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GM supplier answers GM President Troy Clarke's "plea"
This is one of the greatest responses to the requests for bailout money I have seen thus far. As a supplier for the Big 3 this man received a letter from the President of GM North America requesting support for the bailout program. His response is classic and has to make you proud of a local guy who tells it like it is.


Dear Employees & Suppliers, Congress and the current Administration will soon determine whether to provide immediate support to the domestic auto industry to help it through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation's history. Your elected officials must hear from all of us now on why this support is critical to our continuing the progress we began prior to the global financial crisis. As an employee or supplier, you have a lot at stake and continue to be one of our most effective and passionate voices. I know GM can count on you to have your voice heard. Thank you for your urgent action and ongoing support.

Troy Clarke, President General Motors North America



Response from:
Gregory Knox, President
Knox Machinery Company
Franklin, Ohio

Gentlemen:

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

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

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

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

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

You're right Mr. Clarke, it's not JUST management . . . . . how about the electricians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times, making people wait on them for countless hours while they drag (_|_) so they can come in on the weekend and make double and triple time for a job they easily could have done within their normal 40-hour work week. How about the line workers who threaten newbies with all kinds of scare tactics for putting out too many parts on a shift and for being too productive. (We certainly must not expose those lazy bums who have been getting overpaid for decades for their horrific underproduction, must we?!?)

Do you folks really not know about this stuff?!? How about this great sentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke's sad plea, "over the last few years we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our competitors." What the 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 car vs. 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 United States auto industry for decades It's time to pay for your sins, Detroit .

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

But for some nondescript reason we are now deciding that the rest of the world is right and that capitalism doesn't work - that we need the government to step in and "save us" Save us my (_|_)! Hell, we're nationalizing and unfortunately too many of our once fine nation's citizens don't even have a clue that this is what is really happening. But they sure can tell you the stats on their favorite sports teams Yeah that's really important, isn't it?

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

Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr. W. Edwards Deming four decades ago when he taught that by adopting appropriate principles of management, organizations could increase quality and simultaneously reduce costs. Ever increased productivity through quality and intelligent planning. Treating vendors like strategic partners rather than like "the enemy." Efficient front and back offices. Non-union environment. Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn't be telling anyone anything they really don't already know down deep in their hearts.

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

I don't want to oversimplify a complex situation, but there certainly are unmistakable parallels here between the proper role of parenting and government. Detroit and the United States need to pay for their sins. Bad news people. It's coming whether we like it or not. The newly elected Messiah really doesn't have a magic wand big enough to "make it all go away." I laughed as I heard Obama "reeling it back in" almost immediately after the final vote count was tallied, "We really might not do it in a year .. . . . . or in four . . . . ." Where the hell was that kind of talk when he was RUNNING for office.

Stop trying to put off the inevitable folks. That house in Florida really isn't worth $750,000. People who jump across a border really don't deserve free health care benefits. That job driving that forklift for the Big 3 really isn't worth $85,000 a year. We really shouldn't allow Wal-Mart to stock their shelves with products acquired from a country that unfairly manipulates their currency and 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 be living 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 bright side of my proposal is that on the other side of it all, is a nation that appreciates what it has . . . . . and doesn't live beyond its means . . . . and gets back to basics . . .. . . and redevelops the patriotic work ethic that made it the greatest nation in 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

For thirty years JD I have stifled an impulse to go out in the middle of street with tears in my eyes and scream to the roof tops. "I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK YOU BASTARDS"

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I feel your pain..

I completely agree with this letter.

40 years of looking the other way and not paying attention to what your competitors are doing produces this sort of result.

Enormous sums of money have filtered through those companies for 40 years and they did not invest in the future to stem the tide of foreign competition. Now they are looking for a handout to bail them out.

GM, Ford, and Chrysler had an amazing run but it may be time to step aside and allow them to sink or swim. Throwing money at their problem will not solve the problem. They have been beaten at a game they once owned lock, stock, and barrel and lost it fair and square. The imports have found a way to do it cheaper and better and the big three did nothing but let it happen.

What is interesting is that the number one selling IMPORT car in the US is made right here in this country so they are not only building a better car, they are doing it with our labor. What is wrong with this picture?

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FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

Speaking of bailouts....How about the BS going on with the Banking Industry.

It really fries my hiney when I decide to build a house and have a piece of land that is totally paid for and I have to nearly give blood to get a loan. I have good credit, and can provide proof of double the income needed to qualify, and and 200K in property free and clear to secure the loan with. Folks I nearly didn't get the loan due to the ridiculous underwriting rules now in place. I had a microscope up every orifice and then some. The loan is now closed and we are on to the building phase but we almost backed out of the deal due to the posture of the bank.

Yet 12 months ago any simpleton could merely state their income (provide no proof) and have marginal or bad credit and get a loan in less than a couple of weeks without security interest and many times with no down payment. Now they are crying wolf and complaining they were swindled.

Now as taxpayers we have to bail out the simpleton, and the bank that made this irresponsible loan. Where is the accountability from the Banks who accepted such a loan and to the person who purchased a home they couldn't afford in the first place.

I hear all this stuff about people not knowing or understanding what an ARM was or how it worked. I'm sorry they new the risk, but they saw the reward of having a home that they couldn't possibly afford and ran with that. They knew what they were doing.

Now the banks and borrowers want forgiveness....sorry not gonna happen here!

The bailout for banks is now law so it no longer makes a difference what I think anyway.

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FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

*retracted statement*

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

Its ironic that after talking to the arab leaders hillary is saying the same thing about iran that Bush was.

They broke this country by spending way over budget a trillion times over and over regulated factories and drove them overseas. So what is their solution? Spend 100 times as much and highly regulate the banking industry. What a bunch of idiots. They live in a fantasy world.

It used to be a family had honor The senior Kennedy was a bootlegger and had more honor, class and was a man. Take away these knotheads money and strip them from the bar and they would not know what to do.

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They broke this country by spending way over budget a trillion times over and over regulated factories and drove them overseas. So what is their solution? Spend 100 times as much and highly regulate the banking industry. What a bunch of idiots. They live in a fantasy world.

Dittos....Amen....right on.... and a boomashackalacka....... ...but don't waste your time or energy blaming one party over the other, they are both guilty as hell for whats happened to this country. I want to scream in the streets myself, but actually I have something that will get more attention

Oh no you aint talking me into that one again.

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The pitch that was given my kids went along these lines: With real estate values rising 10-15% each year you'll be able to refinance before your ARM resets. It's a no-brainer!

My kids are kind of cautious and didn't bite but I can understand how many got sucked in.

The biggest reason these loans were accepted were that the issuers were instantly reselling them and didn't have to take ultimate responsibility for them. I wouldn't necessarily pin the blame on the borrowers.

I understand your frustrations Scott and hope all goes well. My kids can't get student loans right now either. But I hope that changes.

Hey I owned a couple of K-cars. They were great work horses and took quite a bit of abuse.

Where is Ronald Reagan, I think he'd fire the lot of them. Both managemnt and union if they didn't get with the program. Yeah i think telling them "remember the air traffic controllers" might get some lead out of their a$$e$.

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There were a lot of great cars made in the US and still are, but there were quite a few lemons also. If you didn't know what to buy you could be hating life big time

Not really blaming the borrowers. However they need to accept responsibility for their decisions and either pay their obligations or turn the property back to the bank.

Predatory lending was rampant over the past 3-4 years and the brokers and banks are mostly to blame. Greed and folks wanting to cash in on the real estate bonanza drove everyone to do things that were not prudent and they got caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

I'm just ticked that we are bailing them out and at the same time they made it 10 times as hard for honest credit worthy people with verifiable income to get a loan.

I hate to see the banks get away with this. No other business would be allowed to operate this way and then get bailed out. There will be good things that come from this crisis and regulations and proper monitoring of banks will make sure that this never happens again.

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FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

This may actually work..


[youtube]rAqPMJFaEdY[/youtube]

Wonder if they have 0% financing for 10 years........