When presidential-hopeful Barack Obama recently visited the
Detroit-area, one of the main issues he addressed was the need for the
large employers within the Michigan economy to bring jobs back to the
area. Political pundits can debate whether or not Obama was simply
pandering to his audience by talking about restoring the Big 3, but
it's obvious to me that's all most people around Detroit want to hear.
What people don't seem to realize is that our state's economy is in
the rough shape it's in right now because of the Big 3 and their
inability to adapt to a changing world economy. While sections of daily
newspapers continue to be dedicated to watching every little
development with these three companies, little attention is given to
what else the state can do to recover without being dependent on them.
We're in a crisis, and when people are in a crisis they tend to
panic and make hasty decisions without thinking about the long-term
consequences. A lot of people are out of work, and it's understandable
that their top concern is getting back to work as soon as possible. The
problem is, if the government simply bails out the Big 3 or the car
business picks up to the point of reopening plants, there's no
guarantee this won't all collapse again in just a few years. The legacy
costs for these jobs are just too enormous to be competitive in a
global economy.
There's no reason to abandon efforts to repair the Big 3, but
simultaneously we need to be looking at ways to remove our dependency
on them. The old adages about learning from mistakes, and history
repeating itself all apply, but nobody seems to be listening. The
system has broken down and everyone has felt the effects. If we don't
do anything different in the future, why should we expect different
results?