I was reading the Detroit Free Press this morning, the paper my brothers delivered when we lived in Mt. Pleasant, a small college town in the center of the state. The cover story on GM highlighted the key roles the company has played in Michigan as well as U.S. history. It's a fascinating article, particularly the insights into the power of GM to shape U.S. politics and policy. For example:
In 1953, Eisenhower named Charles Erwin Wilson, then-GM president, as secretary of defense. Asked during Senate hearings if the defense secretary could make a decision against the interests of General Motors, Wilson answered yes, but famously added he could not imagine such a case, "because for years, I thought what was good for the country was good for General Motors and vice versa."But even in Michigan, some question whether the U.S. government should try to save the company. Should the taxpayers pay for executives' bad decisions? A recent poll suggests that taxpayers aren't too keen on this idea. Or is GM simply a victim of the country's recent economic near-collapse?
As an organizational communication scholar, I hope that Michigan's government officials learn their lesson and make a concerted effort to diversify the state's economy. For too long the U.S. automakers have held hostage the state's economy and for too long the politicians representing Michigan have listened to the automakers and ignored the pleas of other industries.
Whatever happens with GM, the case will provide important insight into how people should organize--or not--in the 21st century.
~ Professor Cyborg
2 comments:
One of my best friends is from Michigan and we've been talking about the GM crisis quite a bit. We have some differing viewpoints but the one thing we can agree upon is that taxpayers should NOT be responsible for bad decisions made by executives of companies! Taxpayer monies should go towards things like education, health care, etc....why should we have to pay for other people's mistakes?
He grew up in Detroit but hadn't been there for over 10 years. On a recent business trip there, he was very saddened by the appearance of the once booming city. He said they only good thing for the city right now is that the Detroit Red Wings are in the finals of the NHL playoffs...
Im not sure, Ive never been there before, but it's so hard to imagine how bleak the city can be.
Another friend of mine once commented that since the Silicon Valley is mainly a one industry area (like Detroit and cars)...that we may face a similar fate as the Motor City, mostly because of the outsourcing of our services to other nations such as India. I dont know about this...I think we are much more diverse in industry to collapse.
Sorry to ramble...it's Sunday before summer school officially starts and I was just getting oriented with everything:)
One problem with letting GM fail is that so many other aspects of the U.S. (and international) economy depend on the company and its employees. When a GM plant shuts down, the city suffers greatly. No more employees to stop at Starbucks for a coffee, go to the movies, get their clothes dry cleaned, take classes at the local college--the list goes on and on.
You make a good point about Silicon Valley, although surviving the dotcom bust does suggest that the Valley is more diversified than Detroit and Michigan.
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