Reply #28: I agree with part of what you say

[Psephos]

But there's a saying that when elephants tussle, it's the grass that gets trampled.

Auto workers outnumber executives by hundreds of thousands. When the US auto industry shrinks, workers will outnumber executives in the unemployment line, too.

I totally hear you about Enron, but the comparison is invalid. US automakers did not commit Enron-style crimes and then criminally cover up the evidence, they committed bad planning and execution. One is illegal, the other is not. The idea that I or any reasonable person would want a wink and nudge for Enron is not tenable. That company needed to be yanked out by the roots. The US auto industry does not, and its death will have major ramifications far outside automotive circles.

My first concern is for the hundreds of thousands of autoworkers whose future is dim and getting dimmer. Entire cities will suffer, and I mean SUFFER. People who haven't seen a Pennsylvania steel town shuttered up, or a New England textile town shuttered up, or a Michigan auto factory town shuttered up, probably don't realize what we're talking about here. Drugs, broken families, abandoned buildings, crime, shitty schools, on and on and on.

It seems like every thread having to do with the US auto industry on DU is full of people taking delight in the decimation of the industry, and trotting out the same tired bullshit snark about Hummers and Navigators. I will not join them. I believe it is the job of progressives to extend compassion and political support to our workers, and to the industries that write their checks.

Ok, I hope that didn't sound too much like a rant. I can tell from your post, LanternWaste, that you have sound progressive cred. Glad to see your post.

Peace.