American Failed Icon: General Motors
GM is filing for bankrupcy and thus has huge symoblic significance for a
generation of Americans. The company which once had 50% of the market
for cars has been declining since the 80s due to many factors including:
lack of innovation, poor quality cars, mismanagement, too many brands,
and the unions.
It would have been great if the company were allowed to fail, but it
also falls under the too big to fail criteria that is given. The shitty
products that have been coming from that company does not deserve being
saved and hopefully the bankrupcy will allow foreign companies which
tend to be better run to salvage the company for parts (e.g factories,
etc.).
In this case the lack of concessions that the unions themselves were
unwilling to take caused the company to be too bureaucratic, relying
heavily on expensive gas guzzlers to fund the pensions of workers.
Further, most people nowadays buy foreign cars as the stigma of an
American car as poor quality has been stuck. It is interesting to note
however that more "foreign" cars are actually manufactured in the United
States itself mostly through nonunionized workers in the South.
GM signified an ideal of Americanism which is now gone. It was an
arrogance bred through Reganomics (man seriously that guy was a dumbass,
yes, I say it again Reagan is a dumbass) of deregulation, winning many
little wars and considering them successes to larger wars (seriously the
wars that really mattered after World War II, the Korean and Vietnam War
can hardly be considered winning), further the fall of the Soviet Union
left a weight of dominance of being able to do anything in the world.
Well that view is quite misplaced. al-Queida, the group that Ameria
funded to fight the Soviets turned on us, the Chinese own most of our
debt, our education is going to shit with other countries leading the
way in science. All of this is coming back to bite us in the ass.
As we were in our eyeglass view of the world with an us versus them
mentality of being a big bully, the rest of the world was growing up. We
can't even get our European "friends" to help us in Iran and Afghanistan
how are we going to bully around now. Even Russia has been regaining
some of its clout.
If GM signifies anything it is American overspending, of living above
ones means, in a fake gaudy luxury which is unreliable and expensive and
which signifies a big "Fuck You!" to the rest of the world. If GM
signifies anything it is that there are needs and there are wants, we
were fulfilling the wants by overlooking what we actually needed. If GM
signifies anything it is that even the big can fall.
America needs to realize we are not the big bad boy in the lot and that
we live in a multipolar world where we can't just start fights and do
anything we want. I hope that eight years of Bush and Dick has led us
realizing that. Obama has 3.5 more years to go, unless the world ends
like the Mayan say in 2012 hopefully we stand better.
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