Watching the New England Patriots play in Detroit (of all places), I just saw the following emotionally-driven GM commericial, thanking us all for helping them get back up, when they "fell down".
While I appreciate the sentiment (and the Animal House reference), the path that led GM to their downfall must not be forgotten, and must be used as an important lesson for the future of American business…and government.
One of the leading factors in GM’s demise was cost control. When it should have been investing in new technologies and efficiencies, it bought Hughes Aircraft, caved into unrealistic Labor demands (did you know the average UAW working pays only 5% of their health insurance costs?), and sponsored an Indy Racing team, among other follies.
The taxpayers of the United States were there for GM, bailing them out, via the Federal Government. The parallels between GM’s failure, and the current path of the US Government as a whole, are chilling.
Who will bail out the US Government, if it falls victim to the same condition? Nobody.