time… for a job they easily couldhave done within their normal 40 hour work week. How about the line workers whothreaten newbies with all kinds of scare tactics… for putting out too manyparts on a shift… and for being too productive. (We certainly must not exposethose lazy bums who have been getting overpaid for decades for their horrificunderproduction, must we?!?)

Do you folks really not know about this stuff?!? How about this greatsentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke's sad plea: "over the last few years…we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our competitors." Whatthe hell has Detroit been doing for the last 40 years?!? Did we really JUST wake up to the gaps in quality and efficiency between us and them? The K carvs. the Accord? The Pinto vs. the Civic?!? Do I need to go on? What a joke!

We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of the UnitedStates auto industry for decades. It's time to pay for your sins, Detroit.

I attended an economic summit last week where brilliant economist, AlanBeaulieu, from the Institute of Trend Research, surprised the crowd when hesaid he would not have given the banks a penny of "bailout money"."Yes, he said, this would cause short term problems," but despitewhat people like politicians and corporate magnates would have us believe, thesun would in fact rise the next day… and the following very important thingwould happen…where there had been greedy and sloppy banks, new efficient oneswould pop up… that is how a free market system works… it does work… if we wouldonly let it work…"

But for some nondescript reason we are now deciding that the rest of theworld is right and that capitalism doesn't work - that we need the government tostep in and "save us"… Save us my ass, Hell - we're nationalizing…and unfortunately too many of our once fine nation's citizens don't even have aclue that this is what is really happening… But, they sure can tell you thestats on their favorite sports teams… yeah - THAT'S really important, isn't it…

Does it ever occur to ANYONE that the "competition" has beenproducing vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades in this country? How canthat be??? Let's see… Fuel efficient… Listening to customers… Investing in theproper tooling and automation for the long haul…

Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr. W. Edwards Deming fourdecades ago when he taught that by adopting appropriate principles ofmanagement, organizations could increase quality and simultaneously reducecosts. Ever increased productivity through quality and intelligent planning…Treating vendors like strategic partners, rather than like "theenemy"… Efficient front and back offices… Non union environment…

Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn't be telling anyoneanything they really don't already know down deep in their hearts.

I have six children, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of wantingsomeone to bail you out of a mess that you have gotten yourself into – mychildren do this on a weekly, if not daily basis, as I did when I was theirage. I do for them what my parents did for me (one of their greatest gifts, bythe way) - I make them stand on their own two feet and accept the consequencesof their actions and work through it. Radical concept, huh… Am I there for themin the wings? Of course - but only until such time as they need to be fully ontheir own as adults.

I don't want to oversimplify a complex situation, but there certainly areunmistakable parallels here between the proper role of parenting andgovernment. Detroit and the United States need to pay for their sins. Bad newspeople - its coming whether we like it or not. The newly elected Messiah reallydoesn't have a magic wand big enough to "make it all go away." Ilaughed as I heard Obama "reeling it back in" almost immediatelyafter the final vote count was tallied…"we really might not do it in ayear…or in four…" Where the Hell was that kind of talk when he was RUNNINGfor office.

Stop trying to put off the inevitable folks … That house in Florida reallyisn't worth $750,000… People who jump across a border really don't deserve freehealth care benefits… That job driving that forklift for the Big 3 really isn'tworth $85,000 a year… We really shouldn't allow Wal-Mart to stock their shelveswith products acquired from a country that unfairly manipulates their currencyand has the most atrocious human rights infractions on the face of the globe…

That couple whose combined income is less than $50,000 really shouldn't beliving in that $485,000 home… Let the market correct itself folks - it will.Yes it will be painful, but it's gonna be painful either way, and the brightside of my proposal is that on the other side of it all, is a nation thatappreciates what it has…and doesn't live beyond its means…and gets back tobasics…and redevelops the patriotic work ethic that made it the greatest nationin the history of the world…and probably turns back to God.

Sorry - don't cut my head off, I'm just the messenger sharing with you the"bad news". I hope you take it to heart.

Gregory J. Knox, President
Knox Machinery, Inc.
Franklin, Ohio 45005