Downfall of the Big 3

Last week I read an article that Mitt Romney wrote in regards to bailing out the Big 3 Automakers. Today I read another article on why the Big 3 failed by Pat Buchanan. Both articles are op ed's but both are dead on. The biggest problem we have in this country with regards to manufacturing is government and unions.

Government puts excessive amounts of regulations on all of our industries instead of reasonable ones. Safety is paramount there is no question about it but why not let the market dictate fuel mileage or other factors that contribute the sale of goods and services? The consumers will let a company know when they need to make a better product by buying from a competitor. There is no question about that it is a basic tenet of the law of economics. When a company produces an inferior product at a high price consumers buy less. The company then tweaks their product to improve it versus the cost and the consumers will come back. The other thing that government does which is harmful to all industries is excessively taxation. It seems that government has not figured out that companies do not pay taxes consumers do. Why is it necessary to have a 35%+ corporate tax rate. This rate is second only to Japan whose rate is roughly 39.5%. If government really wanted to create jobs it would do away with the corporate income tax and would soften many unnecessary regulations. The only regulations that I believe should be in place are workplace safety which is necessary for the general welfare of this country.

The unions are also contributing to the elimination of manufacturing in this country. Their outrageous demands for salary, health care and retirement benefits are killing the very jobs they claim to be protecting. Many auto workers make well above the average wage for most Americans and a lot of them sit on their bottoms doing nothing and collecting a pay check. Furthermore the unions will perpetually protect the unemployable ie: the drug addict or alcoholic. The unions do nothing at this point to advance the cause of the American worker who actually wants to work. In their heyday they were necessary their is no doubt about that. They brought us the 40 hour workweek, safety measures and a sense of security. However, they are no longer your grandfather's union. Greed and political motivation is what they are all about. My advise to the unions is instead of higher wages why not profit sharing - when a company does well then it's employees are rewarded and when it does not then the employees know they have to work harder the next year. Make work at will and not contract based. Better quality people will be hired thus making your job easier. It is much easier to defend a good employee who slipped up versus a bad employee who is constantly in trouble. Unions need to work for their workers not for the political interest of the union.

Unfortunately neither the government nor the unions seem to want to listen to "We the People". They better soon or we could see some of the greatest turmoil since the Civil War.