The Three Stooges a.k.a. GM CEO Rick Wagoner, Ford CEO Alan Mulally, and Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli, testified for a second day before Congress yesterday. After stressing the potential disaster that could result if the Big Three Automakers do not get a $25 billion bailout, The Three Stooges headed off to their private jets. Although the potential job losses are hard to stomach, it might not be as bad trusting Moe, Curly and Larry (Wagoner, Mulally, and Nardelli) with our taxpayer dollars. Here’s why:
Actions speak louder than words. The $20,000 or so that it probably cost each auto executive to take a corporate jet to D.C. and back will not make or break the industry. The actions, however, demonstrate that Moe, Curly, and Larry just don’t get it. Nobody asked them to sit coach in the last row next to the toilet seat on a commercial airline jet, but it would’ve been a better PR move than claiming they have to use corporate jets for security reasons. What a joke!
Threats without solutions. There was a lot of talk about what would happen if the auto industry went away, but little said about changes that would be made to compete with Toyota and Honda. The Three Stooges blamed their woes on the economy. How are we supposed to believe this when Wagoner made more than 10 times Toyota’s CEO last year? What ever happened to pay for performance?
Arrogance. Let’s be honest, the companies in Detroit haven’t changed a whole lot from the days when Henry Ford said that you could buy any car you want as long as it’s black. For years, the three companies have been telling customers that they will buy what GM, Ford, and Chrysler decides to build. That strategy didn’t work well when people found better cars available from Toyota and Honda.
The solution to this problem is not that simple in my opinion, but former Massachusetts Governer, Mitt Romney’s argument to let the automakers reorganize under bankruptcy makes the most sense to me. Bankruptcy reorganization would force the three companies to restructure their operations and bring in new management to right the ship.
Filed under: Politics, consumer, current events, economy | Tagged: current events, economy, John Patrick Kreiss, Politics
