Et tu, Mitt?
In the days leading up to the Michigan presidential primary, Mitt Romney cast himself as the savior of the beleaguered auto industry.
"I will roll up my sleeves in the first 100 days I'm in office, and I will personally bring together industry, labor, congressional, and state leaders and together we will develop a plan to rebuild America's automotive leadership," he said in Detroit.
And when rival John McCain gave some "straight talk" in Michigan that "Some of the jobs that have left the state of Michigan are not coming back," Romney jumped all over him and declared that he would not let the "one-state recession" continue.
Romney, whose father helped turn around American Motors Company in the 1950s, won the January primary to keep alive his ultimately unsuccessful presidential bid. George Romney stepped down as chairman and CEO of AMC in 1962 to run successfully for governor of Michigan, and served three terms.
Fast forward 11 months, and Romney is speaking out against a federal bailout of the auto industry as its leaders go to Capitol Hill for $25 billion in loans.
"If General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won’t go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed," the former Massachusetts governor wrote in an opinion piece published in today's New York Times.
"Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself. With it, the automakers will stay the course — the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check."
That includes new labor deals so the companies can be more competitive, new management that will be more collaborative with labor, and big investments in new technology, says Romney, who made similar points in an interview this morning on CNN.
Romney, who is staying active in national GOP politics and could be positioning himself for another run in 2012, advocates a "managed bankruptcy" instead to save the industry.
"The American auto industry is vital to our national interest as an employer and as a hub for manufacturing," he writes. "A managed bankruptcy may be the only path to the fundamental restructuring the industry needs. It would permit the companies to shed excess labor, pension and real estate costs. The federal government should provide guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing and assure car buyers that their warranties are not at risk.
"In a managed bankruptcy, the federal government would propel newly competitive and viable automakers, rather than seal their fate with a bailout check."
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after a 3 year hiatus while running for president, it seems like Mitt is back to saying thing that make sense
It's too bad we punish people in this country for being smart and having a long track record. All we care about is the new, next fresh face... Mitt would have made a fine President and instead we elected a marketing campaign instead of person with a record of managerial success
Of course, the Globe is continuing their hatchet jobs on ole Mitt. Just because he's advocating bankruptcy for them is no reason to believe that's he's become turncoat. His statement that he planned to bring everyone together to "rebuild America's automotive leadership" did not mean there wouldn't be further economic shocks to the industry and local economy. The domestic auto industry ran itself into the ground courtesy of management and the UAW. There will be hard times ahead for workers. Anyone outside of Michigan and the Globe could see that. To viciously hit Mitt on his commonsense and prudence shows how overly spiteful the Globe is about him.
Yet, again Mitt is right on
Mitt has got it right on... most Americans see it this way also... All Detroit wants is money for big bonuses and to pay for their lucrative pension plan. Everyone wants to work for the auto industry because once they're in, they can sit back and expect a full check during their retirement.
Old school management from Detroit doesn't work... never have and never will...
Yet again, Romney is on the ball, so to speak.
MR'12
This is the Romney that could have been elected.
Too bad he play the populist game during the primaries.
One of the few times I have ever agreed with Mitt. 25 Billion here is like trying to use a bandaid to stop the blood flow from a severed limb.
These companies need to go bankrupt and come back with a completely new outlook. Instead of fighting against all increase in fuel standards, maybe the should have taken the lead and when the SUV market crashed they would have had a viable product to fall back on. Over the summer you couldn't buy a Prius even if you wanted to as there was a 6 month waiting list. When is the last time a GM car had a waiting list for it?
Romney is showing his true colors. Thankfully, he didn't pull the wool over anyone's eyes. America knows where Mitt stands and it's with the pro-corporate banking interests of the GOP and not the everyday man and woman who works tirelessly to support their families. Thank the gods Romney isn't president.
I hope people will read Romney's actual article, and not just an article about and article. It's a reality check, but he offers real solutions instead of rhetoric. Hopefully someone is listening...
I wish I could trust this guy. He's one of the few people on the political scene with actual business experience that could be helpful in this situation, yet I feel that he only speaks up when there is an issue that will keep him in the national spotlight.
Yet we nominated John McCain. Thanks Father Huck.
Can someone remind me why we should care what Mitt Romney has to say? Did anyone consult Gary Hart or Steve Forbes?
I love comments like Case's. It's funny, the more I move forward in life, make more, and earn more. The more tired I grow of listening to comments like his about people that don't want to get off their *ss's and work for it. If the auto industry fails then it's time for everyone to get a new job. If there are none in that area, move. People are so quick to punish and hate the people in this world who have worked hard to get where they are.
What did Romney ever do for MA but leave us in debt?
We need to raise the gas tax and use it for incentivizing innovation. Use the funds to incetivize alternative energy transportation and also put part of those dollars into removing older carbon based vehicles from our roads. At that point you will see a rush of private equity flood the car companies that are evolving. By doing this it will be a dissincentive to buy and build carbon based cars by driving up gas prices and by taking older vehicles and crushing them or selling them to other countries we will create more demand here in our country for cars made in our country by companies based in our country.
yea, those poor lazy workers in the auto industry should pay for the failure of the management, you are so right Lamont! Next we should have our soldiers buy thier own bullets and patients do thier own surgery. Lamont get your head checked.
why don't the big three stop the duplication of there cars.for example, chevy,buick ,pontiac,and some caddys are the same car. stop the duplication and and get back in the black
Mitt is a genius!~ He should be the one heading to the Whitehouse!!~~ Go Mitt~Romney 2012!~~
TJ-
Perhaps we should care because of all the politicians Mitt is a successful businessman who knows business models & finances. A heck of alot more than any of the buffoons in Congress. Detroit is a dinasaur that has been resistant to any change for years. From the top down their business model is not longer viable. From the ineptitude of management to the extremely generous compensation for both current and restired auto workers. Chapter 11 bankrutcy was established for the sole purpose of allowing companies the opportunity to reorganize in order to survive. Lets throw $25 billion away to the automakers and have the end result the same, but us as taxpyers foot the $25 billion. Makes alot of sense
Go Mitt;
we cannot invest in failed industries and poor management. the industry has to change first or we are just throwing the money away on incompetence. the compromise is save the jobs while re-structuring the industry. And you need an outsider to do the overseeing job. so this is easy. hire Mitt or someone like him and provide $$ only as the re-structuring under controled bankrupcy occurs. this is minimal pain for the industry and the only smart thing for the country to do with limited resources.
It's time for tough action and to stop the back scratching that has been going on in this country for to long. Mitt is 100% correct. Let the auto industry go bankrupt and start over with a plan and vision of what people really want when they buy a companies product. The technology is there to start building eco-friendly cars with high gas mileage.This country has pampered big business for far to long. Let them feel the pains and suffer through the same struggles most of us hard working, living pay check to pay check Americans feel.
Hey James E
Your right, the legistalture which is controlled by the Democrats had nothing to do with that. They actually have the majority numbers for veto power so please explain to me how Mitt could have done anything that the legislature did not agree with? Oh and BTW he actually did not take a salary while Governor. He took a $1 and gave rest back to state while Billy Bulger was fighting to add more money to his $225,000 annual pension claiming his housing allowance should be included. Typical ignorant comment.
Why not have Toyota and Honda take over the other Big 3 Auto Makers, or am I missing something here?
Why not have Toyota and Honda take over the other Big 3 Auto Makers, or am I missing something here?
I work in the Auto Industry (supplier).
Yes I agree that the management has been lacking.
But I can tell you the working people in this industry work hard, especially in production. It's a hot, long, and generally thankless job that goes on day after day, millions of vehicles after vehicle. Many "would not" have stayed (because of the drudgery), if it wasn't for the benifits and retirement offered . Now after working for 30+ years, they face having the security they worked for pulled out from under them. It's sad for everyone, but the workers don't deserve this.
Whatever it takes to bring back our economy, we need to do, so everyone can purchasie a house and/or automobile again. Then and only then will we survive. Thanks to greed at all levels, we are all suffering, not just because of the auto workers.
You missed the point James,
No one owes you a living in this world, if the company YOU decided to work for is going down you should have a plan as to what you are going to do. If GM fails I'm sure Honda, Toyota, etc would be more than willing to pick up some of those workers and put them to work. The world is not going to end if GM goes under.
no raising the gas tax please. that is not the solution. we pay too much taxes as is.
American owned automobile manufacturers lead the pack with management cost and touch labor hours per car...GM, Ford, Chrysler, in that order.
They have more lawyers than engineers. Compare that to the European and Asian companies stateside operations who have more engineers than lawyers. I haven't seen a good product improvement come out of a law school graduate, yet.
Union costs contribute but not as much as some have portended here. The pay and benifits of the automobile workers are pretty much the same regardless of whether they are union or not. If they were too far afield, the rank and file would be unionizing.
I started off supporting the bailout, but I'm leaning toward Chapter 11 more each day. The industry needs a systemic overhaul.
Mitt is once again shaping the message for his audience. He is the most spineless politician in the country.
The only business experience he has is in private equity, which is little more than acquiring a business for next to nothing and cashing out by leveraging it to the hilt. They then leave the crippled corporation to fend for itself while the private equity corporation keeps all the cash from the refinancing.
The private equity firm wins, while the employees and creditors of the uncompetitive acquisition loses.
"What did Romney ever do for MA but leave us in debt? - Posted by James E Stevenson November 19, 08 12:03 PM"
~~~~~~~
You are kidding. Have you even LOOKED at the makeup of the Massachusetts Legislature? Full-on Democrat majority with full-on veto power over anything a Republican Governor might suggest. The Dem Legislature blocked Romney in every cost-cutting move he attempted to make. And yet the sheeple of Massachusetts continues to vote them back into office over and over again! It's the Democrat Legislature who put this state in the debt it's in, NOT Romney. Typical dumb comment by yet another Sheeple Drone of the Democrat Party.
Looks like this comment list is dying, but I have to ask one more time: Does Mitt Romney ever have an opinion that isn't designed to get him national attention? When did he ever take a stand or say anything while he was our governor when it wasn't going to get him national exposure? He's big on being against the "beacon hill" elite when he has an obvious target like William Bulger. What about all the other crooks and shady characters he could have taken on? He's big on getting state-wide healthcare approved, but he just half-assedly designs a system and then throws it over the fence for the rest of us to live with (which is brilliant by the way, because if it didn't work he could just blame it on the democrats). He grandstands against the quality of the Big Dig and demands Matt Amorello's head, but only after the tunnel ceiling collapses and someone dies.
#32 cc
You get national attention by appearing in front of the national media such as cable news channels that invited you for interviews and answer some specific questions that citizens like Romney sure has experiences in the auto industry and helps us the public understands where the problem lies and what better solution to deal with it.It is not about Romney himself it is about a financial problem we're facing as a nation.You want your tax increase go for it but thats not what the majority of America wants they want want to see a change in the way those companies operate in a more sensible manner where they can be able to make profits rather than losses. The main point is easing the burden on us the tax payers.
Mitt shouldn't trade in non biblical areas of gas, tires and oil. The only wheels he has been in touch with are the ones that fell off his presidential campaign. Come on Mitt, find an area of expertise and stick with it. Stop giving politicians a bad name.